School of Innovative Thoughts

Indian Express 24.03.25

ART OF PUBLIC SPEAKING

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Journey of a student turned teacher

To be honest, I was neither an outstanding student nor an inspiring teacher, but have simultaneously been a student and a teacher for the past three decades. Standing on the platform as a teacher during the day, and sitting on one of the benches on the same evening, I could visualize the expectations a student had of a teacher and vice versa.
My mother was a school teacher and my father was in the civil engineering profession. I never ‘happened to become’ a civil engineering teacher, it was a conscious choice and passion. When I joined for Diploma in Civil Engineering, I too had the dream of stepping up the ladder to become a professional engineer, but the teachers of those days lured me into the teaching profession. Soon after completing my Diploma from Maharaja’s Technological Institute, Thrissur, in 1984, I ventured into construction projects and continued with the same for five years. In 1989, I joined the PWD and worked there for a short while before joining my final destination at the Technical Education Department in the same year. Until then, my impression was that the failure of students was due to failures in teaching. I joined a VHSE in the coastal belt, where none of the students had passed any exam on the first try in the past five years, which is when the course was started. This was an eye opener that changed my beliefs and perceptions. However, I still believe that a teacher can bring about huge changes. Being the lone permanent staff, I was the HOD even though I had entered service as a work shop instructor, and this experience has guided me through the last twelve years, when I served as the Head of the Department again. With my conscious effort of two years, one of my students passed the VHSE exam on the first try, and later went on to do M.Sc. and then worked at the same institution as a guest faculty. Later in my career, when I was the HOD at Government Polytechnic College, Perinthalmanna, the outstanding team work of students and teachers consistently kept the institution in the first position, producing two first rank holders with record-breaking marks, all within my three year tenure there. The most successful period in my career, however, would be my time at the VHSE, where my single-handed efforts have resulted in fruition.
From 2000 to 2005, I served as the Secretary of the ISTE Kerala Section. It was a period that saw the mushrooming of several self-financing engineering colleges in the state, which also faced an acute shortage of experienced teachers. ISTE took up the challenge of training young teachers, as there was no other body to train engineering teachers. Well experienced teachers of the past shared their experiences and mentored the new entrants, successfully grooming them into becoming inspiring teachers themselves. I am grateful for the unique opportunities I received to listen to many stalwarts over the years, and this reinforced the dos and don’ts of the profession. During the interactive sessions of those training programmes, I understood the expectations that the students have for their teachers. All students expect their teacher to be empathetic, sincere, and willing to listen. They expect good communication skills, up-to-date knowledge, and in the end, for their teacher to be a role model with integrity. Similarly, teachers have expectations for their students to be polite, courteous and hardworking, and for them to have good comprehension skills and a flair for engineering. If both sides understand these, the teaching-learning process is sure to become an enjoyable and memorable one.
Acquiring knowledge and skills are the two non-separable parts of engineering education, with the ultimate goal being bread winning and leading a peaceful life. An outstanding student, at the same time, need not always be successful in life. Life skills are required, in every profession and position, to help us stay afloat and make the best of situations. The life skills taught as part of the curriculum is only the tip of the iceberg. Practical life skills are those we learn from on campus, in society and from family. Academic performance is an important factor that paves the way to higher education and jobs, and it is an opportunity for students to showcase their mettle. Skills and knowledge, without academic records to back them up, are not likely to be considered seriously. The following tips, in addition to the effort you put in, will definitely help you score more:
• A teacher is a human being with feelings, who judges your marks based on your performance. Even though there are scoring indicators, the personal judgment of the examiner matters too, so make sure your answer paper isn’t a mess.
• Legible hand writing is preferable, and it needn’t always be beautiful. Easy readability is always appreciated, and with some conscious effort on your part, bad handwriting can be bettered.
• Statutory documentation should be done before you start answering. Extra care should be taken while filling in OMR sheets. Ensure that no data entry column is left blank.
• Formatting the answer script or the drawing sheet is very important. Question numbers should be legible and prominent. Always write the full question number (For example, when there are sub-questions, follow question 3A with 3B, rather than with just B). In drawing sheets, put the question numbers either in the margin or close to the sketch within a circle which can be prominently seen. Remember, question number is the parameter which brings your mark to the tabular column of marks. NEVER write the question number in the top left corner where you tag the papers as it will go unnoticed. Instead, put it slightly below. It is better to answer the questions in order, even if the rules do not insist on it, as this will aid in easier correction and avoid confusion. Don’t forget to strike through blank areas and to use the abbreviation “PTO” in large script in case something has been written following it. Don’t leave unnecessary blank spaces, and make sure you write the correct page numbers on additional sheets before you start writing, as this will help avoid confusion when tying up your answer sheets.
• Answers are expected to be proportional to the mark, so make sure you write only what is required.
• Read each question at least thrice. The first reading, during the cool-off time is to give you a brief idea about the choices. A more serious reading is to be done before you start answering, and this is the second reading. What you write should be planned out, and then written out following a proper sequence. The final reading is to be done after writing the answer, to ensure that you have met all the objectives of the question.
• Adopt a proper time management technique and pre-plan the amount of time you want to spend on each question.
• If it is permissible, and if time permits, answer extra questions at the end. Before doing this, however, ensure that you have properly answered all obligatory questions.
• Don’t leave the exam hall before time, even if you have answered all the questions. Read each question and check your answers, numbering and filled in details again. It is also important to enter the exam hall at the stipulated time.
• Understand that the answer script written by you in three hours is valued in less than ten minutes (A teacher is to complete all the formalities of 35 papers within 6hours). Hence, bring your correct answers to the attention of examiner, and not your mistakes. It is not an English essay question, so you can represent the points in bulletin or through sketches, even if the question does not demand a sketch. Easy comprehension by the examiner is important for scoring marks.
• Avoid all malpractices like making requests to the examiner, bluffing by writing irrelevant things, repeatedly writing answers etc. It is false concept among students that marks are awarded by weighing the answer script, or by the number of pages used. Answer to the point and do not deviate from the objective of the question. Why does a mark change after revaluation? There are many reasons, the main ones being the poor formatting of answer scripts leading to omissions in recording marks, illegible handwriting, human errors of the examiner, and in very few cases, poor valuation by an examiner who is not well versed in the subject.
• Before the day of the exam, make a list of statutory and permissible items to be taken to the examination hall and a list of learning materials you wish to carry to avoid omissions. Ensure that the examination rules and the stipulated dress code are followed.

