Evolving, yet constant: Teachers’ role in society

Today, schools, in order to adjust to new societal demands and expectations, are being transformed in identity and role. They have become challenging spaces where students come together from varying social, cultural, and economic backgrounds.

The life of a child has within it the sights, sounds, colours, pipes and drums of humanity that it encounters in its growing years. It is these reflections and impressions that create the adult of tomorrow. The role of a teacher today is to equip not only individual students with the competencies they need but also, through these students, entire groups, communities, and societies. Well-being is the goal in a classroom, and co-agency is the guiding light. Teachers need to help children become purposeful, reflective, and responsible. Educators have to contend with the tyranny of merit, where education determines winners and losers in a starkly divisive meritocracy. Those who succeed are fortunate to be born with the skills that society values; others who do not form the electoral base of populist leaders.

The teacher and the student have always had a very symbiotic relationship, intimate and interdependent. All spiritual traditions underline the interconnectedness of this bond. At a deeper level, it consists of consideration, expression, and understanding of the other. Some elements of learning in a child are directly connected to the teacher, not in an abstract or esoteric manner but in a concrete, and understandable way. Teaching is a blend of the head, hand, and heart. It has memory, meaning, and metaphor within it.

Every child’s cognitive structure is equipped to ask questions, introspect and think about issues that are primarily about themselves. Teachers have the amazing gift of understanding children, directing them on how to use knowledge, build society, and shape their lives.

It is through teachers that ideas travel, are questioned, and reformed. A sensitive educator helps integrate the mind, body, and spirit of children so that they learn in myriad ways to convey their thoughts and to live in a world that is unknown, unfinished, and unresolved. Children learn that there is more than one response to life situations and that they have the capacity to choose the response they wish to live. Teachers create a visual vocabulary that is innate in every society.

Teaching is an emotional experience because it goes beyond playing the role of a mere instructor and into the realm of being a counselor, mentor, and sometimes the only stable figure in a child’s life. The emotional weight of these roles can be overwhelming, leading to burnout and exhaustion. Yet, teachers press on, driven by a commitment to make a difference. Teachers enter the imaginative world of a child that is engaging and playful, imparting learning that is appreciative of different perspectives. They also have to build resilience within children against unexpected shocks. But, above all else, they have to move beyond complacency and easy solutions because education is getting into a new relationship with economy and work, technology, the broader society, and, indeed, our very planetary survival. All this is to be done through a growing focus on teacher-leadership.

In a world that often measures success by immediate tangible results, the work of teachers can be easily overlooked. The true impact of a teacher may not be visible for years, but it is profound and enduring. As we move forward in this world of assistive technologies, algorithms, augmented reality, and many other frontier technologies, let us remember that at the heart of education are individuals who have given a great deal of themselves, often without recognition or reward.

At the heart of teaching lies an unspoken love, a love of learning and a hope that education can change lives. It is this love that has been celebrated over the years in every child who has found a teacher who helped her evolve. Here’s to every teacher who made a difference in the life of a child.

Ameeta Mulla Wattal is chairperson and executive director, Education, Innovations and Training, DLF Foundation Schools and Scholarship Programmes. The views expressed are personal

Get Current Updates on…

See more