As Brad Henry said, “A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite imagination and instil the love of learning.” Society too realises that youth are the greatest asset of the nation and that the teachers play a vital role in shaping them.
Here is one teacher who understands the minds of young people. N.Sai Srinivas is an English teacher who works in an international school in an extended neighbourhood in Chennai. Although he has completed his Cambridge International Diploma in Teaching & Learning (CIDTL) course and scored a distinction in Cambridge PDQ, he opted to stay in his motherland, unlike many other qualified teachers who take up international job offers. He set his goal to make a positive difference in his students’ lives.
“The main goal for a student is to realise his or her inner potential and I help my students in doing so,” he says. He adds that “To realise the inner potential, a student should have value and moral education along with academics.” What makes his teaching special is that he demonstrates an accurate and well-informed understanding of key concepts and principles through engrossing activities. His students say his English classes are not monotonous but are filled with skits, chartwork and other lively English as Second Language (ESL) related activities that are fun and produce a fruitful learning output. They learn about several new things as they practise writing articles on many unique issues from their own perspectives.
He insists that it is important for a teacher to put his best efforts in making the classes interesting and give tasks and responsibilities to inflame children’s curiosity and attentiveness. More than books they learn through tasks and activities. Sai Srinivas makes sure he not only teaches ESL but also trains his students to be autonomous and be able to lead their path and achieve their goals. He wants his students to learn from him and their peers. He further mentions that cultural activities are just as important as academics and just like all the other teachers in the nation trying to make a difference, he too wants a system where character building is given more importance than behaviour.
School is the place where the teachers can shape children in a good way, thus we have to give them opportunities to grow and direct them on a path of understanding their values and make them capable enough to achieve their goals through value education along with academics. It is not just an academic skill that supports us in life but also character attitude and the willingness to learn. The nation’s future citizens will blossom as many aspiring and committed teachers like sir Sai Srinivas who makes students understand this.