Are the things you learn on campus relevant when it comes to actual professions? Is it important that you learn things on campus? These questions are especially relevant at a time like this, with the Covid-19 pandemic forcing students to switch to modes of online learning, alienating them from physical campus life and the experiences that come with it. To answer these questions: if you don’t learn certain things from your mother, your mother-in-law will definitely teach you. If you don’t learn social etiquette from home, society will teach you how to behave, and this isn’t always a pretty sight. Similarly, if you don’t learn the basics of your profession from campus, you will have to learn them at work, and sometimes this would be a painful and shameful experience. It is true that we cannot learn everything required in the industry from campus, but we ought to master at least the basics. What you dis-regard as being trivial might turn out to be useful at some point. As the founder of a leading software giant once remarked, “You may think that our company is owned by a college dropout, but remember that the minimum qualification to gain entry into that company is still a university degree.”

Is attendance relevant? Is home schooling better than regular education? What is the problem if all courses are online? Is black board teaching still relevant in the 21st century?
The fact that I have attended almost all my classes even though it meant lot of hardship, was never for attendance, but because I was very particular that I shouldn’t miss anything that was being taught, and also because I didn’t want to miss out on any of the fun that took place. Is the purpose of education only to acquire knowledge? Right from the ancient ‘Gurukula’ system to the outstanding universities of today, an education system with a focus on values has been followed. All electronic audio-visual systems are only complimentary to the conventional chalk board. I had a most revered professor who wrote everything he said on the black board, and this is in the 21st century, when computers and gadgets are the norm. In a way, he took his students along with him, as he travelled at their pace, even when giving notes. The magic of planning and the effective utilization of the black board are vital for successful teaching, but this does not mean that all other gadgets are irrelevant. Moreover, animations and virtual reality helps students understand better.

As the basic principle of TQM, a teacher should continue being a student to ensure continuous improvement and to be empathetic towards students. I remember the question of “How many chances may be given to a student who does not hand in assignments on time, and abstains from examinations?” being raised by a participant at an ISTE induction training programme. The teacher conducting the session, knowing that the participant came from a Christian college, responded with another question: “What does Christ teach us about forgiveness?” From this, we learn that teachers must be able to forgive, but not without advising their students on the need and importance of timely action. Teachers should also be aware of what parents expect from their children, and guide the learners to realize their expectations. While in class, a teacher must realise that they are under constant scrutiny. They must be open to feedback, and only then can the ‘blind area’ of a Johari window be eliminated.

Anybody can become a teacher provided they have the knowledge and communication skill. If you are egotistic or sadist, teaching is not a profession you are suited for. A teacher should always be unbiased with respect to caste, creed and gender. To become a Mentor or a Guru, a teacher needs to spend more time, beyond class hours, to know each student individually. When I was in Technical School, a critically ill student in coma was taken to hospital, accompanied by the class teacher, who was known to be very strict. She was able to tell the doctor about the student’s illness, the medicines he had taken and what he had for breakfast. She was also able to give details of where he was from, the names and occupations of parents, and his family background. Before the parents could arrive, the boy died. The way in which she handled the distraught parents and the fact that she knew her student so well was something that astonished all of us, and proved how marvelous a teacher she truly was.

What is the best approach when dealing with post metric adolescent students? I would suggest being polite, but firm. Do not allow any ‘parallel business’ to go on while you are engaging the class. Young teachers must remember that they are a teacher first, and a friend second, and should make sure the distinction is made clear, even if they are friendly.

The theories about pedagogical methodologies are generic in nature, and they may not always hold true. I once had a chemistry teacher who would never look at our faces when teaching, but at a fixed point, and another professor who would walk back and forth on the teachers’ platform, but never look at our faces. Nevertheless, they were both exemplary teachers, and students weren’t scared to look them in the face, something we would have found difficult to do otherwise. I also remember an English teacher who would use different character-voices in drama class. The point I’d like to make is that all teachers have different mannerisms and styles of teaching, and as long as both the teachers and students are comfortable with it, that is fine.

A teacher’s dress code is always a topic of discussion. I suggest, from the angle of a student, that a teacher’s attire should not distract students’ attention. Careless and shabby dressing, as well as trying to be overly glamorous will distract them, and we must keep in mind that the students themselves are forced to wear uniforms at an age in which they would prefer to be more colourful.

Finally, I would like to stress the importance of being a member of professional bodies of both students and teachers, even though it is pretty costly these days. The companionship of fellow professionals in academia and the industry will really help boost your knowledge, and will help acquire good personal contacts that may help find solutions to professional problems.

About 30 batches might have passed out during my teaching career of 31 years.The government has spent a huge amount to render my services, for less than 2000 students in formal and non-formal classes, out of which around 1000 may be in the professional field. It is for them to judge whether the expenses incurred by society was worthwhile. It is time to take stock. It is for my students to judge and evaluate.

Sincerely
Thomas John .V
9446354916
Thrissur
26/07/2020