Dr. Vishal Varia | PenPencilEraser Blog

What rewards should I expect as a teacher?

May 22, 2022February 20, 2022Dr. Vishal Varia 2 Comments

We have often heard or read that “teaching is a profession that creates other professions”. Having read this, it compels one to think that teaching is above all other profession as it is the creator of other professions. The concept behind this saying could be that since teaching involves making one learn and think creatively the birth of all other channels start from here. There is also another punch line about teaching as said by Donald D. Quinn, that “if a doctor, lawyer or dentist had Fourty people in his office at one time, all of who had different needs and some of whom didn’t want to be there and were causing trouble, and the doctor, lawyer or dentist without assistance, had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the class room teachers job.” Having read this one would definitely fall for a teacher and would have much consideration for the job performed by the teacher.

Combining the above two punch lines about teaching or teacher, one would definitely think teaching as being above all other tasks of the world and being a teacher means having the best job. Considering it a fact for a while, now if we look on to the rewards aspect of a teacher and that if teaching is a profession that creates all other profession than can we assume that the rewards to a teacher would be better than that of all other professionals? How far it is better to think like that and how far is it true? Are teachers being paid properly? Does a teacher earn substantially to cater to the daily needs of the family? Recently on 5th of September being a teachers day, there was an article in TOI, where in a bare fact were exposed about the meager salary the teachers are paid and the tasks to be performed. If one reads such article then that would compel them to think teaching as the least paid job and a job that one would not prefer to do.

The core question is, what rewards should I expect as a teacher? Again at this point I would like to post what one of my colleague regularly comments, “with the present salary how can one afford to affect and influence the students to be better?” . The question is not what amount of salary should a teacher be paid or What a teacher should be earning?, the question is “Being a teacher what rewards should I expect?”

A common question again argues the above logic that “is reward only monetary in nature?” can rewards be non monetary as well? And should one count on Non Monetary rewards of a profession? – especially a teaching profession.

Going through the internet for finding what rewards the teachers at other places in India and world are getting, I came across this wonderful article on www.teachercertification.org where the rewards of being a teacher are so nicely segregated. Every profession has monetary and non monetary rewards associated with it but teaching is such a profession where one would earn rewards that are non monetary in nature more that that of monetary nature. Let us understand what rewards should I expect as a teacher?:

Earning for time contribution

One should definitely negotiate for the right salary that one deserves but the salary earned such will only be a remuneration against the time contributed by the candidate and the work put in during such time. One cannot and should not expect emoluments like commission if x number of students pass out with 90% or if y number of students are retained in the school.

A teachers job is to teach and not to sell, so one should not expect commission like a salesman does, however if one does think on that ground than yes you are earning your commission but inform of respect and recognition of the tasks done by you.

Being with Children, one of the purest elements in the world:

Unlike other professions and jobs where one deals with dead stock and materials, a teacher is with live stock and that too innocent children that are one of the finest and purest elements of the world blessed with beauty and creativity. It is only the privilege of a teacher to be with one of the finest creations of Mother Nature, the kids. How lovely it is to be in the company of kids and observe them learn their basic skills step by step. This one of the finest rewards of being a teacher that is to be in the company of kids, innocence and purity which is like being next to God. No ill speaking, no competition, no stressful conditions or deadlines as they have in every other task. It’s worth enjoying every moment of being with them and observing them grow with your cooperation and support.

Observing children learning what is taught, in a way seeing your efforts realized

One of the other finest rewards of being a teacher is seeing knowledge and skill being implemented from day one that it is taught to them. It is really a wonderful experience observing kids talking in recess and while going home that today we are taught this topic in the class and the teacher wonderfully made us learn that topic. No other field or job gives such a real time experience for the efforts put in by the candidate. One should really feel proud of this element of being a teacher that where the parents fail to make their own children learn basic skills of life a teacher on the contrary succeeds in making them learn even to honour the parents and their instructions. Observing kids instilling complete confidence and faith in you being their teacher is one of the best rewards that can be expected by any other professional or task doer. As a teacher you must enjoy this privilege and make the right use of it in forming and cultivating better habits in the children the future citizen of the nation.

