A teacher’s job isn’t to just to share the knowledge about a subject. We already have Google to do that.
Merely exchanging information is not what the world needs. I mean, sometimes it does. But other times, it doesn’t.
What does the world need then?
The world needs teachers who can make the students laugh, and as they open their mouths to laugh, the teacher pops in a pill of wisdom. The teacher shows that the student is capable of doing much more. The teacher deploys empathy, sees the world as the students see it, and then says, “Come. Let’s explore this possibility.”
If a teacher is an ego-maniac (and trust me, all of us are), the teacher is only obsessed with praise. That teacher wants all the glory and is obsessed with the respect. But a wise teacher realizes that it isn’t about the praise and blame. It will come and go. The teacher is more concerned about her mission. She is more concerned about the impact that she wants to make.
When the teacher leaves her ego behind, magic happens. Challenging of course, but magical. The students now are more open, more attentive, and have a spark in their eyes. The students start trusting the teacher, they start trusting her vision. They start understanding the possibility that the teacher is trying to show. They begin to embrace the journey that the teacher is taking them on.
Teaching, for me, is more art than science. It is about bringing your emotion to the game. It is about putting your vulnerability out there. It isn’t about being right, it is about being showing a possibility.