"Mom, my teacher has not explained this poem well" OK dear no problem, Google out your poem and understand it. Well that was an insight into my friend Roohi's and and her daughter’s life. The same day another friend of mine confided in me and said my son is so happy with his school and teacher, who have assumed cult status in his life.
Mulling over coffee, I was intrigued at the two sides of the same albeit different coin. It made me think about the debate i had taken part in, as an educationist and incidentally it was on teacher's day. The topic of the debate was TEACHERS VS INTERNET. It made me ponder and think have the teachers really lost it out to internet, or is it the other way round.
I have myself googled out or surfed the net when i am struck with some explanations but then replacing teachers with just internet........Seeking out answers for my dilemma i went from students to teachers, laymen and so on....The insights I got were astounding ....
In today's scenario when every answer we seek is at the tip of a mouse and nowadays at the tap of our fingers on the phone, teachers have an even bigger role to play. In many schools across India the traditional methods of learning and seeking are still employed where the teacher reads and then explains and the chapters is over with question-answer session done.On the other hand in many schools importance is given to learning wherein teachers guide the students to gain knowledge and to strive to do something extraordinary.
Internet can help us learn to know the meaning of various poems, but can internet create interest to write poems on various topics, can internet bring out the zeal to experiment with the intricacies of onomatopoeia, hyperbole and alliteration.
One click and the various experiments of chemistry, physics and diagrams of biology are in front of us but can internet motivate us to dabble with various experiments, draw and learn various diagrams.
Internet can bring forward the various formula of mathematics but who can explain the nuisances of a mathematical solution…
This list goes on from subject to subject BUT then there are those who vouch by internet and claim to have learnt amazing things from just the internet. Teachers themselves take the help of internet , many a time for poetry sessions, or to explain the working of various organs in the body and so on……
Students too vouch for finding any answer on internet, but then the students only were vociferous in their support for teachers than internet, A majority of students point out that internet is just the icing on the cake but not the actual cake which are the teachers.What is life without teachers - the bonding, the connect, the scolding's, the appreciations, the suggestions, the camaraderie, all that is missing on the internet……So the never ending discussion continues but yes the power of teachers is greater than the power of internet. Teachers ought to use the power of internet to enhance their own power which finally is beneficial for the student community, After all It is win-win situation for everyone….ISN’T IT
