MESSAGE
Dear Teachers!
“The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery” wrote Mark Van Doren, an American poet, writer and a critic, apart from being a scholar and a professor of English at Columbia University for nearly 40 years, where he inspired a generation of influential writers and thinkers. If a teacher thinks that mere classroom curriculum delivery alone will suffice, the very aim of education will get defeated. A good teacher should also play the role of an inspirational icon by fuelling the spark of imagination and creativity not only in the bright minds but also in slow-learners in her/his classroom.
The most successful people we see around today are those who dared to think differently and do things differently. If a teacher fails to engage children in the art of innovating, then the entire schooling system becomes an exercise in futility. Children, by nature, are curious. And curiosity propels the learning process. If this curiosity is appropriately tapped, every child can be transformed into a young innovator. Critical pedagogy as an instructional strategy has the potential of nurturing the inherent creativity of the child which ultimately culminates in conferring a better edge for the child in terms of better competitiveness for higher education or for employment. In the backdrop of globalisation, it becomes increasingly imperative to empower our children with better employability, an ability which is critical for his own survival. Teachers have to focus on this component while transacting the curriculum. As the common refrain goes, education is not giving a fish but making the person learn how to go about fishing. It is high time we introspect whether our education system genuflects to this paradigm. Let us resolve in this Teachers’ Day to go beyond the curriculum by remembering the famous words of Aristotle: Education is not mere filling up of a vessel, it is lighting of a candle”. Let there be light – bright and beautiful! HAPPY TEACHERS’ DAY!!
SHAIK MOHAMMAD SALEEM
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER