Stress free teaching for a cultured generation !

1. Directionless present generation of our Nation!

The present generation of our Nation is leaning towards immorality. Children’s behaviour has been deteriorating. They are getting addicted to ‘cartoon films’. They do not have any feeling of self-respect and loyalty towards the Nation. The education that cannot build a patriotic generation is of no use. The present generation has developed a very selfish approach of ‘me and mine’.

2. Necessity of education which will make children broad-minded

Dear teachers, remember that if the education is creating a selfish generation which is only concerned about its own welfare, then the Nation will never prosper. At present, the education that is being imparted is making the children very narrow-minded and selfish. If this situation continues,  then the Nation is bound to be doomed.

3. Importance of teachers

Only one element in the society has the ability to change this situation, that is the ‘Teachers’. Teachers are the real commanders of the nation. If the commander of any nation collapses then the nation becomes directionless. Dear teachers, it makes us uneasy and stressful when we look at the pitiable condition of our society and our own personal problems. We feel disturbed thinking that ‘this current situation will not change.’

4. Only stress free teachers can develop a cultured generation !

We have to free ourselves from this stress. If the teacher is stressed, it creates a negative impact on the students. Therefore, a teacher must remain happy. If the teachers remain happy, they will be able to extend that happiness to their students. If this happens then we (teachers) can give a stress free and confident generation to the nation. This generation will then be able to successfully lead the nation into a glorious future!

5. Teachers, how will you impart stress free education?

To achieve this, we have to make use of the following points in our teaching. Let us see now how to put these points into practice.

5 A. Do not make negative remarks ! : Teachers should never make any negative remarks in the class. Sometimes, teachers pass remarks regarding certain students saying, ‘You are useless. You are born only to trouble your parents. You disturb the whole class.’ Such remarks hurt the students very much. In fact, the teachers themselves undergo great stress after making such statements. It is like reflection of thoughts. The negative thoughts are reflected on to the teachers and they themselves get more disturbed than the students do. So, the teacher’s thought process should always be that ‘I am under stress because I made negative remarks. These negative thoughts made me unhappy. That means I must always be positive in my speech.’

5 B. Do not compare! : Some teachers always compare students. For example, while addressing a student who lags in studies, the teacher sometimes compares him with a bright student. Instead, you can praise the studious student and tell the other students to emulate his study pattern. Try to find out the problems of the students who are weak in studies and suggest some remedies to improve their studies.

5 C. Be in learner’s state! : The person who is always in the state of a learner is a teacher. With learning comes bliss. So while teaching any subject to students, we ourselves should have a learner’s role.

5 D. Avoid an authoritative tone! : Teachers often tend to speak to students in an authoritative tone. Instead, if we speak lovingly, we ourselves experience happiness. So, teachers should avoid speaking to students in an authoritative language.

5 E. Teach students as a friend would! : We communicate with students as teachers and not as their friend. That develops stress in us while teaching. While teaching class V students, a teacher should come down to that level in mind and teach them. That will make the teaching experience enjoyable .

5 F. Be their parents while teaching! : Since we love our children, we feel that they should study well. Similarly, if we teach our students with the same love, then it will make the teaching stress free. If a teacher is adopting double standards, that is, loving his own children, but treating the teacher’s position as a job, then he will never enjoy stress free teaching. The country will prosper if the teachers become like parents to their students.

5 G. Do not have expectations from students! : If students do not complete the homework given by the teacher, then the teacher either scolds or punishes them. In such a case, the teacher feels stressed. Instead, the teacher should talk to the students to become aware of their learning difficulties. Then they can be shown easy ways of solving the examples given for homework. The teacher who has expectations from his students is often under stress at home as well as at school. We should try to teach without having any expectations from our students.

5 H. Do not indulge in doer ship! : The people who feel that they are the doers remain under stress forever. If we wish to teach without experiencing any stress, then we should offer each of our acts to God. This will make you stress free.

5 I. Try to study your mind! : Sometimes a teacher gets angry with some children because they do not study. It is not that the teacher gets angry because those children do not study ,but in fact, ‘getting angry’ is the teacher’s personality defect. Teachers should not think that they will become happy  if the students change themselves. They should think otherwise, that if they themselves are able to remove the defect of getting angry then they will become happy and thus, stress free.

5 J. Study your personality defects and look at the good qualities of the students! : We will never be stress-free if you keep on finding defects in our students. Instead, if we keep on thinking about their good qualities we feel happy. When we go to school, we should observe the good qualities in the students, teachers and headmaster. Contemplate upon our own defects and be stress-free by removing them.

5 K. Change yourself! : We should not try to change other people or their nature, as it is not under our control. If the headmaster is whimsical or speaks with a lot of reactions, then we cannot change his behaviour. In that case, we should change ourselves to cope with him. If we do not achieve this, then it will affect our family life and our teaching too. Besides, we will always remain under stress.

5 L. Always ‘live in the present’! : When teachers enter a class with a disturbed mind then they are not be able to teach freely. They might feel that ‘I am teaching but the students are not listening to me’. Hence, the teacher should always remain in the ‘present’. Only then will the teaching be effective and stress-free.

After studying the above mentioned points you might feel, “How shall I put them into practice?” We have before us the example of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. He worshipped Bhavani Mata, his family Deity and established Hindavi Swarajya. If we too take to chanting of our Family Deity’s Name and do our duty, we too will be successful. Chanting helps us to control our shortcomings. We must try to eradicate our personality defects and ego by giving auto-suggestions. If we try to bring change in us by following this then we will be able to teach without feeling any stress. Furthermore, we will experience happiness and bliss while teaching.

– Shri. Rajendra Pavaskar (Guruji), Panvel