To be a teacher means always a student

13 April 2018/ 2074-12-30
To be a teacher means always a student
Today is the last day of 2074 and we teachers from Pashupati Mitra Secondary School, Chabahil, Kathmandu held a teaching staff meeting at the same school. The purpose of the meeting was to evaluate the output of whole academic year 2074 and make a plan for the new academic year. When a year comes and goes the same story repeats. We teachers always worry about the performance of students, their discipline, code of conducts of school and decreasing study habits of students. We teacher argue each other in an academic way. Mr Kafle always talks about the role model. A teacher should be studious and show the students that their teachers always study and why not their students. Who can argue against it? Indeed, I agree but I have not been convinced myself it's because I am always busy at reading and writing at home or school or in other parts even at the journey hours too. My kids see the happening every day and every hour. But why they don't seem to be ready to read and write of their own interest. We parents have to push them to their study.

The second matter we talked about the decreasing no of students in community school mostly in the urban areas. What are the reasons beyond it. Concerned stakeholders point their fingers to the teachers, head teachers and political parties and others. Being a teacher at a community school, I have to accept that the most important person of this organization is headteacher. If a headteacher is worried about the school, students and his profession, s/he can handle it well. S/he can prosper the institution well. We human beings always point the fingers to others but we never try to find what's wrong with us. If a subject teacher is good,s/he can make her/his students good at his/her subject but not all. But if a headteacher is good, s/he can foster the entire institution. There are a few community schools that are still at the front in performance too. Though Pashupati Mitra Secondary School has decreasing numbers of students, it has been able to increase its quality.

A bad story has been narrated everywhere that sending a child at community school means their status is low or under average. Even the teachers, headteachers who seek job at community school, they ignore themselves and send their kids at private schools and blame to the community not sending their children at community school is a satire upon them. At the moment what they narrate that their children have their rights and don't like to study at community school. Yes, it may somehow true. But in reality it is just a false story. Let me add one. Every child's parents buy toy vehicles, planes and jets for their kids. They can afford them and easily buy too. After playing with vehicles or planes, if a child demands a jet to fly, who can afford it? Isn't it a child right? If we talk in that way. It is only pretendence but not the real story. The concerned teachers and the headteachers should be responsible for it. First they have to begin themselves and ask the neighbour to send their children at the community school. Then there will be enough students.

In the same way, irresponsible or duplicate guardians have been the members and chairman of school management committee. They don't know what is happening at school. If they know, they don't care too. They are there only to have big name but not for the welfare of the institution. They send their kids at private schools, and seek the post there. It's an inhuman activity that is fostering in urban areas. The concerned authority should pay attention to such an issue.

Nowadays there has been the issues of hair style of students. Students make their hair style like of the contemporary especially football players and others celebrities. Should we allow students to make their hair like of the others or trimmed like of army personnel. Sometimes code of conducts of school are problematic or the students' intention.

Why Pashupati Mitra Secondary School for your children's education. Come and visit. We will convince and make your kid an independent student who can compete with the students all over Nepal. We have Science lab, computer lab, ICT classes, well qualified and trained teachers who can mould you kids for their future. The best student in every class from 6 to onward get scholarship of cash. The best student in grade 10 receives nearly RS 30,000/ Come and visit our school. If you believe us, we will guide your children well and let you feel proud of being the guardian of our school with the holy name Pashupati.

How can we increase the number of students and their quality in education? Is it the matter of investment or is it the cause of frees of cost? Indeed, if there is investment, there is care too. Wealth is only the means but not the theorem. If a conscious guardian whether from hut or castle or an enthusiastic child gets admitted at school, he performs best too. The present demand of the contemporary society is that soft skills have to be taught. Only academic certificate can't make human live their prestigious lives. To attract students from every level, schools have to provide opportunity to students to sing, dance, play games, acting and practice yoga or others. As TS Eliot says 'Novelty is better than repetition' it works. Community school needs reformation and lover of education should lead the schools. A good headteacher can change the school through his performance. School's infrastructure, playground, canteen for khaja, library for extra knowledge, computer with internet service to be familiar with modern world and ICT classes can change the school surrounding and influence students from every level.

A teacher can guide a student, but not teach. A teacher's qualification and his experience doesn't have any value unless he has been able to uplift his students' performance. A teacher has to read and find what is happening around. What we leaned might have been out dated and should find the present concept. John Holt has written essay on "School Is Bad For Children" and David Rothenberg has written an essay on " How the Web Destroys the Quality of Students' Research Papers" . These two topics in our first glance might confuse and may not agree with them. But both of them are convincing. That's why a teacher is like a student who has to study all the time for the good grade.