Of teaching and learning

In my first semester during my Ph.D. at the University of Maryland, I had to take a class that began at 3 p.m. and ended at 6 p.m. It was the first class I was taking and I was understandably nervous. I had to leave at 5.30 p.m. in order to catch the last bus at 5.45 p.m. I hesitantly approached the professor to ask for permission to leave early. He seemed a little surprised at my request but agreed. As the class progressed, I noticed that in the small class with a maximum of a dozen students, people would walk in and out as they pleased. The professor kept teaching unmindful of the distractions. I wondered how such a casual approach to education was tolerated.

It was only months later that I realized that in America it was the students' responsibility to avail themselves of the wonderful education that the system provided. It was not the burden of the teachers or parents. Come to think of it, the teachers already knew the stuff - if you as a student wanted to learn, you had to first take responsibility for your time, show up in class, pay attention. If you chose to do otherwise, it was your loss. If you did well, it was to your credit and if you did poorly or dropped out, it was again a conscious choice.

I teach students in India now, post-graduate students. Most of them show up in class because their parents have paid the tuition and the institution demands a minimum attendance. Only a handful come because they think of it as an investment in their future. I can't make them "want" to learn. But I make sure I tell them this story. I also tell them that in my assignments, they are welcome to copy but it is a risk they are taking. A shortcut for now but a handicap for a lifetime. If they do not learn how to do their work by themselves and for themselves, they will forever expect someone to bail them out, first parents, then peers. But life does not stay the same and the smart students will indeed do better and rise higher and will definitely not want to bail out the ones looking for a shortcut.

I learnt when I was a student, and I continue to learn as I teach. I consider myself truly blessed.