Qualities of a good Teacher

                Once a monkey challenged the tortoise that he is the most efficient animal in the forest. So they bet a game to bring an apple from the apple tree found far away. The first one who brings the apple will be considered as the most efficient animal in the forest. When the game started within a couple of seconds the monkey picked an apple and declared as the winner. All animals made fun of the tortoise. At midnight there was a huge flood that isolated the whole forest. All animals become afraid because they are unable to go outside to collect the food. They asked the monkey for help. The monkey looked at the apple tree but the whole tree was surrounded with water and he was helpless. Suddenly the tortoise jumped into the water and collected all the apples from the water and gave them to the other animals to eat. This helped the whole animals to survive that flood season. All animals apologized for making fun of the tortoise.

           The message from this story is that different peoples have different skills and abilities. So by giving proper education, the skills need to be nourished since they are children. Proper education, proper understanding, and proper guidance to the students is considered as the first qualities of a good teacher. So before starting teaching, a teacher must learn how to teach and how to interact with the students more effectively. A good teacher doesn’t show favoritism to a student who secure high marks or smartness. For a good teacher there are no ‘good student’ or ‘bad student’ and all students must be favorite to him. The future of every student is unpredictable and all successful ones are not first rank holders.

                A child spends most of the day in schools and other educational institutions and most of the time he is interacting with the teachers. So the influence of a teacher plays a really important role in developing the character of a child. Also teaching must be like experiencing. For example if you say that “ deep breathing calms your mind”, the student will easily forget this. But if you say that “ imagine you are sitting on the top of a mountain..you are hearing the chirping of birds..Now you gently take a deep inhalation ahd feel the calmness in your mind” this helps the student to experience the feeling.

        When discussing the importance of a teacher, the first sloka which comes to my mind is”Guru Brahma Gurur Vishnu Guru Devo Maheshwara, Guru Saskshaat Para Brahma Tasmai Shri Guruve Namaha. “Gu” in Sanskrit means darkness and “Ru” means light. So the word Guru means one who expel darkness. The above sloka states that Guru is like Brahma, the lord of creation; Guru is like Vishnu, those who sustains life and Guru is like Maheshwara or the destroyer of  life. The final verse represents salutations to Guru.Here the whole sloka shows the importance of Guru in all stages of life in the development of an individual.

           It is from the great teachings of our gurus that we get the knowledge that we are seeking, so the teaching becomes a blessing when he/she is willing to share the knowledge by understanding each student even if any student is incapable of paying anything in return. A good teacher always appreciates the students in public and if the student makes any mistakes then correct the student in private.This means that teachers are always encouraging to their students. Teachers must give respect and listen well to the students and definitely the students will learn from it. 

             A good teacher must have good interest and knowledge about the subject he/she is teaching. Even after becoming a teacher, a good teacher continues learning along with teaching. Without interest in the topic, teaching becomes worse for the teacher as well as for the students. A good teacher must have good patience and friendliness towards the students. Also the teacher never hurts any student with any word or deed. When a student loves his teacher then he surely starts loving the subject. These qualities help develop an intimacy between the student and the teacher.The teacher must have practical knowledge about the subject. While teaching the subject, If the teacher shares his own experiences, tells stories and adds little humour it will give a positive impact on teaching. Teach like you are doing an art. Remember the gurus that gave the knowledge and surrender to the higher consciousness and definitely the teaching becomes wonderful.