teacher-student relation

[shibli]

Md. Rafiqul Islam

EFFECTIVE teaching or learning depends on sound and healthy relations between teachers and students. Both teachers and students contribute to the process of learning. It is a two-way traffic. Fruitful interaction between teachers and students can ensure the success of imparting and receiving education.

It is said that a mother is the best teacher and a child learns most of the basic things from her without paying much conscious effort. We also know that relationship between a mother and a child is incomparable. Both mother and child understand each other's feelings very deeply and a child gets the most secured place on her lap.

The job of a teacher is almost like a mother- to look after the wellbeing of the students. To know a new thing is to discover a new land. A teacher is a guide to help the student reach the new place. A teacher must know the needs of the students and arrange the teaching materials accordingly. If he does not have good relations with students, he will surely fail to understand their pulse. On the other hand, if the students do not feel secured at the presence of a teacher, they will not come out of their shell. They will hide their emotion, liking and disliking. So there will be a wall between the teacher and the students and the flow of knowledge will be hampered. The teacher also will be deprived of getting feedback from the students.

A teacher must create urge among the students to know the unknown. He must motivate them at different levels of the learning process. He must evaluate the performance of them and appraise them from time to time. To implement all the steps mentioned, a good relation between a teacher and a student is urgently required.

A good teacher with sound knowledge and rich personality can highly inspire the students, who may take him as role model and can work hard to be a person like him. If we study the lives of great persons, we can see many of them have got inspiration from some of their favourite teachers.

A teacher not only teaches the lessons prescribed in the syllabus but also trains them many things required for practical life. He teaches them manner and behaviour, helps them develop their taste for good things and makes them fit for society. So a good attachment and understanding between a teacher and a student is a must.

Minimising generation gap: A congenial environment where students and teachers will feel free to interact with each other is highly desirable. It is the primary role of the teachers to create such atmosphere. But the first hindrance on the way to developing such situation is the generation gap. Both teachers and students represent different generations. Their mentality and attitude is shaped by the factors prevailing at that time. The songs, movies and fashion enjoyed by the teachers no longer appeal to the new generation. They have developed new taste and habit. They are moved by the fashion and style of present time.

Under these circumstances, there is no other way for the teachers but to broaden their mind. They must think there must be something good and new by which young generation is attracted. The teachers should upgrade themselves with the changes otherwise they may be obsolete. They should also try to introduce students to good and interesting things of the past. In Cadet Colleges, games, sports and cultural activities are arranged. Taking part in those activities by teachers and students can remove the barrier. Thus generation gap can be minimised.
Photo: Daffodil University

Improving subject knowledge and teaching technique: Potential students are admitted in Cadet Colleges. Their thirst for knowledge can be quenched only by meritorious and potential teachers. Only bullying the young talents may hamper their mental growth. The teachers must have profound knowledge on the subject and at the same time modern technique of teaching. Knowing mental make up of the learners, their individual trend and habit, seeing things from learners' point of view is a foremost thing. For this they have to come out from the cocoon of their previous attitude and habit. An effective training programme may serve the purpose. In a training programme, foundation course to understand the mind of the students, example of effective teaching in various part of the world, development of teaching methodology are included. So by being trained up, a teacher can be more effective, productive and acceptable to the learners.

Safeguarding self respect: Learners are often victims of humiliation. Punishment for doing wrong thing is not humiliation. Teachers must know that learners' mind is soft and sensitive. They have high hope and ambition - longing for a prosperous future. They may feel humiliated for slightest context. So teachers must be aware of it at the time of awarding punishment or at the time of writing evaluation report. Choosing wrong word while writing report may damage his spirit or encouragement. Side by side, teachers' dignity must be upheld. A student will not accept a person as a role model unless he has position in society.

Keeping profiles of the cadets: A teacher should keep cadet profiles containing their stamp size photographs, primary information, grading of different examinations in a file. It will help him understand the cadets.

Teacher-student-guardian conference: In Cadet Colleges, cadet remain in the centre. All activities are performed with a view to improving their physical and mental development. For better motivation and for solving some peculiar problems of them, teacher-student-guardian conference is required. It will also help to strengthen the bond of the teacher student relations.

Secured environment: Students must feel motherly affection at the presence of the teachers. They will not feel hesitated to make mistake at the time of learning. Making no mistake means they are not learning. That means they are reproducing what they have learnt earlier. They must be corrected carefully. The environment is such that they feel comfort, relaxed and secured. They will enjoy learning through making mistakes. Their effort to learn new things should be awarded. A little change in our attitude may bring revolutionary change in society.

