Teacher-Taught Relationship

In the most natural way, mother is the prime-most teacher of an infant.Then comes the turn of father who supports the mother in her teaching the child. Apart from these, curiosity of the person also works as a teacher of the person. But here we will not talk about these primitive teachers of mankind. In-stead we will discuss about formal educational teachers of students.

A teacher is often required for learning something, particularly at a tender age when self-conscience is in the budding stage. In such a situation, the teacher forces some knowledge in to the brain of the student. But not all this knowledge is grasped by the student, and this where teacher-taught relationship plays an important role.

We accept some information only when we find the source to trust-worthy and reliable. This acceptance is applicable to grasping knowledge from a teacher also. So, we have two basic attributes of a teacher as 'trust-worthiness' and 'reliability'. These attributes make the student to respect the teacher. This is the basic attribute of a student.

Traditional Indian society has a highly distorted view of a teacher, often called a 'Guru' - as he/she knowing everything. This distorted view makes the teachers failing in their functioning because no body can know everything. In fact, this concept was propounded by some jst to exploit the student community through misguidance. With increasing thinking capability of people in general, the fraud of this concept is getting exposed.

Concept of subject-wise teachers is more practicable and accepted world-wide. Under this concept, the teachers are able to prove their worth and the students find them trust-worthy and reliable.

Job of a teacher is to communicate with the student in the way the latter understand. So, every teacher has to have mastery over communication skills. This is in addition to having deep knowledge of the subject of teaching. This is just like a language which is only a medium of gaining knowledge, and not the knowledge itself. Even then knowledge of the language of communication is primary to the knowledge of the subject of teaching. Similarly, art and science of communication comes before the knowledge of the subject of the teacher. This puts a third parameter on the performance of a teacher.

Communication is not what is said or intended by the source - the teacher, but what is received and grasped by the sink - the student. Even the teacher is required to prepare the student to receive and grasp before delivering knowledge of the subject. This is like evoking and interest and curiosity in the mind of the student for knowing the subject matter. For this evocation also, the teacher is to have trust-worthiness and reliability in the eyes of the student.