The teachers really enjoy interacting with the students inside and outside the classroom. , Photo credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto
I Belong to that “royal” category of teachers, the college professors, who in the eyes of the common man have nothing more to offer than to present students and get a hefty paycheck at the beginning of every month. Keep in mind, a college professor sweats to earn her every single rupee.
I belong to a generation of teachers that is torn between the old cool style of teaching and juggling with digital technology. Though I work in a small college in a semi-urban area, it, like many other higher education institutions, is part of the rat race for the purpose of recognition, autonomy and NIRF rankings.
Darwin’s survival of the fittest has been given new meaning in the current educational scenario. Being a part of the team that created NAAC Accreditation, I, like many of my colleagues, am involved in the nitty-gritty of the entire process. As part of the accreditation, every higher education institution is expected to prepare and submit a Self-Study Report (SSR) every five years in addition to an Annual Quality Assurance Report every year. The process is cumbersome to say the least, as well as an arduous task for teachers who are not technically savvy. In the last few months, we have breathed SSR, dreamed SSR, lived SSR.
It seems that our whole life is confined to laptops and smartphones. Late and skipped lunches, dinners and sleep are the norm. Sometimes, I wonder, “Are we teachers or glorified clerical assistants.” Our vocabulary is hopelessly limited to metrics, downloading, uploading, documents, etc. However, on the other hand, the whole exercise has made us teachers digitally and technologically proficient. Assessment and evaluation are necessary for improvement but it is a question of compromising on our calling as teachers. It is almost like being under CCTV surveillance all the time. My dear citizens, this is only the tip of the iceberg. Teaching is a profession with many layers and meanings. I and many other teachers really enjoy doing this when we interact with our students inside and outside of the classroom. All said and done, a professor is a teacher after all.
shirley.phillip22@gmail.com