(The Writer is a Assistant. Prof. Department of English, Joypurhat Girls' Cadet College)

[shibli]

Tabassum Mokhduma

OFTEN we ask ourselves, who is a good teacher and who should be regarded as a good student. A teacher is the person with whom a student spends almost 5-7 hours a day for almost 10 months every year. No doubt, a teacher is the person who plays the major role in shaping up a student's life. On the other hand, when we talk about good students, first thing that comes up in our mind is a picture of a well-mannered student with high scores in almost all the subjects and who is the apple of every teachers' eyes.

But, do these lines define a good teacher and a good student?
I am sure most of the people reading this piece watched or heard about the super hit Hindi movie “Taare Zameen Par”. This movie actually revived the age-old questions which most of us ignore Who is a good teacher? How a good teacher can change a student's life? On the other hand, another blockbuster Hindi movie “3 Idiots” chased the entire education system while showing who would be regarded as good students and what should be regarded as a good teacher-student relations.

We spend a major part of our lives with our mentors. Starting from pre-school, a teacher-student relationship is a long and important one which makes us aware and responsible individual.

There was a time when in this part of the world a good teacher meant a person with a wonderful personality and excellent teaching capability; presence of whom used to force even the naughtiest student in class to pretend as the most disciplined one; a teacher whom everyone used to respect and yet whose very name would evoke fear in the minds! While at the same time a good student meant to be one who always got good marks in exams; who was well-disciplined and of course who never argued with teachers! And I am pretty sure with these two definitions readers can picture what good teacher-student relations meant. But times have changed and so has the concept of an ideal teacher, or a student and with that good teacher - student relations.

The first day - whether at a pre-school, an elementary, a college or a university - is always special for both teachers and students. When parents take their children to a school for the first time, they see the dream of their kid's successful future ahead. But this success lies on a good and healthy teacher-student relation. While the students are young, the responsibility of a good teacher-student relation mainly falls on the teachers, but when the students grow up, the responsibility rests on both teachers and students. So, to make a maximally productive relation between student and teacher, certain attitudes and commitments of each to the other must reflect. Firstly, for a teacher, it is really very important to know her/his students individually, to explore the inmost depths of their hearts as well as examining the outer details of their lives. As the teacher's familiarity grows, so the potency of his advice gets deeper proportionately. Then the second most important thing is that the teacher must express love and affection toward her/his students because it is this affection that dissolves the students' natural tendency to resist being told what to do. Thus, the advice can penetrate more deeply and effectively. Then once again it is the teacher who must take time to reflect upon his students' improvement, refining and adjusting his vision of how best to influence them for positive change.

Beyond any doubt, teachers have to bear more responsibilities to make a good teacher-student relation. But when students grow older, they have to take up some of the major responsibilities as well to make the relation work. And for that, the first thing that a student must do is respect her or his teacher and hold her/him in the highest esteem. Besides, students must trust teachers' concern. Students must believe that teachers are there to facilitate their endeavours. If students would sense some ulterior motive, some self interest, or even carelessness in the teacher's instructions, s/he would not be able to have full faith in the teacher's advice, and this would make the entire exchange meaningless. And last but not least; students must obey their teachers. Just as a doctor's orders must be followed specifically, as failure to do so could cause more harm than good, so a teacher's “prescription” must also be obeyed with equal meticulousness and reverence.

Another thing that we mostly are ignorant about is counseling. Though it may sound new to many, it is one of the very important elements to help build good teacher-student relations and thus make a student more focused on her/his work and come out of the problems s/he is facing. In most of the schools abroad, especially in the developed countries, an academic institution without counselors is impossible to imagine. Every student has their own learning styles and not to mention has their own problems, both at home and school and which may lead to a situation because of which a student feel disinterested in school activities. In such situation the counselor can do the real magic. In such cases students need to be referred to counselors who are trained to handle their problems. Whenever the students have special problems, the counselors usually notify the teachers so the information can be beneficial in the classroom. Besides, when teachers detect abnormal behavioral patterns in students, a counselor should be notified so the student can receive expert help if it is needed. But this needs expertise as well and the counselors have to be especially careful about trying to solve student problems that relate to the home. Students can be helped immensely when the teacher, counselor, and parents work together. But however, it takes a great deal of understanding, training, and a certain ability to deal with people, to affect a student's life in a positive manner. Honest but poorly aimed attempts at counseling may create more problems than previously existed. But nonetheless, counseling is a major part nowadays to establish a good teacher-student relationship.