Command over the class and group

As a teacher one would definitely enjoy the privilege of having complete command over the class. The teacher is the Master / Mentor / Commander of the class, the class will not only peacefully take the commands but will make their best possible efforts to fulfill the command with necessary skill and willingness. Where in the world would one enjoy such a blissful state of honor and respect towards the spoken instruction of a teacher? A thoughtful teacher is always at the center of the class’s attraction, the teacher like a commander of the ship drives the class through the ocean of knowledge, safely maneuvering the stake holders to better pastures or land. Being in charge of the class or the group is one of the finest achievements of being a teacher and one should take the maximum advantage to deliver the best of the knowledge and thinking to the class.

Respect for being a teacher

One would surely agree to this. Coming across a student in the market or any place other than the class is such a welcoming experience where in the midst of the crowd the teacher is blissfully respected and greeted and this is all out of having respect towards the teacher. I do remember having come across students who have settled with their job or profession happy to welcome their teacher and not only warmly greeting but also offering whatever services they could offer as a respect towards the teacher. It’s really a blissful experience having such recognition of human values.

Recognition as a teacher throughout the life

No matter how long you have taught a student i.e. for what ever time duration but you will always be a teacher in their eyes and you will always earn that respect and gratitude throughout your life. Once you are introduced as a teacher in a class you almost start enjoying supremacy over the class the moment you are introduced as teacher, now it’s your onus to earn respect out of the introduction and through your lively inputs in the class. A teacher enjoys a perennial recognition throughout the life. A teacher will always be respected by the student no matter how old he or she becomes. Not only this, but you will always be treated in priority if you happen to require their service. Also, its not only the student that honors you with such respect and salutations but the entire family of the student shows deep gratitude towards the teacher as it is the teacher that has handled their most precious and valuable belonging just like her own and has returned back a more better and refined individual than that was originally handed over. Thus a teacher will always enjoy a perennial recognition through out the life.

Self esteem – Self – Satisfaction

More than any other reward is the reward of self satisfaction and esteem that one would collectively enjoy at the later years of ones job or profession as a teacher. It feels better and counts more having contributed in the development of a skilled and developed mind to the society and the families. No other reward comes near to the reward of having self satisfaction of being a teacher. A true teacher by heart will always try to bring the best in her students and this art and hard work of the teacher has priceless contribution to the society and the family. A teacher will feel proud when she finds her students excelling in the examination of their life. A teacher will feel proud when she finds her students performing the best in their profession and generating the best in their work. A teacher will feel proud when she finds her students achieve better results in all the tasks that they perform.

This feeling of pride is the self esteem and self satisfaction that no other job can provide and one must work with holistic approach and all round development of the child in mind to achieve this self esteem.

Thus, we can very well understand from the above paragraphs that a teacher earns more of non monetary rewards as compared to monetary accumulation of wealth. The children are the true wealth of the society and the nation and who can be wealthier than a teacher that is always surrounded by such a wealth that grows by itself. Indeed a teacher is wealthier than any other person as it is a teacher that is offered the most priceless element of the world ‘The child’.

I would really suggest, all the prospective teachers with this article that please consider you blessed by having yourself in the teaching field or rather a teacher. Do not work for the rewards but rather work for the holistic approach and over all development of the child and believe me your rewards will follow you anywhere you go.

Congratulations! For being a teacher, a creator or wealth, a creator or skilled power, a creator disciplined citizens, a creator of the nation.

Let’s be the Master of Technology and not it’s Slave

May 18, 2022February 20, 2022Dr. Vishal Varia 2 Comments

Technology has penetrated in most of the activities and livelihood of human beings. With the penetration of technology there has been tremendous change in the method of work and activities of people. Technology has helped reduce cumbersome tasks, increase speed of transactions, eased the tasks of repetitive nature, helped people to forecast the output of efforts and has assisted at almost all places like a personal assistant.

Earlier while the penetration of technology was in its inception, it was taken as innovation and means of modernization. People using technology were considered as affluent, rich and forward minded as cost of using technology was not everyone’s cup of tea. Utilization of technology was limited to productive and business tasks. Transactions of business houses were doubled or multiplied more than couple of times with the advent of technology. The out put, capacity, productivity and over all transactions of business house increased.

Technology earlier was considered as a boon for business and it found its place amongst the business houses. However, technology has not kept itself limited to business houses it has expanded itself from production to trading, transport, printing and publication, marketing, distribution channels, Accounting and finance, science and medicine, research and development and what not.

The major shift came in the life of people when technology found itself in communication. With the advent of technology in communication the use of it grew from production houses to common people. With modern day technology in communication, the speed and volumes of communication has increased manifold. People are making use of technology for calling, texting, messaging, post updates, feedbacks, opinions, post notes, social communication, mass communication, personal communication, etc.

