Teaching to pass time

Last week, at a lunch party, a friend remarked that she was bored at home these days and wanted to do something productive. Excellent idea! But then it all went downhill from there. She wanted to teach at a local school, for young kids, because it was a wonderful opportunity to socialise with others, the school did not require any certification and was a great way to pass time. Something did not quite add up, or to put it bluntly, this was very disturbing.

Fundamentally, the quest to be productive and contribute to society is a noble cause and an exceptionally worthwhile effort. Many members of our society, particularly women, who go to great lengths to study and learn, are unable to contribute due to archaic social norms that force them to the confines of their house. The social order that takes the fundamental choices away from women, while at the same time giving all the options to men, is both diseased and prone to colossal failure.

That said, to think of teaching either by men or women, particularly to those who are in early stages of their intellectual development and vulnerable, just because you have nothing to do is terribly offensive and outright dangerous. Just because someone happens to be caring and has a sense of empathy, we do not make them a doctor without any requisite qualifications, or just because someone happens to be brave and good with administration, they do not get to command a battalion of soldiers at the frontline without the rigour of training. So why is teaching, which is just as noble as other professions, and just as critical for our well-being as medicine and national security, taken with such a cavalier attitude?

The only reason to teach, among many, is not because there is a fundamental desire to engage in learning, interacting with students and shaping the future, or a deep satisfaction that comes from seeing the first spark of excitement and wonder in the eyes of the students. Instead, many men and women take it because it is a low risk job, with good hours and little training needed upfront. In that case it resembles more of a desk job at a company, where you acquire the skills as needed, than something as fundamental to society as teaching. I am sure many of us know friends and family members, both men and women, who decided to take up teaching because there was nothing else to do, or because they were in between “real” jobs.

I wonder if we were to survey those who teach in elementary, primary and even high schools, and were to ask them, if they really wanted to become teachers, what would they say? I hope that I am proven wrong, but my suspicion is that many never wanted to really become teachers, and most never went through any real training except what came with experience on the job.

The argument that we have a national shortage of teachers, and hence more people are needed in the classroom is well and good. But there is one caveat. We do not need just teachers, we need good teachers. Just as we need good doctors and dedicated nurses, we also need those who think deeply about the profession, care for their own success and of those entrusted to them, and above all do it with a desire to make a difference.

A teacher is more than someone who keeps an order in the classroom or regurgitates what is in the book, it is someone who inspires the mind, brings out the best in the students and shapes them for the rest of their lives. A teacher is a mentor, a figure that instills the values of kindness and inquiry, curiosity and courage.

Let 2017 be the year of honest endeavours and focus on substance. Let it be the year when we demand more from ourselves, dedicate serious efforts towards our future and expect that teaching is recognised as an honourable pursuit, and not a hobby to fill up empty hours.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 3^rd, 2017.

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