The Teacher has ten Avtars ! Honestly !!

 The Teacher has ten Avtars now ! Honestly !

Dinesh K Kapila

The profession of teachers, specially in private schools a female oriented profession. Once upon a time comparatively stress free, reasonably paying and accorded a degree of respect and recognition by society. Well times evolve. Me, I am miles away from anything and everything but somehow land up knowing something. Then writing something.

Its fun to meet teachers from the newly established private schools, these schools are slick, smart, well packaged and ranging all the way from just about passable to the well heeled, catering to the just about have’s to the really full to the brim ! One commonality is striking, the teacher and her roles. Its expanding formally and informally. As one middle aged lady put it, I on being introduced asked her what do you do, and she smiled and asked you really want to know. Then she smiled as she went on to list – hold your breath – model, artist, dancer, sports, coach, counsellor,  painter, musician, playwright, dramatist, technology expert  and of course she taught in between ! She did join up for teaching two decades back but it kept evolving. A teacher could be called over and suddenly advised to ensure that a group of young students would walk the ramp, no advisor or inputs, she and a couple more would start to google or watch YouTube (bless you YouTube !,) and then start off. The owners are not there to ask do you know, it is assumed that you will know somehow !

So they model, dance, paint, coach and then do teach. The Principals are there upto a point, it’s the owners who call the shots hands on now, discretion be damned or the CBSE. Even if they join up formally at a junior position, everyone knows where is the centre of gravity. As the younger generation walks in, its actually in some cases with an attitude of ownership in the absolute sense. As one lady, a teacher at a reputed school said, “its not Naukri, its Gulami” (its not employment, its slavery).   Look I cannot help it if people meet me and then share it out, its just something that happens. I am just clarifying, So its not me, it’s the people who met me. About the support staff, no words, literally. The teachers have sympathy for their plight but re too busy focused on their ability to cope up.   

One lady, she is petrified to ask even for a day off to tend to her ailing Dadi (paternal grandmother) and even confessed she prayed that if her Divinity  had to take her grandma away, let it be during the summer vacations, when she could observe all the ceremonies and mourn quietly. Any request for leave even for a funeral involved many a times the owner stepping in with questions. A rather on the heavy side teacher said earlier when asked to teach dancing she felt shy, awkward, now its just par for the course as there is no option in any case. So it has its positives. And the real plus, the owners of many schools saying, do not stress, stress is not good, said in a soothing way while ensuring the teachers are at it teaching dancing or modelling or painting or acting. And doing it themselves even. Wondering as a teacher put it, why my parents did not teach me multiple skills.

Another set of skills required are developing an acute political antenna and learning to duck silently when parents walk in with aggression. Schools have a minefield, owners (the male owner goes  one way, the wife another, the son another and the daughter or daughter in law is looking for a role), Principal, Vice Principal, Coordinators and the Counsellors. It’s a minefield, a tight rope to navigate smoothly without getting mental scars and grievous internal injuries. Each layer brings in its game, insecurities, ambitions and plans. The faculty have too stay alive to the threats and perceptions about themselves and take counter measures and watch their back. Always, On Guard. With a 360 Degrees alert system including knowing the cameras are everywhere. Watching. Observing. Parents, some are a pain, they may be active socially or working late, but the child is never to be reprimanded or the parent advised about his or her role. The punching bag is the teacher. So roll with the punches, duck, weave, back out, but hold your tongue. And body language. Some parents carry their wealth or importance to meetings with teachers. If a parent writes a mail, first the teacher is observed without being so informed, only later would the issue brought out in the open.

As I said, it’s multiple roles the teacher has to play. Multitasking so to say. Not at all schools but many do have such characteristics. It’s just the teachers who are at the wrong end of it.

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