‘World is evolving’ is a verse recited by every second person today. The advent of Industry 4.0 calls for an evolved education system where students are prepared for an uncertain future
How can we, as educators overcome these challenges? Instead of being like an ostrich and saying it could never happen in the field of education, we need to accept the change and prepare to face tomorrow with efficiency. In reality, there are no great people born; they became great as they rise to meet great challenges.
There is a need to evolve to accept the new revolution. If we want to address all three issues, we need to make sure every child is given opportunities to be a thinker and grow at his own pace. To understand growing children and their needs, we need to make sure every class has a champion (teacher) – who is well-trained, well-read and well-equipped.
We need to make sure that along with subject knowledge every teacher has been trained effectively to be the champion. Ensure that every institute trains passionate, aspiring candidates to be an ADULT (Emotionally intelligent), whose behaviour is worth imitating. They should display qualities of persistency, consistency, hard work and discipline. While training them, more emphasis has to be given to their mental health, personality and attitude. Every human is a leader and we as educators and leaders need to empower others instead of just enabling them.
So what exactly do we do to make sure our children are in the environment where they are allowed to use their potential instead of just mass-conditioning them and nullifying their strengths?
As educators we need to SMARTEN UP! Be:
- Self-motivated: Learn that working on me by myself is self-motivation. After all, being assertive even in a negative scenario isn’t being naïve, that’s true leadership!
- Mindful: Over a period of time we realise that multi-tasking isn’t delivering the desired quality outcomes. Quality outcomes happen only if each situation is dealt with individually.
- Analytic: Follow Bloom’s Taxonomy and consider it high order thinking or simply adapt it as an intrapersonal skill. Outcome should be – not to just teach children to read but teach them to question. Meta cognition is a skill to be developed by inculcating it in our thinking process.
- Regulate by co-existing & Read: Learn to be open-minded and not rigid. When it comes to technology, we must use it to make our potential expand exponentially. This would also expand our possibilities. Most importantly we need to remain in co-existence with the environment around us (This includes family, peers, seniors and juniors as well).
- Reading for self-joy is mandatory for every educator as this keeps us on the edge and the child at heart. Be eager to share and learn – qualities getting sparse these days, possibly due to lack of reading and failing to expand our horizon!
- Time-management: A virtue we need to imbibe and practice without faltering. Until we can manage time, we can manage nothing else because lost time is never found again. We are imitated by children initially unknowingly and eventually habitually.
- Energetic: The most contagious skill that can be developed is to be energetic. If you are energetic, your status, age, personality or qualification can be enhanced in just a blink of an eye. This can make the classroom interesting and it is easy to win smiles and attention of students.
- Natural: Be you; strive to be a better you! Be genuine in every task and every action. Just like nature, always wear your colours. Believe in goodness!
- Understanding: Psychology is THE subject that’s mandatory for every educator to learn, whatever their core subject expertise be. It not only allows you to understand others’ behaviour – it enlightens you about your own thinking patterns and triggers as well! Understanding leads to communication, which leads to mutual valuing and bonding. Having positive regard for all around us would surely make the world a better place!
- Passionate & Productive: Passion fuels drive and effort. When coupled with productiveness it becomes a movement that would inspire and help others!
Not easy to SMARTEN UP, I agree! However, we are definitely going to learn; let us pave a new path for the upcoming generation by being SMARTENED UP!
