The elephant in the room

Teacher absence in classes was the loudest complaint made by students in their recent feedback to their VC in a Delhi university. Do teachers bunk classes? This is what one would expect students to do.

Why do some teachers hate to teach? Is it because they cannot hold their students’ attention? Perhaps, their reading is inadequate, and they hate their subject. Pitted against Internet-savvy students armed with mobiles, they may be out of touch with reality.

The students’ concerns are legitimate. If they are not addressed soon, they will find other means to learn. The Internet and the idiot box are some powerful options: they offer more current and valuable content in six months than a graduate degree can in three years.

This threat may also apply to any business school course. Therefore, there is danger ahead for the teacher and his profession. 
Distance learning and e-learning are two more options to replace him. As travel becomes expensive, why go to a building (school) with teachers – who may be absent, or not be current - when you can read a business newspaper, watch TV or browse the Internet in the comfort of your home?

If teachers are to be respected, educational institutions must be made responsible for the development of their skills. Presently, their focus is on improving infrastructure. But how can another version of software, better flooring, and landscaping make teachers more attractive to students? Most often, their training is heavy in information - which can be acquired anywhere - and not on teaching methods and behaviour.

Such training may not be enough, and must be augmented by learning goals. Institution heads must direct teachers to learn anew, change behaviour, and make regular self-appraisals. They must push teachers to question and to change what they do. They must coax teachers to discover ways to connect with and move closer to students and their concerns.

Only then would teaching become an exciting profession of discovery and learning. Only then would the elephant leave us free to attend to bigger problems.

Towards the discovery of learning

It’s not till one is (or feels) educated that he begins to wonder about learning. Some think that learning is awareness, understanding or clarity. Others think that it includes knowledge under certain contexts. Language, literacy, and intelligence are some aspects of learning that you may have also heard of.

Learning is also about the learner’s experience. Experiences include data and information, as much as they contain emotions, opinion, and judgement. It is these experiences that change the learner – and change is the surest sign of the impact of learning.

Learning, as a subject, can be great fun to study. Have you ever seen a year-old infant learning to take his first walking steps? Learning could also be extremely serious, as in formal research. Serious research becomes exciting when it leads to revelations that we call discovery.

In this blog, we intend to look at different aspects of learning, whatever the discipline. We will attempt to translate dense research findings into everyday language. Sometimes, we will laugh, politely, at accepted ‘wisdom’, hoping to invite thoughtful debate. We would eagerly respond to current news, if we could mine it for a nugget of learning, there.

How well one learns depends on his personality as much as what he does and what happens to him. The pace of his learning is as interesting to us as the mechanics of his learning. We hope to cover, share and discuss even more with readers.

We will challenge, explore, and provoke someone or something, once in a while. As in all efforts, our material may not agree with or satisfy you, every time. But we will always keep it relevant and valuable on the mysteries of learning.