My personal experience taught me how important is a good teacher-student relationship. Today, whatever I am is because of some wonderful teachers who helped me to believe in myself and get focused on what I do. It is of no doubt that a teacher is someone who can help a student to think differently, to chase their dreams and turn it into reality. It is the teachers who can help students believe that they can do great work for the people of this world. Teachers can make the learning experience an enjoyable one, making the classroom a great place besides making the extra-curricular activities a real fun.

[shibli]

Yamin Tauseef Jahangir

I can recall the days when I was not a sharp head and always ended up getting and E on my report card. Being a bird brain I never had the intentions to score high in my exams and I do not know the reason why I used to boast about it. As a kid I used to fantasize and drool on numerous elements which had no connection whatsoever with education. My parents understood this and I had to go to a private tutor. He was a man in his late sixties, a retired engineer and was very strict. As I used to be fond of pets, the only thing that made me study was a promise to get to play with his dog. Funny I know, but for me it was a fascinating offer anyone would ever give me. He made me do algebra and physics; two of my worst enemies and I ended up giving weird excuses for not completing them on time. He was kind, for which instead of working on hundred sums, I had to do fifty.

From my childhood to the brink where I stood as an adult, I could say I was blessed as I came across some wonderful people whom I call to be my teachers. My learning did not only comprise of the pen and the paper but something more. There was an unconditional love, respect, affection, effort and also the punishments, which till today make the memories to be so meaningful. They were my mentors who relentlessly helped me, been there through thick and thin, gave me strength and inspired me to dream. My growing up would never been so much fun if they were not a part of it. When I shed tears on petty issues, it was my teacher who made me smile. When I was down with a fever, it was them who visited me and brought me 'Snikers' chocolates. It was them who patted on my back when I scored the wining goal. It was my beloved teachers who were my idols.

As I grew up, they grew old. With grey hairs being the evidence of their experience, they still held that spirit high for the betterment of my future. They never complained as they were patient. At times I used to be all huffy on them, but they were my guardian angels who knew what was best for me. They made me learn, but my learning was not only on theoretical knowledge and I was lucky to apply them in practical terms. One of my teachers even knew I had a habit of munching, so she had all kinds of junk food in her bag, and that acted as an incentive just to get things done by me. Teachers will never give up on you. No matter how much it takes, they will give it all to pull you up. You are in their prayers whenever you are in distress. They tell you what is right and what is wrong, so that you do not get derailed. Whenever you see darkness they show you the light, whenever you lose hope they give you faith and whenever you are sad, they bring joy.

My teachers knew how to make study interesting. They used to spend hours; with sheer diligence and hard work they made things easier for me to grasp properly. I still remember those times when I almost spent three hours to get Newton's third law on motion, but never for once I saw my teacher frowning. The thing that I loved the most was when they addressed me as 'tui' and not 'tumi'.

That very word made me feel connected and made me realize that I will never be disowned from their world. I sometimes wonder, what would have happened if I did not have them in my life. As there is a saying in The Rhyme of The Ancient Mariner, “Water water everywhere, not a drop to drink”; my life would have been the exact where I would have had an ocean of people, but not the ones who will help me to build myself.

So, this article is a token of my appreciation to all my teachers for what they have done for me. Thank you teachers, for the support you all have given me throughout the years. Thank you for believing in me, being there for me when I needed you the most, for criticizing me, for enduring my insolence, for sharing happiness, I thank you for showing me a brighter day. I thank you for those times when you defended me though I failed you, thank you for confiding in me and preparing me for the worst. As I stand here today in my adulthood and look back, it was you who has brought me to this level. It was you all along who paved the way where I walked. It was you who made me a better human, grown humanity in me and gave me the courage to withstand all odds of life. It was you who made me think beyond my limits and to be a more matured person. All that you have done can never be repaid, can never be forgotten, and I never want to forget, for these are the beautiful chapters of my life that I will go on reading and be forever grateful to you. Thank you…

[shibli]

Teacher-Student Relations through the times

When I dwell on the subject of teacher-student relation/interaction, two thoughts keep playing the squirrel in my mind: that a whole new generation has come into existence from the days when I was a student of, and then, a teacher in, Dhaka University to, after a long hiatus from pedagogical pursuit (other than a teaching stint at Boston University, USA), becoming a teacher at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB), and second, that the generational gap is bridged by that famous French aphorism: “plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose” (the more things change, the more they remain the same). In other words, turbulent changes that have undoubtedly occurred over the last thirty years or so do not affect the reality of teacher-student relationship on a deeper level other than to have ensured the status quo.

