Teaching As A Profession

College teaching- Teaching is certainly a noble profession, but so is medicine and social work! Any profession we choose, we need to be passionate about it. Love and passion should guide us in whatever we do. All high scoring students may not essentially be good teachers. Before deciding on teaching as a career, analyze your own aptitude as a teacher. There are certain basic temperamental and academic requirements to be a teacher.

You can be a good teacher if-

1. You really love your subject and enjoy studying it.
2. You feel the need to know more about the subject, and therefore even as a student you search for related books/materials, beyond the textbooks.
3. You have a tendency to read the same text again and again if you fail to understand it in the first reading. You do not give up till you get it clearly, i.e., you need to have an analytical mind.
4. During student life you often find yourself explaining the course topics to your classmates, always trying to make it as simple as possible, depending on the IQ of the student.
5. You are always interested in attending, submitting, presenting papers in seminars/conferences on your subject.

If these attributes exist then academics is certainly the way to go.

Qualities of a good teacher-

• Thorough knowledge of the subject- Without thorough knowledge you cannot face the students. You must be confident about your subject. Higher courses like M.Phil & Ph.D help in in-depth study of the subject. Besides, essential tests for lectureship, like NET, CSIR, are meant to asses the depth of your knowledge in a particular subject. It is difficult to clear these tests without sincere studies.
• Accept the challenge-Teaching college students is both interesting and challenging. College students, having crossed a certain age, are more aware and curious about the subject matter. (Not every student of course!) So the lectures need to be interestingly practical. Particularly the post graduate students pose several questions in the class for which the teacher has to be prepared. Such questions are a challenge but questions make teaching interesting too, as new questions increase your own knowledge too. You may not be able to answer all the questions on the spot. In such cases admit this and honestly promise to find out the answer. This increases the interest of the student too.
• Eye contact- Come fully prepared to the class. Do your homework sincerely. The best way to retain the student’s interest is by direct eye contact while teaching. Make notes but do not read from them in the class. Memorize the major points beforehand. Write the main topics on the blackboard and then proceed to explain them one by one, constantly maintaining eye contact with the students. This will also help you to notice which students can understand and which ones cannot. Repeat for the slower ones. If you read from your notes, students will never develop interest. Therefore eye contact is a must. Eye contact also means confidence. Confidence to take on the class!
• Stand and move while teaching- The teacher can pass on the energy level to the students. The more you gesture with your hands while explaining, the more you use the board, the more you move from one corner of the dais to another while explaining, the more you will be in charge of the class.
• Repeat and allow interaction- Try to gauge the class’s/ individual student’s expressions. Repeat the explanation if you feel they haven’t understood.
• Be approachable and encouraging- Allow students to approach you during your free time to discuss the topics. Your aim should be to enhance their interest in the subject.
• Keep yourself updated- Read more than one newspaper, journals, magazines, books and keep yourself updated.
• Involve in research activities- Writing for journals, conference presentations etc. sharpens your knowledge as a teacher.

When you have love and passion for your subject and teaching, you will automatically forget the line dividing the teacher and the taught. You try to explain things by placing yourself in the student’s place. Your soul aim then becomes, making the topic clear to the student in every and any possible way. You have to pass on the interest and passion to the students.

Becoming a teacher never meant end of student life! A good teacher goes on learning and learning…….