It’s yet another one of the many paradoxes of India that despite a massive (though not nearly enough) population of 5.5 million teachers I don’t recollect any serious career counselling/ guidance on how to become a teacher. I am disappointed with teaching myths and misinformation due to which career counsellors don’t encourage young people to enter this vital profession. The socially adverse fallout is that many high performers who could become very good teachers enter other professions, never getting to know their true calling. I am certain that if I were to conduct a career guidance session for a school, the principal would not encourage me to talk about teaching as a profession.

However I am not particularly discouraged because wherever I go I find many high quality professionals who have chosen to teach. Unfortunately there are also quite a few who think of teaching as just a job and want to get away by doing as little as possible. I am also disappointed that (good) teachers don’t get paid well. But on the positive side there are hundreds of thousands of teachers who enjoy their work and discharge their duties diligently.

There are numerous myths about the teaching profession and teachers which we should address. Among them:

Those who can’t do, teach. Wrong. To teach well you need to know your subject and its application thoroughly.

Women are more suited for this career. Erroneous. Gender is of no relevance. A good teacher is a good teacher irrespective of gender.

Anybody can be a teacher. Partially true. Minimally qualified people can land a teacher’s job. But to be an effective teacher special qualities are required.

Appropriate qualifications make for good teachers. Teachers’ training, a B.Ed degree support understanding of teaching but there’s more to teaching than degrees.

A teacher’s job is not strenuous. Wrong. Good teachers work round the clock. They spend time learning their subjects, evaluating exam papers, preparing report cards and supporting students in various ways. They also continuously work on updating their own knowledge.

Quite clearly the teaching profession is not for everyone. Prior to plunging into this profession, a degree of self-examination and self assessment is advisable. Here are some pointers:

If you want to make a difference to the nation’s future choose to be a teacher; if you like interacting with children become a teacher; if you like long holidays which offer you a chance to do something totally different, be a teacher; if you believe in continuous learning be a teacher. Moreover becoming a teacher may support your passion — dance or painting; sculpting or photography; research, astronomy or theatre.

But once having chosen this career path, put your heart and soul into it. Expectations of children are high and they are often let down by their teachers. Knowledge with regular updating is essential but the key is to relate (and teach) sincerely from the heart.

It’s a peculiarly Indian phenomenon that despite the lives of all successful professionals having been shaped by teachers, few people seriously consider becoming teachers. Young graduates prefer careers of which they have second hand information. Hardly any parent advises his/her child to enter the teaching profession. No school report states that a pupil “has the right aptitude to become a teacher”; and rare indeed is a principal who suggests to a parent that his/her child should train to become a teacher.

The root cause of this phenomenon is that considering the amount of work teachers are required to put in and the intensity of relationships they are expected to maintain, teachers are not compensated adequately. Even in the growing number of upscale “international” schools where teachers are being increasingly well paid, there is little awareness that a teacher’s pay and allowances should be adequate to run a middle class household. Instead there is a curious paradox within the schools-sector. Teachers in government schools seem adequately compensated particularly in relation to their low output. On the other hand too many private schools which are run as businesses short-change teachers, taking advantage of widespread unemployment within the country. They falsely believe that idealism is a substitute for salary.

In this connection the media could do much more by highlighting teachers’ points of view and get them a fair deal. Just because teachers don’t stage organised protest marches, their problems cannot be wished away. After all, our children and children of generations to come will still depend upon them. If we support them and resolve their problems before they surface, teachers will have more time for our children.

As a profession it may not be glamorous, but by any yardstick teaching is a noble and respectable profession. Within their institutions teachers have to earn the respect of students, parents and peers. But from outside let us at least talk about this career and improve the flow of the brightest and best into the teaching profession.

 (Brig. Trigunesh Mukherjee (AVSM) is a Delhi-based facilitator with iDiscoveri)

Also read: Adopting a teaching career during COVID-19