My first lessons as a teacher

Shamma Kalodi

They say grown-ups tend to forget what it is like to be a child. By the end of this year, I might forget what it is like to be a first-time teacher. So here I am putting down my reflections, my very first lessons as a teacher.

It was not a walk in the park. On my first day, I entered a half-empty classroom without a syllabus or any knowledge of the course I was to teach. I was anxious and insecure, but managed to entertain the class for half an hour or so. It was a perfect mix of first day energy, chaos, casualness, and lightheartedness. As a recent postgraduate, I should also add that I was thrilled that I signed the attendance register for guest faculty members along with those who had ‘Dr’ before their names.

It has been three weeks since that day. I now know what I am to teach and I am relieved that the initial nervousness has given way to comfort within the classroom’s physical space. A sense of meaning and purpose has started to emerge, but at the same time, I am baffled by the inefficiencies of the system and the academic culture.

I had not really planned on becoming a teacher. This decision was taken purely due to convenience and personal circumstances. That does not mean that I don’t like teaching. I had simply never considered teaching as a profession because I wasn’t sure that I would ‘fit in’.

So, here are the key takeaways from my first few weeks as a teacher:

Acquaintance with the structure

• Navigating the bureaucratic labyrinth and completing clerical jobs adds to extra work hours and is time-consuming, resulting in a loss of time that could have been spent on extensive reading and research.
• There is no proper guidance for new teachers, which is very frustrating. A lack of robust structure and unnecessary procedures to follow mean that new teachers have to nag people to get their work done.
• The idea of teaching seems to have been reduced to marking checklists given by organizations like the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), which rank higher education institutions on the quality of education they provide. The extravaganza of college celebrations in Kerala during NAAC visits is a story for another time. Several YouTube videos provide testimonials for the same.
• The hasty implementation of the four-year degree without proper planning is turning into a trial-and-error game that is unfolding now.

Taking advice from other faculty members/one’s teachers

One of my professors used to ask us ice-breaker questions like, “What is that one superpower you wish you had?” I found that this technique did not work in my class and students were generally hesitant to respond. When you seek advice from other faculty members on how to approach your classes, you get varied suggestions. While it is all right to take their advice, or even try our old teachers’ styles, it is wiser to rely on student feedback (if possible), and act according to keen observation, reflection, and develop your own teaching style.

Finding the tipping point

Wanting to be friendly and approachable, while staying within the limits of what constitutes ‘professionalism’, is a common dilemma. Drawing a careful boundary between the two takes time and effort and must be done cautiously.

Planning the curriculum

• A syllabus of just two pages does not equate to a teaching plan. Classroom debates, creative assignments, and other activities have to be incorporated into the plan to make the classes lively and engaging, while keeping in mind the evaluation requirements and upcoming deadlines or exam schedules.
• The plan needs to be executed with proper organization and time management – crucial skills to survive in this profession. However, there are no rules set in stone, and sometimes, one may have to cut some slack and act according to the situation at hand.

Extensive reading

Teaching is also a journey of lifelong learning and overcoming barriers. The syllabus handed to me was totally different from what I had studied for my post-graduation course, and therefore preparing for the class involved exploring a whole set of new ideas.

Let it flow with time

In the beginning, it felt like I was inept at the job, and students’ lack of response to my efforts to engage them seemed to be a direct reflection of that belief. With time, I realized that students also take time to become familiar with a new teacher and a new way of teaching. Changes happen slowly and steadily.

Change of structure and change of mind

A public university setup differs from an aided college. I had always believed that the academic culture of the former is way better than that of the latter (and a foreign university degree stands superior to degrees offered by any Indian university) because time in a public university provides one with broader exposure to the world of academia with opportunities to interact and build networks with fellow students from diverse backgrounds, notable scholars, activists, and other famous personalities, and access better facilities. While it is partially true, my experience, so far, has made me rethink this conviction as I see students here in local colleges engaged in projects, activities, and programmes that are more rooted in their social and political realities.

Nevertheless, university culture seems less orthodox regarding age-old practices like ringing screeching bells or ritual forms of respect offered to teachers by the students.

Social adaptation

A student-to-teacher transition is also marked by social acceptance. One learns to adjust to new ways of being addressed, new standards of attire, new norms, new ways of being perceived and a new form of respect from society.

Staying updated

One can only enter a classroom, especially to teach a course like journalism, by ensuring that one has a decent understanding of current affairs. Whether reading books, or newspapers, or watching informative content, a teacher has to follow what she preaches.

Sensitivity to diversity

Students vary in their psychological, socio-cultural, and religious makeup, and one has to be mindful and considerate of these differences. For instance, a student in my class cannot watch bloodshed, another dislikes watching scenes of physical intimacy, a third student refrains from watching any movies at all. The syllabus insists on screening specific films, but sometimes, I have to let a few of them retract to the textbook learning method.

One can also bring different points of view for a class discussion but respect the individual rights of students in taking the final call when it comes to particular debates.

Use of aids and the ‘right’ way of teaching

• Your learning style can reflect your teaching style. But make sure to bridge your teaching style with that of the students’ fluctuating attention levels, interests, and learning capabilities.

From my observation, if one does not give notes, students tend to refer to guides, which offer only capsules of topics without any details. If one asks them to write notes, they either open their phones pretending to write or do not write at all. Making a generation that is used to reels and short forms of content read or write is an arduous task. So, I decided to give them more detailed notes than the guides they bought.

• Using PPTs with text also seemed less efficient, so using PPTs was restricted to showing images and videos. Surprisingly, the old-school chalkboard system worked better for highlighting words or terminologies.

Relationship with other teachers

Healthy boundaries, friendship, kindness, and proper communication make it a lot easier to navigate the academic sphere.

It is easier to point fingers at students’ lethargy, systemic failures, and other issues, such as the lack of academic efficiency. But we hardly look at ourselves for the possibilities of small changes, and sometimes it is wiser to act individually and responsibly towards those changes, as not all of us can afford to be rebels. Being a teacher is to explore these small possibilities that can make a difference.

The author is a post-graduate in Media Studies and teaches Complementary Journalism courses for Literature students at an autonomous college in Kerala. She can be reached at shammakalodi36813@gmail.com.