Syed Mustafa Ahmad
Teaching is one of the noblest professions in the world. Teaching is not only confined to the educational institutions or imparting some ready-made things to the students but it is more than these. In my opinion, a teacher is a person who apart from teaching facts, moulds a student’s personality in such a manner that he or she is fit to be called an enlightened personality. We have many ways of teaching. Here, in this piece of writing, I would like to contrast the orthodox method of teaching and an innovative way of teaching. It is because in the present circumstances, the need for innovative teaching has gained momentum. Orthodox teaching is mainly confined to the educational institutions or we may call it as formal way of teaching. There are some specific buildings, designed accordingly, where education is imparted to the students. It can also be called the narrow meaning of education. On the other hand, innovative teaching deals with the newest ways of teaching. Here, we have no specific buildings for teaching. Here, teaching and learning process is a lifelong process. A child is ready to learn. Atmosphere is made in such a way that a student learns something new, at every moment. There are new experiences with each passing moment. Here, theory is followed by practical. Practical, in the sense, that a child remembers everything and has the will to do more and provide comfort to himself or herself and to the society. Orthodox teaching is confined to some specific topics or themes. The subject matter is throughly practised by a teacher at his or her home. A teacher comes in the class and delivers whatever it has practised. There is a range in this matter. There is a fixed time allotted for the said purpose. There is a strict discipline to be followed. Any deviation can result in the wastage of time. There is no scope for questioning. A student simply listens and sometimes without understanding a thing, goes on completing the class. In this process, innovation takes the backseat. On the other hand, innovative teaching is not confined to some specific topics or themes. Here,a child can pose anything to his or her teacher. There is no shortage of time. A child is not ready to learn some specific topic or topics but his or her brain is ready to learn everything. A student is curious in this process. There already is no picture in his or her about a particular day’s or month’s learning. Any discussion in the classroom doesn’t drain the whole process. A teacher is expert in diverse fields. He or she can make his or her teaching worthy, by explaining and updating his or her students with the latest developments. In this way, learning and teaching process does not lose its worth.
A student dominates the exams. He or she can criticize the pattern of a paper, number of questions, time allotted, environment in the examination hall, the choice of teachers, the timing of an examination, the choice of an examination center, etc. He or she is free in this endeavor.
Orthodox teaching hates creativity and is exam dominated. If a student fails in appearing in the examination, he or she will be declared as a failure. A student’s creativity will not be taken into account. His or her philosophy of things will go into drain. A student’s approach of life won’t never be taken into account. He or she will be called useless. He or she may ask what is the need of rote learning. He is she will be answered that you are not more intelligent than those who have made this curriculum. In this environment, creativity fails while an exam wins. But in case of innovative teaching or education, a child is taught to get failed deliberately. The concept of failure is erased from a student’s memory. He or she is ready to get failed. In this atmosphere, a student learns to value victory. The victory of the truest kind. Exams don’t dominate here. A student dominates the exams. He or she can criticize the pattern of a paper, number of questions, time allotted, environment in the examination hall, the choice of teachers, the timing of an examination, the choice of an examination center, etc. He or she is free in this endeavor. Nothing can be thrusted upon him or her. Let us hope that in the near future, we will come across different innovations in our lives that will prove beneficial for all of us, particularly in the teaching process.
( Author is a freelancer and writes regularly for “Kashmir Horizon” . Views are exclusively his own) [email protected]
