Dear Friends,
Recently, the photo of Alejandro
Navarro went viral. He was a devoted math teacher from Texas. He rushed to the
hospital with a severe health crisis. He brought his laptop and charger along
with him. From his ICU bed, he spent his last moments grading papers—making
sure every student’s work was completed and no one was left behind. The next
day, he passed away.
However, many such dedicated
teachers go unnoticed. Having said that, a few teachers spoil the spirit with
their ill attitude. Often, teachers are shown as comedians in many movies, and
that impression is carried among some students. Generally, the true value of a
teacher is unnoticed as the student encounters teachers during
childhood/adolescence. During this age, they wouldn’t have major
responsibilities. Often this phase is carried away with fun and ambiguity, and
they do not recognize the value of the teacher. By the time the student
realizes this fact, there are no teachers mapped. In the process, many times,
the teacher also loses purpose and motivation due to this non-recognition by
their students. On top of this, in current times, the teaching profession has
become commercialized. Revenue generation and recognition have become core
motivational factors.
Where are those great teachers
like Sujit Chattopadhyay? He is fondly known as the Two Rupees Teacher. In
2021, he was awarded the Padma Shri. After retiring in 2004 at the age of 60,
he was concerned about how he would spend his days in retirement. Three girls,
who had travelled 20 kilometres barefoot, arrived at his house one day,
requesting him to teach them. This humble beginning has now grown to enrol more
than 350 children.
Being a teacher myself, sometimes
I feel I am also trapped. I hail from a teacher’s family. My great-grandfather
and maternal grandfather were Sanskrit teachers. My paternal grandfather, my
parents, and my sister were teachers. Later, my spouse left an IT job and
became a teacher. With this background, I also quit my IT job in 2010 and
joined teaching with a specific purpose in mind. I was able to spend almost a
year without salary. The fire in my belly was intact. However, when funds
started drying, I could not sustain that fire and committed to a day job for
salary—of course in teaching. Having said that, I did not lose the purpose, but
it got diluted with different professional and family responsibilities and was
often tagged with certain limitations. In those circumstances, you are no more
labelled as a Mission Teacher.
That was the time I realized the difference between Drifter
Teacher, Mechanic Teacher, Dreamer Teacher, and Mission Teacher. Let me give
the definitions.
- X–Axis (horizontal): Inspiration/Dedication
(Left = Low Dedication, Right = High Dedication).
- Y–Axis (vertical): Purpose (Bottom = Low,
Top = High).
Then the 2x2
matrix would be:
- Bottom Left (Low Purpose, Low Dedication):
Drifter Teacher (neither committed nor purposeful).
- Bottom Right (Low Purpose, High Dedication):
Mechanic Teacher (hardworking but without deeper vision).
- Top Left (High Purpose, Low Dedication):
Dreamer Teacher (inspired but inconsistent in practice).
- Top Right (High Purpose, High Dedication): Mission Teacher (ideal blend, teaching with meaning and effort, without expecting any results—name, fame, money).
When we aspire for growth in
terms of recognition, salary, and promotion, we can never be called Mission
Teachers. They should be by-products. A few reach this level. My maternal
grandfather was a Mission Teacher. However, I rate the rest of my family members
to the level of Mechanical Teachers. Given good health and minimum
self-sustenance, I aspire to attempt once again and retest in the future. Of
course, we are all bound to fulfil certain family responsibilities. Otherwise,
the same world would categorize them as Mission Teachers but irresponsible
towards family.
It is not just limited to
teaching; the same matrix is applicable to every profession. Honestly, which
category do you belong to? Self-reflect.
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