The contemporary teachers have to juggle between the role of a friend, philosopher, guide, disciplinarian and so on while opening up a world of knowledge and skills to students in a meaningful and interesting manner. With the advent of information technology, the role of the teacher in India has evolved from being a sole purveyor and dispenser of knowledge to being a leader and a manager. Teachers are now like any other professionals catering to the needs of their clients – subject to criticism and praise depending on the perception of the students, parents and of the community at large. With this idea Amity Institute of Education (AIE) held a day long national seminar on the theme of “Re Inventing Professionalism of the Contemporary Teacher” at Amity University Campus, Sector – 125, Noida.
The seminar was inaugurated by Mr. S. Regunathan, former Chief Secretary, Govt of NCT of Delhi, Prof. J. S. Rajput, former Director, NCERT, Dr. Ashok. K Chauhan, Founder President, Amity Group, Dr. Gurinder Singh, Pro Vice Chancellor, Amity University Uttar Pradesh (AUUP) and Dr. Phool Kaul, Director, AIE.
Presenting her welcome address during the inauguration of the seminar Dr. Phool Kaul said “The world of teaching and learning is changing rapidly. A contemporary teacher is expected to create and manage learning environments for students with diverse backgrounds which entail setting of targets thoughtfully, using a wide range of strategies and support systems to reach out to every students in the class and above all communicating meaningfully and effectively with all the stake holders in the education of an individual student.” She added “This seminar is sure to create synergy among all concerned and valuable suggestions in implementable form will emerge in the course of it, which will take us nearer to the goal of training teachers in the way that they are both professional in outlook and practice.”
Inaugurating the seminar Mr. S. Regunathan stated “No one else but the teachers alone are the nation builders and it is their soul prerogative to interpret of the ushering changes for the children who are the future of the world.” He added “Teaching is a profession that requires constant reinvention and upgradation in terms of knowledge and insight. Teachers essentially need to develop a passion for their profession to be able to evoke interest of learning in children.” Mulling over the ideal attitude and outlook of teachers Mr. Regunathan said “Teachers essentially need to be an embodiment of patience, inspiration and motivation for the children to create a conducive environment of learning for them and thereby tap young talents with enormous creativity and originality.”
Sharing his enlightening views on ‘reinvention of professionalism in contemporary teachers’ during the inaugural session of the seminar Prof. J. S. Rajput said “In the recent times where the world is changing rapidly, the teachers are the ones who are responsible to give an ideal shape to the future of the nation, as it must be agreed upon that not all changes that are arriving are for the better. It is a teacher who identifies and interprets the pros and cons of the upcoming changes for the youngsters and accordingly mould them to contribute to the society.” He added “contemporary teachers should resiliently endeavor to infuse humility in the minds of the students apart from knowledge to help them emerge as more complete human beings.”
Congratulating AIE for crafting a milestone by holding the seminar on the pertinent theme of “Re Inventing Professionalism of the Contemporary Teacher” Dr. Ashok K Chauhan said “Teachers play a vital role in shaping young minds by influencing their thought processes. The world is changing at a phenomenal rate resulting in a lot of challenges and turbulence in the minds of young people. Education is now widely acknowledged as a full fledged industry with students as the clients. It is the task of the teachers and institutions as service providers to deliver quality service to their clients. Contemporary teachers are engulfed with responsibilities and challenges that were not witnessed by the previous generations. Contemporary teachers have to be professionally competent to be able to provide quality service to the society and at the same time have to be good human beings with strong values to be able to handle the aberrations in behavior of young people that is prevalent in recent times. Hoping that deliberations of the seminar will create synergy of thought and action between the participants on the identified themes that will further result in tangible improvements towards professionalization of teacher education he further added “At Amity we are actively engaged in playing a significant role in nation building by providing them good quality education and rooting them in the Indian value system.”
The seminar was followed by a vivid interactive session between the audience and the esteemed panelists wherein views were exchanged on ‘strategies for integrating technological and media resources in teacher education’, ‘strategies for facilitating effective learning, strategies to empower teachers for teaching – learning in contemporary society’, ‘strategies to develop a research attitude among teacher educators’ etc.
Also present during the seminar were students, faculty members and Heads of Institutions from various institutes of Amity University.
A collect of enriching technical sessions on “Monitoring progress towards professional practice in teacher education” by Prof. Shakuntala Nagpal, Head Deptt of Teacher Education, NCERT and Dr. Saroj Pandey, NCERT; “Competencies, attributes and personal philosophy of the professional teacher & institutional support for professionalization of teachers” by Prof. A. K Sharma, Chief Consultant, NCTE; “Reforming teacher education to facilitate professional practice” by Prof. Bharati Baveja, Professor & Former Dean, Dept of Education, University of Delhi and many more unfolded during the day long seminar.