When I first started as a teacher in Dhaka University some thirty five years ago, we, that is, teachers and students alike, were blissfully several years away from the age of information superhighway. Now we are in the age of information technology, and the students I teach are more at ease with the multifarious attendant paraphernalia of that age. Many were born into the age; others were toddlers before they were caught up in the inevitable; they are the children of the internet phenomenon, and almost certainly the harbingers of more cutting edge technologies to come. Therefore, predictably, their method and tools of learning are, in many critical aspects, different from the students I taught in Dhaka University, and, also expectedly, not always for the better. My students from the earlier years perforce had to read those objects called books, even if, on occasions, they were of the notebook variety, write in longhand, and, on the rare occasions, use that relic known as the typewriter.

And so did the teachers (although, I hasten to add, they would surely be indignant at the thought of using Cliff's or anyone else's notebooks). These days the students surf the internet to get a big chunk of information, use the computer to carry out a good deal of academic-related activities, and much else besides. So do the teachers (although, I hasten to add that they also supplement their academic pursuit with a heavy dose of book and journal reading). But the current group is the product of the times they live in and have to be accepted as such. Their numbers are much greater, they study a far greater number of subject matters, and live a more complicated life than their predecessors in, say, Dhaka University when I was a student, or, later, a teacher. In fact, at IUB, a private institution, we have at least as large a student body than when I was a student at my alma mater, the venerable public institution that is Dhaka University.

I can live with those changes; sometimes I wish I was an undergraduate in this exciting, if hectic, internet age. However, when it comes to the matter of teacher-student interface, the French proverb mentioned at the outset predominates my way of thinking, both as an ongoing exercise and as a standard for the future. Maybe that should be the eternal truth --- of what is essentially a continuum over a millennium and more, and then beyond --- but it would be wiser not to look too far into the future, because the French aphorism might someday be shoved aside in the face of the realities of the time.

The basic precepts/conventions of that relationship should remain fundamentally unchanged: the teacher a mentor and guide, the pupil a willing learner; the teacher regarding the student as a young mind to be molded towards achieving the best s/he can achieve, rather than nasty pests to be tolerated under considerable strain, the student to pick the teacher's brain to gain as much knowledge as possible, rather than an ogre who has to be endured with clenched teeth for a few years; and both having to recognize a fine line in their interaction that neither should be crossing. Although it is probably an over-hyped maxim, the teacher is as good a role model as any. But s/he will have to earn that onerous accolade, and, the hard truth is, that not many do. So many factors will conspire to ensure that outcome. However, the aim of an educator should be to earn that status. And the emphasis has to be on the word “earn”, as with respect. In fact, respect will be a fundamental accompaniment of the term “role model”.

Respect is an age-old attribute in teacher-student interface. The teacher is expected to be respected by the student. Obviously, it does not always happen, but respect should be the starting point of an ideal teacher-student interaction. We showed it to our teachers, and, even though I have been divorced from teaching at a public university for long, several of my former colleagues and other teachers assure me that, even in these rather turbulent times in the premier educational institutions of this country, they receive proper respect from their students at Dhaka University. That is good to know. A heartening case of plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose! I have found the same thing at IUB. That is also good to know. May this trend continue!

Obviously, in the high pressure age of information technology, students face a different set of problems from the days when I was a student or teacher at Dhaka University. From my experience at IUB, they sometimes appear vulnerable, fragile; maybe these factors manifest themselves in the public university students, although, I suspect, to a lesser degree. They need more empathy from their teachers to help them tide over their difficulties. These are young minds that need to be guided to successfully face the high pressure world they are a part of, and which is going to get more complex, furious-paced, and geared towards cutthroat competition in the job market. In other words, the present-day teachers have an onerous task on their hands. But, to a lesser degree, the teacher's role has, from time immemorial, been just that --- molding and guiding a young mind, to prepare him/her for facing up to the challenges of the post-academic life. That has not changed, as the world undergoes periodic changes down the ages.

(Writer is Head, Media and Communication department, Independent University, Bangladesh)

[shibli]

Teaching for business

Shayera Moula

THERE is a classic saying that those who don't do anything 'teach.' Peoplehere take this statement very seriously. For starters, teaching is hardly the first choice for the average literate bingos unless they want to hitch the line of PhD and research later on. How many children have you come across, especially boys, thrilled about being a teacher ?

Secondly, local laws have allowed anyone passing grade 12 eligible to teach in primary schools. That's insane considering the lengthy procedures people have to follow to get their teaching license in most parts around the world. More importantly, someone in their late teens who can't even figure out their own life in progress has been made responsible to educate the fundamentals of life to your clueless toddler! I would be very scared as a parent here.