The second major shift came in the life of people when technology entered the field of education. Officially technology entered the class rooms and is taught to the innocent minds. Use of computers has eased the understanding of people. The method of teaching has changed from boring lectures to entertaining multimedia houses. The means of teaching that was limited to a classroom expanded by continents through virtual class room concepts. People came more close to each other by use of technology and more of expertise could be shared with larger audiences with the means of technology.

Technology has supported growth, productivity and elevated lifestyles of people all over the globe. The world is becoming a global village with use of technology.

As every coin has other side, likewise technology has its own adverse effects. Use of technology has eased our lifestyles but has also made us dependent on it. People who used to remember important dates of birthdays and anniversaries have started make use of silly applications to keep reminders about it. People that used to prioritize the work and verbal communication have started making use of communication devises lavishly and have started disturbing each other over petty matters. In turn, technology has made us dependent on it and has diminished our productivity in lieu of boosting it. People have stopped using brains and have started over use of gadgets. Common Sense has now become a productivity tool rather than foundation of logic in one’s mind. People have stopped using intelligence within oneself and have started to use artificial intelligence found in gadgets, devices and software. Overall, technology has made us Slaves of it. We are too much dependent on mobile phones, computers, calculators and such modern gadgets that we avoid making effort even where required. Sincerely, I would not bother to switch of lights or fans if it could be put on timers or controlled by a remote device. This is what is going to be hazardous on the long run. Rather it has started showing its ill effects. More and more people are becoming obese, more and more kids are becoming hyper active and indulging in disastrous activities rather than constructive, innocent and creative activities. We have more people suffering from partial or total dementia (memory loss) in the 21^st century as compared to earlier days. People have started eating according to the calorie value rather than to satisfy the hunger. Students have found out ways to photocopy, share or cut paste rather than creating or recreating the material. People have started use of call communication over mobile phones for silly matters like shopping rather than making a list and taking effort to jot down the requirements. In one way or the other we are getting enslaved by the use of technology.

Just imagine what would happen if due to some reason we are deprived of electricity for few hours or days. Just imagine what would happen if due to some reasons the world servers got hanged for few hours or days. Just imagine what would happen if we just got back into the past where such technology was not there. Just imagine if WhatsApp and Face book force closed their operations. Nobody can imagine the answers of these questions. A simple imagination itself will create silence and put a halt on the activity that we are doing presently.

It’s time we put halt on dependence on technology. Let’s learn to be Masters of Technology and not its Slave. Master here is in the sense of possession and not as expertise of technology. It is we who should possess technology and not us that should get possessed by technology. It is we, who should be using technology for our comforts and ease of transaction and not technology that should be using us in lieu of making systematic transactions.

=The next question is how to proceed ahead to become Master of technology and not slave? The answer is very simple; delimit the use of technology in day to day life. Value life and livelihood events more than the use of technology, give priority to the person present in front of you than the person at a far distance and over phone. Value the face more than face book. Have consideration for physical presence of person and be sensitive towards the real needs rather than pseudo wants. Ask relevant questions and pass only necessary information rather than gossiping or chit chatting over WhatsApp. These communication mediums were introduced to decrease gap and increase proximity but not to increase gap with near ones. Set out your priorities in the right direction and as per the weightage of relation and do not burden the relation due to directionless use of technology. Naturally, your family members value more than the things you possess. Do not compromise the amount of time you spend with your family members and friends in real, rather over spending on the ones that are not with you. Make logical use of technology and not illogical and over use. Let’s not be multitasking always, give some tasks in your life more priority and be single tasking when such task is to be performed. Take the pleasure of food by dining together with family rather than focusing on news on TV or any other entertaining program.

One can mark hours in a day when not to use technology and be away from such side effects for that time period. One should set timings where he/she will switch off the mobile phones, shut down the TV and spent some time with family and near ones. As Warren Buffet commented, “If you spend on unnecessary things then a day will come that you will have to loose that is necessary.” Likewise, if one makes over and unnecessary use of technology than one will have to loose that is necessary and requires attention. After all, technology was invented to ease the errands of life and give us comfort and happiness, but not to increase our discomfort or hassles. Thus, we should try to make necessary use of technology and not to get possessed by it. Traditions should be set in family for togetherness and to stay away from the perils of technology. Teachers should take the initiative to guide the next generation for the perils and overuse of technology and social media. Rather than stopping those to use technology teachers should guide them to make right and proper use of technology. As individuals one should exercise control and monitor use of social media, TV, and such gadgets in regular life. The list of such suggestions is exhaustive and cannot be generalized. One cannot suggest others on how to delimit their dependence on gadgets and technology. It can only be exercised with willingness and will power of the one own self.

