Education and teachers
How many times do you need to change the education policy of a nation to get it right? I simply can't understand why every ruling party thinks that changing something is the solution to all sorts of problems. You are changing the syllabus, the curriculum, the question patterns of the board exams, but what about the teachers? Are they comfortable with the new system? I don't believe. And who are being affected by that? The students, the feet on which the future Bangladesh will stand.
As a member of BELTA (Bangladesh English Language Teachers Association), I came to meet a number of teachers from various parts of our country and realized that all they need is proper guidance. There is a very small number of teachers who are well trained even in Dhaka. And what about the outskirts? The villages? I will tell you. As part of our M.A. degree in ELT (English Language Teaching), we had to visit some schools and colleges both inside and outside of Dhaka and observe classes there. And 18 of we fellow students came up with the same experience. Even the schools and colleges of this city do not follow some very basic principles of teaching, one of them being respecting students' feelings. If I cannot reach my students, how can I expect them to understand me? Don't ask me about the condition of the primary schools in the villages. Anyway, I am losing my track! So the point I am trying to focus on is teachers should be trained and motivated. They should know what they are expected to do. The era of 'lecture method' is gone.
One last word for the teachers. I know it's not easy to invest the time and energy it takes to fulfil all the requirements of a teacher with the salary we receive. But we have to realize the importance of the role we are playing in the making of an educated generation. It's not that difficult nowadays to get any sort of information and/or knowledge through Internet. Let's make some use of it, it's really helpful and interesting.
Trained teachers, like a trained army, serve all their lives to build an enlightened and confident nation.
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