The paradox is amazing and even mind boggling...on the one hand, the entire education sector is shrieking at the top of its voice to get Teaching recognized as a serious profession, where qualified and diligent people should be employed. On the other hand, anyone who happens to be a teacher, on this World Teachers' Day, is hailed and revered as if s/he is GOD reincarnated - above all human weaknesses, evils, desires... an ultimate embodiment of knowledge, wisdom, goodness and love!!! Schizophrenic is how i will define this notion. Teachers are just another brand of professionals, or ought to be one. There is nothing inherent in the PROFESSION that makes them angels and saviours of this world. Nothing. They dont even take the Hippocratic oath which at least serves some face value!
I am not against teachers nor do I deny that there are people who you learn a lot from. But that doesnt mean anyone and everyone teaching in a school or college or university is not corrupt, lazy, complacent, down right nasty to children and adults alike. There are good and bad teachers, and then there are pathetic and sick teachers, out to avenge the humiliation they faced in their school years. The archetype teacher, and i am not exaggerating, is the one who regurgitates the textbook exercises or the notes made when s/he was studying to a class of students day in day out. It is indeed hardwork. So is wagework and lifting of trolleys of sands. How come teachers demand a different treatment and status from a wageworker or farmer! They are at least being useful for a community. The orthodox teacher can scar hundreds of children for life! Having worked in the education sector, I have come across scores of teachers who can't identify one single thing that they interest them vis-a-vis their own learning and improvement. It is always the child, parents or the management who is to be blamed or have fallen short of the expectations. Never their fault, never something that can be improved at their end, never their own ignorance of as basic a thing as how learning takes place. Such is the sense of righteousness that they cant critically question their practices and dont even realize that they are being discriminatory and humiliating a child when they label him/her. In fact this righteousness has replaced any speck of creativity or spirit of inquiry, discovery and co-learning.
A facebook acquaintance had his status dedicated to WTD and it said... "if you can read this line, thank a teacher." My retort was and if you cant, catch a teacher too..because s/he is the culprit.
What learning and education should be about is to generate a spirit of curiosity and love for learning, but in Pakistan, especially school teachers, are obsessed with teaching ONE truth in ONE way... which is essentially their way!!!
