An exploration into the psychological space for teacher development

Prof. Rajaram, Joint Director of CIET and Head of DCETA & NCERT, spoke about the exploration into the psychological space for the teacher development. Comparing teacher development to a child's walk across a road, he explained: if a child tries to cross a road, he or she naturally reaches out for a hand, and the same holds true for a teacher who has his or her own fears about letting go of a student. These fears and and anxieties of a teacher impinges on his or her interactions with the students. Professor Rajaram emphasized the fact that every human being has a right to learn and be better than what he or she is today!

 

He said that a teaching profession is unique. The beauty of this profession is while it appears to be repetitive, it does not remain the same. How can we dedicate ourselves to the cause that seems monotonous especially when our right to innovate is taken away? Too often, we define a subject by the course that prescribes it – An English teacher does not teach English, but only the English textbook. Hence, we need to ask ourselves, “What is it that we anchor our professional lives upon?” What we remain connected to as teachers: our subject, our love of our students, our belief that we can change the life of a student, or make a difference in our society—these beliefs, and our answer to the question, “Why are you a teacher?” are closely tied to our own philosophy of life.