Qualities of a teacher are one of the often reflected, much-discussed, and regularly written about topics. Teachers have always been role models of our society. Even during our independence, while lawyers like Gandhi, Patel, Nehru, and many others were at the forefront of managing the politics of the struggle, teachers like Gokhle, Tilak, and Tagore focused on the philosophy. Teachers have traditionally been one of those few professionals a society looks towards. In the 21^st century, when they're no longer remains any template of behavior for almost any profession, teaching still stands as an exception to this rule along with a handful of other professions.

Why are we so concerned with the qualities a teacher should have? Do you really need special qualities to be a teacher? Is everyone not inherently both a teacher and student? The answer is both Yes and No. While it is true, that everyone inherently can teach, but, as an artist would tell you, there still is a craft to the art!

Well, we all know of the common teacher-qualities: patience, compassion, knowledge, desire to learn, a positive disposition, creativity, ability to adapt, interest in their subjects and in learning, love for children… the list is rather endless.

But, my interactions with teachers, through all these years, point towards a few more, other things that contribute to a teacher’s success, which are probably not the first things that come to our mind, yet are so very crucial. So, here’s a take on what “else” does a successful teacher has?

The tighter and more closely knit co-teacher group, the more success each teacher of that group achieves. Every teacher has a go-to group: their band of colleagues, some within their school, some in their city, and now this includes teachers who may not physically be in the same place but have found a connection that bounds them together, thanks to the internet. This teacher support system provides the members with more than just common question papers or worksheets: it becomes their safe space to share their agonies of work with ever-changing educational policies, ambiguous directives, and often difficult to comprehend instructions; it is also a space to brainstorm ideas for a lesson; to be inspired by a fellow colleague; to learn from each other’s successes and failures and to find a group where you can confidently say what you do not know, instead of what you know. It is a space where teachers know they will not be judged for their shortcomings but rather will find a teacher friend who will complement it to make their teaching team a better one.

 

Teaching has never been only the school’s responsibility. When the internet had not arrived, the teacher always had the ready assistance of the community while teaching his or her students. The village headman, postman, or the community worker would often drop by and engage with students on something or the other and brought both context and perspective to what was being taught in the class. Since the internet and especially, during the pandemic, teachers have often depended on the nameless and faceless content creators. Much of this content adds immense fun, value, and meaning to the children and the classrooms. Yet, for the most part, these content creators are unknown to teachers. For instance, a teacher would never know who to thank for a wonderful video that inspired her students or for a very creative poster that generated a lot of discussion,s or for a photo story that added immense context to what the students study. This year, especially, teachers have depended more and more on content creators and EdTech platforms to bridge the physical divide due to school closures and so many teachers have acknowledged just how much gratitude they have for all their helpers

 

It may seem like an oxymoron. But aren’t failures our biggest teachers? Failure makes us both more human and humane. And while teachers are always pushing their students to succeed, a bit of failure in their own life journeys: maybe as professionals or as parents or as friends or as family members, helps teachers to help students view failures as stepping stones of success and not as woes of misery. The bitter taste of failure only makes the taste of success even sweeter.

 

So much has been written and spoken about the love of a teacher for her students. Well, what about the love of students for their teacher? It is, in fact, one of the most powerful things that keeps a teacher going, even in the toughest of times. When an old student calls up to enquire the whereabouts of the teacher or when a student calls up to say that he/she has landed a job or when a student turns up to wish the teacher for their birthday or when a student leaves a note to say how much they are enjoying the subject due to the teacher: it is a feeling that few other feelings can compete with. It makes teachers feel more complete, more secure, more wanted, and calmer knowing that there is someone who needs them, beyond the classroom. It is this love, this desire of watching one’s students grow that keeps the best of the teachers in the professions and makes them attain newer heights.

 

Teachers everywhere are idolized and idealized also: while they may be role-models, they are also expected to model the perfect behavior, the perfect etiquette, the perfect appearance, and the perfect so much more. But, more than any other time, this Covid-lockdown, has shown the world and the teachers themselves that they can be real, be a bit imperfect, and yet excel as teachers. As Covid forced us into our homes and teaching had to be continued, students, possibly for the first time, saw teachers struggle and not being in control. Not being able to fix the mike, not knowing how to teach, using phones to make videos for the first time and so many more tasks. The teacher who all these years appeared perfect and with answers to almost all questions, appeared lost and struggling. Teachers, too like everyone else, were adjusting to this new reality. They too may be struggling to fix a sleep routine; they too may have laundry to be done or clothes to be folded or a house that needs to be cleaned. They too may have problems like being lazy. They too may want to call it day and go off to sleep while a pile of checking rests. They too may look more closer to reality than to the ideal perception they are often wedded to. And that only makes them more relatable for their students. They realize that perfection is not the attainment of a perfect life, but the real challenge of balancing between trying not to give up and allowing yourself to give in. The more real teachers are with their students, the more authentic lessons they leave behind for their students.

 

Being a teacher is like being a doctor or a soldier: the profession grows on you. One rarely possesses the qualities at the start of the journey but by the end of it, most of them have it in them!