Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Shiv Pawar: A Good Teacher

What Makes a Good Teacher?

Knowledge, communication skills, personality, ability to control and guide students blah, blah, blah. These are some qualities that come to mind that might differentiate a “good” teacher from a “bad” one. I will write on this later but today I want to dissect one of my colleagues, whom I confidently categorise as a good teacher.

Meet. Mr. Shiv Pawar. He heads the IT department at GJIMT, Mohali and has been here forever. His areas of professional interest (his personal interests cannot be revealed on forums non ESRB vetted forums!!) include; Computer System Architecture, Digital Circuits, Microprocessor, Wireless technologies……. those above our heads kind of stuff. He is an engineer from SLIET and has the distinction of spurning an offer of M. Tech at Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh. He is single and knocking the doors of early 30s and the way things are going, he will remain single for a very, very long time!! He belongs to a close knit middle class family. Shiv adores his mom and is constantly worried about her.

This was Shiv in brief. So what is it that makes me declare him a good teacher? Let me see….. for starters, he is a dreamer and unfortunately he dreams in binary!! His commitment to his area of work is remarkable. Though his current professional “condition” does not need him to be knowledgeable, he is, I am proud to say fairly intelligent.

But what makes him special is that he is hungry……. consistently hungry for more. The more he gets, the more he wants and this enthusiasm for exploration, research and knowledge is infectious. His students and dumb colleagues like me are often swept away by his drive. His students respect him, his colleagues like him, his management needs him. In short, he is an indispensable asset to his college.

Let us all learn from him and try to work with a commitment to our profession. Let us try to fall in love with our work. Like my friend Shiv.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

thts a lot on Mr Shiv Pawar...If Mr. Pillai is commending somebody..let me tell u frnz..this MR. shiv pawar must have something gr8 in him...I guess i have an idea of his personal interests as well but as Pillai sir said they cant be disclosed..i'll remain shut...n wts this sir...his current professional “condition” does not need him to be knowledgeable..ha ha ha..tusi moka naa chadeya karo koi pillai sir....but sir tell me something..does an insatiable appetite for knowledge makes one a great teacher???..wt if a person so knowledgeable is unable to impart tht knowledge to his students..Frnz wt do u think should be formal a definition for a GOOD TEACHER???
Upinder

Ashish Pillai said...

An insatiable appetite for knowledge is the most basic qualification to become a good teacher. I have come across many individuals who were "proud" of their knowledge. In most cases I saw that such teachers were unable to "connect" to people around them. You see, if I come to your class and keep using fancy english and complicated terms, I will not be able to get across to most of your classmates. A ppetitie for knowledge on the other hand can develop only if an individual realises the endlessness of knowledge.That would automatically take the "pride" away, for the more I know, I will realise that there is still so much more to know. Then I will connect. When a person connects, he WILL transfer knowledge and more importantly (perhaps most importantly) the "value" of knowledge and learning.

Anonymous said...

A Good Teacher is the one who at heart always feels he is still a student :)
A good Teacher is the one whom students do not forget in their lifetime.
A Good Teacher is the one who will keep reminding you of your goals.
A good teacher is the one who provokes a thought in young minds.
A good teacher is one whom you just can't stop writing.... :)

Anonymous said...

Whatever is being said here is true in all senses Sir. Pawar Sir is indeed one of the best teachers I have come across till date. Never was there an instance when our queries were left unanswered. In fact, Pawar Sir has always tried to deliver much more than was prescribed in the syllabus sheet.

Taking it a step further, he is a great motivator, motivating his students to perform better at each and every platform they go to. Seldom do we see the urge in teachers to see their students excel in each and every aspect of life. I was lucky to have Pawar Sir teach me throughout the three years I spent at GJIMT.

Kudos To Pawar Sir