Degrees Don’t Make Great Teachers

What is the definition of a passionate educator?

Photo: AGM of the teachers and GSA Members at the My Good School Retreat 2023 #HappyTeachers

In the Indian education community, we have established systematic methods for measuring, evaluating, and grading students, including annual exams, unit tests, board exams, and entrance exams at various levels. Students are assessed based on specific metrics, and we have observed noticeable development in both the metrics and the students over time.

A big question: Can a measurement metric be created to evaluate teacher quality?

How can we determine if someone is a passionate educator or teacher? Do multiple degrees meet the criteria for being a passionate educator? The education community may not have standardised roles or established metrics for defining a good teacher.

What does a good teacher's CV or Resume look like when there are no standards for teachers? Your mind will prompt you to the B.Ed. (Bachelor of Education) degree, as the output and standard for being a good educator.

Check out one real story.

A friend of mine is pursuing a B.Ed. She was about to finish her course when we met. I was shocked she had been at home for the past few years, only going to college for exams (a B.Ed. is a regular degree). She was also supposed to do an internship and had done all this by sitting at home. She showed me Letters of Recommendation. That day, I truly believed India had modernised the mechanism of DFH (Degree From Home).

When I returned and researched this, I discovered that 50-60% of B.Ed. Graduates follow the same script. Graduates do this proxy activity every year, and it’s an easy way out. The same goes for teacher training certification agencies, so we have to think again about this metric of our educators. Only degrees or training certificates can’t justify you being a good educator. The standards are corrupted and hijacked; we must rethink.

Sure, your School might be ICSE, CBSE, or any other board, and you think you have figured out the standard, but also remember that the percentage of your School, alike, is significantly less, and your institution alone can’t achieve the standard; we have to think and act together.

The way forward is to build effective human resource departments for the education community, like those in the corporate sector:

1. Better on-the-job training at schools, which the schools fund.

2. New standardised learning experience courses.

3. Updated degrees.

4. Other institutions to help and support the education community.

I, of late, have been volunteering at The Teacher's Academy. The Academy helps everyone unlock their full potential. Their comprehensive online program offers personalised and top-notch mentorship to help you reach your goals. With customised programs, they make success easily attainable. The user-friendly platform and experienced instructors are committed to helping you advance your career, acquire new skills, or explore different subjects. The Foundation hosts online professional learning programs and one offsite every year. Check out all the My Good School Retreat 2024 action: https://schooleducation.com/my-good-school-retreat.

Kunal Rajpurohit is a Fellow Analyst at the Learning Forward India Foundation. You can write to him at KR@LearningForward.org.in. For more about the Foundation, visit www.LearningForward.org.in.

Do join us at the forthcoming My Good School Retreat 2024. Register yourself now: https://MyGoodSchoolRetreat.com