The debate of teaching being an innate quality - you are born teacher and cannot be moulded into one - have been part of a global discussion for a long time now. America's failure to stand number one in the worldwide education system has had its share of the blame-game tossed around from poor parenting skills to too much video games toying with the child's concentration to an exposure to an ocean of perverse media. But recently all arrows have pointed down to one element only - the quality of teaching.

What makes a good teacher a good teacher? A graduate-school degree? A high CGPA? An extroverted personality? Confidence? Passing the teacher-certification exam on the first try? Bill Gates announced that his foundation was investing millions to improve teaching quality in US but he couldn't help add: "Unfortunately, it seems the field doesn't have a clear view of what characterises good teaching," Gates said. "I'm personally very curious."

A bangla saying highlights on how teachers come right after parents when celebrating the students success. So then why does the average child in Bangladesh have to drag a bag double his/ her bodyweight all the way to school to her private tutors home to the coaching centre and back home almost every day? The failure of the teacher's teaching methods within the classroom is never a point of discussion as much as the hair-pulling worry over how much money will be spent over junior's third new mathematics tutor.

The solution, as infested through articles published in Newsweek,
states that the key to improving education is in keeping good teachers and firing the bad ones. In the article "Why we must fire bad teachers?" Writers Evan Thomas and Pat Wingert says: "What really makes a difference, what matters more than the class size or the textbook, the teaching method or the technology is the quality of the teacher […] The best way to deal with underperforming teachers is to fire them."

That in itself isn't really the easiest of solutions. For starters it is time consuming to find a proper replacement, there is also a loss of finance added with time, and readjusting the whole situation is a frustrating process. A bill had been passed for firing underperforming teachers in New York City, where Chancellor Joel Klein invested $1 million a year to attorneys with this sole task. "In the two years the project has gone on so far, the city only fired three teachers charged with incompetence," (Newsweek) That only meant more money down the drain. We can't even imagine spending more money for firing teachers considering how we can't even pay their salaries a from time to time.

In Bangladesh teaching has also become a business where the size of your coaching centre determines the size of your wallet, the number of students that plan to oil up the teacher with compliments determines the score on their grade sheets and quoting the teacher or memorising their lecture assures brainless efforts to doing well. This doesn't apply to all educational institutions, but a general trend in "memorising" for learning is still an encouraged classroom habit almost everywhere.

Teachers, they say, need to have that third eye in the back of their heads and not only to send more students into detention, but also to be able to understand them individually. A good teacher must be patient with the students and is able to scale up and down with the variation of IQs sitting around, most of whom are fervently waiting to get out of class. A mere reason why most students admire English teachers and anthropologists is because both understand the complications of human attention span! Also they acknowledge whole heartedly that no two people are alike and more importantly there is no right and wrong - no "one" individual is better than the "other."

We spend a huge chunk of our time within a classroom and a great deal of our construction of the world around us is based on the teacher's own model of our surroundings. If we then rely on underperforming teachers, who either fail to pass down knowledge or later drag you to extra hours in coaching centres, to show us the way forward, we are bound to sit back and watch the nation produce a larger backdated and overworked population.

(The writer is a Sub-Editor, Editorial and Op-Ed, The Daily Star)

[bcdas]

In my Mathematical language, "Relation is not a Function"

Bimal Das
Sr. Lecturer, TE

[bcdas]

But If we consider a mapping from Students to Teacher, then it will be a function.



Bimal Das

   

[shibli]

Perceptions

Authoritativeness or friendliness:
Improving relationship with students Part II Nasrin Pervin

To improve relationships with students a teacher can give students autonomy and opportunities for decision making and by giving them choices in assignments, engaging them in developing classroom rules, and encouraging them to express their opinions in classroom discussions. It is also important to get to know your students by learning what they enjoy to do outside of school, such as hobbies or sports. Other methods of establishing positive relationships between students and teachers could be to organise non-academic extracurricular activities in which students and teachers participate together, have lunch together in small groups a few times a week, or have sessions where teachers act informally as advisors for students.

Teachers who make time to develop positive relationships with their students will see improvement in their students both academically, behaviourally, and emotionally. Students who have positive relationships with their teachers tend to put forth more effort in class and as a result improve their academic achievements.

