The Evolving Role of an Educator By Ms. Nethra.S
What is the definition of an educator? Google defines educator as “One who’s occupation is to instruct, a teacher”. And that’s what our teachers did 20 years ago. They told us what to do. Education was based on books, lectures and assignments. Earlier, teachers followed a specific curriculum and they had to learn how to teach that curriculum. With due respect, I still remember my teachers from 20 years ago who would walk into the classroom with a set of books, read from them, explained what they read, then we did a couple exercises from the book and the lesson would be done. There is a shift in the way education is imparted and with that the role of educator also changes.
Is it really necessary for an educator to evolve? Definitely yes. With changing times every profession needs to progress and update themselves, and so does this.
In today’s world content knowledge alone is not enough. Students should be able to learn essential skills to meet the demands of the 21st century. Also, with evolving times the way students learn has also changed, they want to be actively engaged in learning, they want to be architects of their own learning and the education system is evolving towards project-based learning. So, teachers must be able to provide them with opportunities so that children will be involved in the learning process. What does this mean for educators? Teaching is now a multifaceted position. A teacher’s role is not just limited to delivering lectures but now teachers facilitate, mentor, create learning experiences and environments and give practical experiences to students as well. Teachers will be called facilitators because the future demands facilitating more than instructing. Students will have more control over their learning, and I agree that they must and should have that choice. In the past, all children in a class did the same work regardless of their ability or skills but now it’s important that a teacher identifies the strengths of the student and is able to guide and mentor them in the right path and also teach the way the student learns. In the past classroom teaching was entirely using blackboards. But with technology, we now see projectors, interactive panels, etc and it’s important that a teacher be updated with current evolving changes to be able to give her best. Teachers will not just have to be experts but tech-ports as well. The role of the teacher is no longer to merely transmit knowledge but to understand the psychology of learners, strategies to deal with different types of learners keeping in mind the developmental stages in children. It is very important for the educator to know his/her student well to be able to execute this.
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The advent of online learning became widespread and challenged teachers to teach online. Teachers were teaching from their homes, and at one point teacher knew everything about what was happening in his/her student’s home/life and vice versa. With this change, teachers were able to understand their students better and they could weave techniques of teaching and handling their students. Traditionally the role of the teacher was to be an expert in their field and to impart their knowledge to children. But now children can google answers for themselves. What we need now are teachers who ‘talk less and let the students talk more’. The teacher has to organise processes which encourage that to happen, create environment and make space for that to happen. As I already mentioned earlier, in an attempt to shift away from the old-style of teaching, where the teacher is the main spokesperson with the students being passive listeners, there is a shift towards teachers becoming facilitators. The opposite to leading the discussion and being the loudest voice in the room, a facilitator allows and enables a discussion on a topic to happen whilst remaining neutral themselves. This is important so that children can lead their own learning, and allows the students to deeply engage with what they are studying.
I still remember the time I was working as a teacher offline and then the pandemic struck. I had to adapt to technology, change in teaching styles, change in handling children as they were not physically present in front of you but were with their parents in the comfort of their homes. And how did I reshape my role and evolve myself? Since I had a bachelors in computers, I used that knowledge and at the same time made best use of my key skill, having fun with students, finding innovative ways to impart knowledge to them and giving them great learning experiences even though it was online.Even though the fundamentals on how to teach are shifting and changing with the developments of technology and media, one thing never changes. The impact a teacher can have on a child’s life. The bond and connection teacher has with his/her students.
My 10-year-old daughter loves all her teachers at school, but she always talks of this one teacher who calls them ‘dude’ and is quite open with the children and trying to build a good rapport in the class and very well knows the limits that should not be crossed. My daughter always says “She is trying to be one among us” which can be a good thing if well within limits. There have been many instances when I have actually become a child to be able to understand my students and to get across my point as a teacher, to be able to connect with my students and have a great classroom environment that promotes happy learning.
The role of teacher is very important- facilitating, inspiring, empowering and seeing the classroom as a group of young individuals each with their own strengths and capabilities. A teacher has to assist and inspire their students, helping them to come to terms with what they are passionate about, discover what goals they want to achieve and to help them realise those aspirations. It also means that the teacher should neither be a passive participant, only facilitating the lessons, nor leading and dominating the conversation. The teacher is an enabler and ultimately that will look different depending on each student’s personal needs. No matter what technologies have been developed, human contact and encouragement can go a long way into helping to shape a student’s future. We all have a favourite teacher or a teacher that had a profound effect on our life. What did they do differently? So surely when preparing teachers for the next generation of school children it is this that we should focus on.
I would like to quote this “True teachers are those who help us think for ourselves”- Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan. This is what teachers must evolve into, helping students think, building curiosity in their minds, not giving them the answers but helping them to reason the answer and helping them voice their choice too.I would like to conclude by saying, the role of teachers has evolved extensively. They not only need to embrace digitization but also adapt their role in the classroom, and this new role is all the more challenging and requires teachers to be more proactive!