Role of Teacher in 21st century

 “One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feeling. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.”

We have entered 21^st century so our education system should be updated according to the need of the society. The present age is of information explosion and the knowledge is increasing very fast. Education is the most important lever for social, economic and political transformation. Education is the fourth necessity for man after food, clothing and shelter. The education is the process of instruction aiming over all development of individuals, providing the necessary tools and knowledge to understand and participate in day to day activities of today's world. So, the teacher plays a crucial role in the development of a nation.

The role of a teacher is to shape the minds of the younger generation. The shaping will be on positive lines, development of a scientific and humanistic attitude and temper, self discipline. For this development teachers have played a key role in 21^st century. A teacher has to generate that energy is one self and handle its work of educating the boys and girls. Teachers not only instruct but also inspire students. He or she has to influence the life and characteristics of students and gives a push to enter the stream of national life as worthy citizens.

The role of a teacher is to facilitate the communication process between students and to act an independent participant within the learning teaching group. Further they create learning conditions and give students the chance to speak out their mind and heart, interact and make trials and errors. Teachers act as illuminators of the constant change taking place in the environment. In this fast changing interconnected world the learning path has changed so much as we need to prepare students to success in life. Past five decades, the role of a teacher was that of a gatekeeper of information. The teacher had access to the information that the student needed. Classroom was the focal point of giving the information. There was no internet access, 24 hours cable news or cell phones to access the information instantly. However, today it is not lack of information that exists for students. In fact today the children are exposed to more information by the age of five than their grandparents were by the age of twenty. Students gathered the information from online website, TV, magazines, movie, videogames and other technologies. Therefore the focus of education today should be on the personalization and application of relevant knowledge rather than simply filling them with random facts.

The teacher is the single most important factor in student success. It would make sense to focus on the role of today’s culture.

An effective teacher has act like a “thermostat” that controls the temperature of the room. The teacher is the one who creates the environment where learning occurs and regulates the learning behavior.

The changing role of the teacher today requires a different perspective with the parents. It is no longer teaching and working in isolation but cultivating a relationship with the parents. The effective teacher today understands that the families in 21^st century have transformed in a great manner as dynamics and in under immense pressure due to the demand of today’s culture.

The role of parenting is not any easier as generation gap exists between parents and their technological savvy child. The generation gap exists because parents grew up with limited technology, while their children grew up with the technology. So, in this context, the role of teacher has increased to another level.

In the 21^st century there is a new perspective of teaching and learning. It is now necessary to open a new window for thinking. Thus, to visualize the aim of 21^st century teaching as a development of knowledge higher order skill (such as the 4c creativity, critical thinking, communication, collaboration and character) as well as the establishment of lifelong learning habits and an ability to learn how to learn with technology as the central role in the new picture of teacher effectiveness.

The effective teachers are the one who sometimes sees themselves in their student. Therefore a teacher plays many roles such as: 

●        A teacher is a helping teacher. It is a teacher who through the classroom imbibes the feeling of a 'share and tell, ‘Give and take’, ‘Think and do’ in students which is later on generated in the society.

●        A teacher is always flexible in his approach. She/he encourages new trends in the field of education. She/he is ready to make experiments to make the teaching learning process effective by keeping in the new trends and new waves in the society.

●        A teacher is a good counselor. Teacher's field is not limited up to covering the academic side but he also performs the role of a counselor for the students. She/he is considered to be a specialist and highly knowledgeable person. People look up to him as a person who can really give a good piece of advice.

●        The teacher is the one who carries the higher values, virtues with him/her so as to become a role model for the student.

Conclusion: Effective teaching has to be fluid and adaptive to current culture. The effective teacher understands that there are core skills and knowledge need to be learned, but must be presented in a manner that students find relevancy. This requires an art and science of teaching that makes the teachers of 21^st century effective.  

The science of teaching requires content knowledge, organization, management skills and detailed planning. The art of teaching is not about possessing an outgoing personality, but making connections with the students, parents, as well as connecting the curriculum to the real world in a relevant manner. Thus the 21^st century teacher creates and maintains intentional relationship with her students, parents and colleagues for the sake of tomorrow’s success. A teacher is an architect of our future. They are the one who show us the right path as someone has rightly said “Teacher is just like a lamp, who burns itself to light others”.  

           Mr. Niyaz Varis Varsi (Asst. Prof. JIE, JEMTEC)