Daily Times

We are not selling teaching the way it should be. This is not what only I am saying; it was in Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy’srecent article titled “Why Pakistan loses its best”, published in Dawn. I quote: “Pakistan’s universities-all of them-are cesspools of political filth and intrigue. In a system with perverted values and nonsensical selection criteria, duffers who fail at all else become lauded university professors.” The context in which that statements was penned totally makes sense, but can we inspire our youth to join teaching with the intent of bringing a meaningful change in society through projection of those in academia as “duffers”?

Not all are duffers, I must say. I was inspired to join teaching by some of the brilliant teachers in the Government College University, Lahore;their curiosity to explore abstractions resonated with me and many others. But I don’t completely deny the assertion made by Hoodbhoy; I agree with him on the basis of some of the experiences I have had in teaching that I have joined recently. I am still struggling with all its nuances.

To say that teaching is an occupation of duffers in Pakistan may be an exaggeration, but it is a fact that it does not inspire the majority of our students as a profession. This is something I come across a lot when I have interaction with students about what kind of career choices they want to pursue. Hardly anyone thinks of teaching as a professional choice.

Initially, when I was about to step into teaching, I tried to discuss the prospects of joining it as a profession with some teachers. A few endorsed it with a sense of pride that it is a profession worth pursuing, but the majority-perhaps those who those who had not joined it by choice-suggested to me to explore other good opportunities, like civil service, first. They said that if nothing else worked for me I could go for teaching.

To say that teaching is an occupation of duffers in Pakistan may be an exaggeration, but it is a fact that it does not inspire the majority of our students as a profession

I have been teaching for the last one year at the Department of Political Science in the University of Management and Technology in the capacity of visiting faculty. Though I don’t have that much experience and am still trying to explore all its nuances, I think it’s the most ennobling experience one can ever have if one pursues it passionately. It’s the most dignified way of influencing society. It’s the energy in the motion that resonates with young minds to create a synergy in pursuit of exploring social problems that are bigger than us and need a collective approach.

Teaching to me is like a theatre where you have to set a stage so that everybody can perform without any socially conditioned beliefs. No idea should be inhibited. All ideas should flow freely. It’s one of the most meaningful professions in the sense that you as a teacher help young minds to strip away layers of their social conditioning and see society around them objectively.

When I say I am still struggling with all its nuances, it means that I am trying to create a perfect stage in my classes so that all my students can speak up their minds unequivocally. To set that perfect theatre, as a teacher, I think you should not only be good at content delivery in the most simplified way, sometimes in form of storytelling, but you should also be a good actor with a sense of humour and other positive emotions. Finding that rhythm in teaching takes time.

Every semester, I have the experience of teaching students from different departments. This semester, I had students from Psychology and Food Sciences. The exciting part is that in every new batch we, as a teacher and students, bring our imperfect worlds in contact with one another.We try to influence one another in positive ways for the greater good of society. That’s the beauty of teaching.

This article is especially dedicated to all those students who aspire to join teaching. It’s also dedicated to the students of Food Sciences (C-32) and Psychology (C-25) with whom I had a great time in the previous semester. I wish them best of luck and hope that this journey of positively influencing society will go on.

The writer can be reached at uinam39@gmail.com