Throughout my tenure as a teacher, though not significantly long, I have found that building positive relationships with students is truly the foundation that allows quality instruction to occur. Gone are the days when students came into a classroom environment with empty buckets and respected the teacher and the teacher in turn filled the buckets with knowledge. In fact, in the present day free flow of information situation, many students sit in the class with buckets filled with real world knowledge. Much more commonplace is the situation where a genuine "mistrust" or disinterest in education is present due to that particular student's experiences of the real world. Many University students are not self-motivated, thus they need extra assistance/attention in order to achieve in University. These at-risk youth have a greater chance of attaining academic and social success if there is an educator in their life who they look up to.

I have found that when a teacher has a positive relationship with the students, when the students know that s/he really care about them, they are more likely to succeed in class. Like anything else, when you know someone cares about you, puts more effort into pleasing you, you will turn to them when you have a problem, and you will value their opinion. These relationships also benefit the teacher. They make teaching much more enjoyable.

I have observed that it matters to my students when I greet them by name or smile at them. I have also found students get encouraged when I try to know the most challenging student better or admire and comment positively on his qualities and strengths. This often positions her/him behaviour differently attributing to resourcefulness, humour, protectiveness, spirit in the face of adversity etc. This may give the student an alternative self-concept to work towards giving regular positive feedback; showing belief, trust and high expectations, and showing that their success, safety and well-being is of concern. I try to develop a sense of inclusion and belonging by ensuring that there are experiences which guarantee success however small, and I do that by ensuring fairness giving each student their turn; confining behaviour in terms of 'you are not allowed to hurt another student and other students are not allowed to hurt you'; persuading students to take a responsibility and giving positive feedback; using the word 'we' and 'our' to include, not to exclude; avoiding unfavourable comparisons or put downs; speaking about the student positively to others.

There is no definite path traversing which a teacher can create effective teaching-learning ambience in the classroom, for students are human beings with their own likes and dislikes. The main objective of a teacher is to create an environment where her/his students can function normally and in a balanced way.

(The writer is Lecturer, ELT, Department of English, North South University)

 

[shibli]

Perceptions

Authoritativeness or friendliness:
Our teachers' classroom dilemma

Nasrin Pervin

New-years eve as usual. Messages started pouring in and by midnight it was chaotic. I was sending as well as receiving them with enthusiasm. This year, however, was different. I got a few wishes from my students, you couldn't tell the difference. They read the same as the ones I received from my friends. My husband pointed out with a hint of amusement, “Do these students respect you at all?” I could see what made him pose that question. Messages are usually exchanged between people who are socially equal; student-teacher relationships in the traditional sense means keeping a distance, upholding certain pretences despite how outdated it may appear.

Well, at that moment a thought came to my mind: How should a teacher-student relation be, especially in our context, where the dynamics are extremely conventional and stereotyped, and traditionally is based on complete authoritativeness on the teacher's part. Students are expected to show unconditional respect and commitment to the teacher. They must take it for granted that what a teacher says is correct.

I remember an incident when I was at Nottingham Trent University. A foreign student from Nepal put his leg up on the desk while he was munching on crisps. Not an unusual posture when a student when he is not in a classroom. A teacher passed by. The local students barely noticed the teacher and my Nepalese friend also seemed quite oblivious of his presence. Of course this behaviour is unthinkable in a third world country classroom setting, but the friend was getting along with his new found role of a Western student.

The teacher went to his room quietly and sent for the student. He demanded to know why he behaved disrespectfully to which the student replied this was not an unusual gesture in the West. “I know”, the teacher said, “but where you come from- this is not a common practice there. You show me the respect as you would to a teacher in your home country”. In reality, contextually I did find the teacher's response a bit unusual but he was an experienced, elderly person. He had a point.

In the West, professional relationships such as that between a solicitor and a client, or a doctor and a patient are strictly governed by rules and monitored by the governing bodies of the profession. In our country, the conventional values and social mores set the tone for teacher-student relationships. Teachers are provided with full authority over the students. This, in turn, produces power imbalance in the relationship, placing the teacher in a more powerful and dictatorial position. The power imbalance that arises in teacher-student relationship in many situations places the teacher in the role of an autocrat.

There is no universal prescription to define the ideal standard of a teacher-student relationship. Any relationship between two persons depends on socio-cultural context, age groups, as well as individual beliefs. Despite this reality, we can draw a basic principle for effective teacher-student relationship considering our socio-cultural ethos, student-teacher psychology and modern teaching methodology. We should remember that the expectation from a teacher in our society is quite high. The general expectation is that a teacher should be a role model in the eyes of the students. Keeping this in mind, teachers should build effective, efficient and pragmatic relationships with their respective students. However, teachers should not misuse the authoritarian power vested upon them by virtue of their social status. Rather, teachers should earn certain attributes so that students naturally obey the teachers with respect. Some of these attributes are: sound knowledge in the subject taught, honesty, integrity and sincerity to keep the commitment.