In general we should control our temptations and implement schedules to use technology so as to enable our Master Hood over technology. Lastly, its time we put halt on the over use of technology and start focusing on what Gandhi, the father of Nation suggested, “Limit your requirements and do your work your own self.”

A Stock Pile of Qualifications

January 2, 2022February 20, 2022Dr. Vishal Varia Leave a comment

This is an experience I wish to share with regard to the education and the education system. Recently I met Rajesh, my ex-student, in a market place. Both us were very glad on meeting each other after a decade long time. Rajesh as a school student with very pleasing personality and sound family background. As a teacher and a motivator I could not resist myself in asking Rajesh as to what he was doing? To this question he very politely and silently replied that he is working as an MR (Medical Representative) in a leading Pharmaceutical company. This was with a surprise for me as I knew that Rajesh was not from any Science Background rather he was a Commerce student and so far as my knowledge and memory supported me he was pursuing his B.Ed. qualification a decade a go. Having known his present status I further wished to inquire his career line.

Rajesh once again maintaining his tone and politeness replied to me that, “Sir, after my B.Com., I completed my B.Ed. I joined a leading School as teacher and worked for 2 years, I was asked to pursue M.Ed. for my professional development which I completed while doing the job, as I was granted relaxation for attending my classes. After having produced my M.Ed. certificate to the Principal, I was promoted to be Head of Department of Commerce Faculty. I continued to work for further 2 years as HOD but by that time I surpassed many opportunities with better financial prospects. I couldn’t resist my self for such opportunities and joined a Corporate as a Mgt. Trainee for maintaining their PRO work. In the mean time I was given an opportunity to pursue MBA which I did it while continuing my job there. But I was not promoted as promised so I left the job and now am doing this job a MR since last 1 year.”

Rajesh is not different guy; he is just a regular person like any other having blessed by Mother Nature with all the organs as a complete human being. But Rajesh is now a person with many qualifications, he is a B.Com. Graduate having professional qualification like B.Ed. and M.Ed. and further added MBA to his bouquet of professional qualification. Having all these in his portfolio, he is working as an MR after 10 years of his Graduation.

As a teacher having personally known Rajesh and as a motivator, I felt for him that he is still in his struggle phase and in the bottom level of Management Chart as being only a MR in a company.

It is not Rajesh, rather many such equally blessed promising candidates fail to achieve a better career even after possessing better qualifications.

With no criticism to the Education System as I am also a part of it though working at a micro level, but a thought comes to mind that does this qualification really puts in some qualifying stuff into the candidates that enter the system of education. Are we really imparting education to make them independent and self reliant or rather we are making them dependent because of qualification?

With LPG (Liberalization, Globalization and Privatization) model working with its full effects (side effects as well) we have many university entering Indian System of Education and many in pipeline as they have realized that India is a good market for selling Certificates and Qualifications.

What I am trying to pass on a message here is that as a teacher it is our duty to make every student realize the worth of technical and non technical knowledge that they fetch in any of the qualification that they pursue. We as a teacher must try to make them aware the potentials of the qualification and the knowledge that they gain within the qualification.

To the students I convey that do not wait for the destination rather enjoy the journey as that is going to give satisfaction after reaching the destination. Meaning enjoy the journey of fetching the qualification and get the maximum of knowledge while in the process of attaining particular qualification. The certificate of qualification is merely an entry pass to a career or job but the knowledge within it is what is going to help you achieve your satisfaction in the career.

Also to my dear students and prospective candidate, a stock pile of qualification is not important but a worth while of knowledge and skill is more important.

It is worth mentioning the below diagram, where in one can easily understand the importance of the journey of seeking knowledge.

There is a need to change the EDUCATION SYSTEM where “Degrees” drain Creativity and Intelligence.

What needs to be focused here is the knowledge and the process of knowledge in seeking a qualification and not the certificate of qualification. The qualification or the certificate of qualification is mere a documentary proof of a candidate having attained that knowledge and skill.

One must not forget this basic principle that knowledge is more important the paper proof of it. Knowledge not only reflects from the document of qualification but rather should reflect from ones attitude, behaviour and transactional process. If this basic principle is maintained then we will have more productive people and population rather than stereo type unproductive educated unemployed.