Teachers' perceptions of students and their learning and the teachers' attitudes towards their own teaching are fairly important, because they deeply affect students' interest in learning. I believe a great teacher is one who can break out of the traditional authoritativeness and play the role of a facilitator. That way, real learning can take place in the classroom and the teacher can spontaneously extract a learner's love and respect.

(The writer is an ELT Lecturer at North South University)

[Anisur Rahman]

I used to hear that teachers are like parents and they consider their disciples as their loving child. But nowadays the proposition seems to have been changed. Now we consider the relationships should be friendly keeping all mutual respects. In this relationship students wont be hesitant to talk  to the teacher regarding their academic affairs and sometimes their personal matters to some extents.     

[shibli]

Could anyone please tell me how deal with few black sheep students? I did an informal research on the students who have problems regarding class lessons, concentration and their complaints about teachers. Respected chairperson sir also believes in making a bad person into a good human being. It's true that students have reasons behind their complaints, but it is also found that they have lack of ethics and interest and concentration in their studies. In fact, they have lack of sense of purpose about their life..

[shibli]

Pedagogically it is argued that the learning outcomes are achieved better when students participate in the discussion and engage in dialog with the teacher and others in the class. As far as learning is concerned, students learn through preparation for exams, presentation, assignment and through experience. 

A person can learn in two ways: one by reading and by gaining knowledge and experience through association with smarter people...

[shibli]

There is huge difference between university learning and school learning. University comes from the word "universe" meaning that it's a vast area of learning. Teachers here won’t spoon-feed the students like how school teachers did. It’s just up to the students to take the initiative to study hard. Teachers will inspire and instruct students how to catch fishes but it's students who have to catch fishes themselves. They are more independent in university. They should know how to do self-study. Teachers can repeatedly inspire them how to develop study skills but the parents should take care of their children as well because they are the best teachers of children.  

http://forum.daffodilvarsity.edu.bd/index.php/topic,1458.msg3893.html#msg3893

[shibli]

SIC . . . teacher, scholar, activist
Md Shafiqul Islam

Professor Serajul Islam Choudhury, a distinguished teacher, research scholar as well as leader in sociological, philosophical and political thinking, assumed the chairmanship of the Department of English of Dhaka University after the war of liberation to usher in an era of the democratic tradition of liberal intellectual exercise. SIC, as he is popularly known, has always been a brilliant, dutiful and compassionate teacher who commands the deepest respect and admiration of all the students.

The Department of English of Dhaka University has shaped the lives of many of us with Professor Choudhury at the centre of all important events. I am trying to go back to the mid- seventies stretching to the early eighties when my generation was fortunate to get taught by an illustrious teacher like Professor Choudhury. I will also try to recollect a few memorable episodes in connection with our growing to be trained students of literature under his mentoring and tutorship.

Professor Choudhury, who crossed seventy five years of his life on 23 June 2011, was only thirty nine when we got ourselves admitted to the First Year Honours class of the Department of English in 1975. He was a teacher of teachers and he imparted knowledge to us, rather taught us in the English Department precisely from 1975 to 1981 in B.A. Honours and Masters classes. In addition he instilled in us avid enthusiasm for literature in our tutorials, comprising five students in each cluster. While pursuing M. Phil, my friend and classmate Junaidul Haque and I got another opportunity to be disciples of our greatest guru in 1982.

Even the most casual student would be very mindful to attend his classes as they were not only 'intellectually energizing' but also fully rewarding. I never found any of my classmates unready or absent in his classes. Here is my classmate and friend Syed Badrul Ahsan describing our preparation to receive SIC in our class: “Our notebooks, pens and pencils were ready even before Professor Serajul Islam Choudhury walked into class. He was always a thinker, still is. His humility- and that comes from his greatness as one of the foremost intellectual voices in the country- was transparent. We were awed in his presence. His hands in his pockets, he went straight into the subject., almost as if he was engaged in reflections. Of course we noted it all down, and at the end of class, there was enough material to prepare a good tutorial on the subject.”

SIC was unfailingly punctual in entering the classroom, staying there till the last second of the 50-minute session. When he finished just before the closing bell rang nobody felt that there was any other point left unexplained or unfinished. It was a rare and inimitable example of time management transformed into an art. His was a lecture or a speech, not a conversation and there could be no occasion when he would ever falter or fumble. All the students would listen to his spellbinding lecture with rapt attention and note down almost every syllable he uttered. His message was so clearly intelligible and voice so sweet and musical that I never found any of my classmates raising a hand for clarification. He was the only teacher in my life at home and abroad I found fully satisfying. I was used to raising challenging and thought- provoking questions or introducing a debatable topic very often in almost every session except that of SIC's. In my entire tutelage under him, I only complemented or added one word in his class on Sophocles' Oedipus when he mentioned Mother Earth. I enquired whether he meant Gaea the Earth Goddess and he replied 'yes', only to continue with the remaining session.

He was a teacher of a different kind when we used to meet him in his room as tutorial students. After giving a thorough introduction to the author we meant to discuss, he would proceed with the discussion on the specific text in Socratic method through probing questions and extracting answers from every one. He encouraged every student to take part in the discussion and express his or her own opinion which he valued much. The textbook became so easy after his lesson that we hardly needed to study any other note.

He never gave us the impression that his view was the last or final. He was so exacting a tutor that he used to read the tutorial script line by line and word for word to point out any mistake even in spelling or punctuation. In my case, I found him even detecting a small 'p' looking like a capital 'P' or a capital “S” looking like a small 's'. He wanted perfection and seriousness in all our efforts.

While discussing Francis Bacon's Essays, he sensitized in me the interest to study the great French essayist Michel de Montaigne. It was not available in the library at that moment. So I came back to Sir and mentioned that I was looking for a copy of Montaigne's essays. Without hesitating for a moment he stood up from his chair, walked a few steps and advanced his hand towards his own shelf packed with books to find the desired copy for me in a fraction of a second, without any deadline to return it. So did he do on different occasions whenever or even at night I visited his residence at 34/B opposite the Shaheed Minar.

I never found him absent in any of his classes in my entire student life except on one occasion about which he notified a week before the class. It suddenly caught my eyes on the notice board of our department on a Wednesday in 1976, when I was a student of Second Year Honours. The notice read, “I shall be unable to take your class next Wednesday. Please do not come that day.” It was possible for only SIC to feel the predicament a student faces when he appears in the class from a faraway place only to find his teacher absent halfway through the class hour without any previous notice or no notice at all. I just wanted to mention the difference between teacher and teacher.

While I was a student of second year, I translated a short story entitled Araby by James Joyce and submitted it to SIC for his comments. He read every word meticulously, encouraged and also advised me on some needed improvement and finally asked our junior lecturer Fakrul Sir (Professor Fakrul Alam) to get the translation at least cyclostyled for the perusal of other students and teachers. On another occasion, while I was engaged in a so-called intellectual discourse with other 'young scholars' on the corridor of the Rashid-Guhathakurta Memorial Library of our Department, SIC walked out of his corner room and beckoned me to follow him. He handed me a magazine entitled, probably Counterpoint, published in English in the Sixties and which included an article on Poet Ahsan Habib by SIC. He asked me to translate the article into Bangla for publication in the quarterly magazine of the Bangla Department of Dhaka University. I translated it, though it needed to be revised time and again with the guidance of SIC Sir. It was a sign of his keen interest in stimulating our interest in literature as a complement to our academic pursuits.

Professor Choudhury has always insisted on realizing the importance of literature in real life, developing awareness of the role of literature in the development of humankind and sensitizing the values for social change. He makes relentless and committed efforts to inculcate in us the ideal that literature is not only for literature's sake, it not only imparts artistic delight but also has a social and philosophical role to play. It can be a vital instrument for social change and human welfare. SIC loves to read books and wants his disciples also to read them but he never wants his students to be a generation of bookworms. Himself a great creative writer and avid social reformer, he is always an example to be followed. No matter which subject or author he has taught, be it Old and Middle English, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Bacon, Marlowe, Milton, Pope, Lawrence or T.S. Eliot, even the weakest student would find himself or herself comfortable enough to prepare notes for his tutorial or final examination.

Unfortunately standards have fallen. They have rather become substandard these days in the study of literature. Most students prefer to read notebooks or copy from the internet to prepare tutorial papers or examination scripts. It is a story of bookworms eating the entire book without understanding a single word or in this case without much caring for a mastering of the texts. The expansion of English departments in numerous colleges and universities without efficient , dedicated and trained teachers like Professor Choudhury on the one hand and erosion of values on the other have done great damage to standards in the study of English literature.

A teacher like Professor Choudhury is not born in every century. But the values and traditions he nurtures and stamps on our minds can be examples for us to be followed and replicated to eradicate unfairness and injustice in society. SIC has shown us the way.

Md. Shafiqul Islam, a senior civil servant, specializes in studies of William Shakespeare.

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=193431

[sourav000000]

nice to know