SOCIAL RELEVANCE OF THE WOMAN TEACHER



In the field of education and literacy, Kerala has done extremely well. High life expectancy, low child mortality rates, awareness about hygiene and good health can be counted among the Malayalee’s achievements. And in all these achievements women have played an important part. Because a child’s health habits, concepts and imagination originate from the home or to put it more clearly, from the mother. The child comes to school from this home and the school becomes a second home for him /her.The child begins the learning process at home through information received and his/her experience. A school should be a place for a continuation and broadening of this learning process. A school should impart social lessons to ready the child to become part of society. It is at this point that we begin to see the social relevance of the woman teacher.WHY WOMAN TEACHER?As mentioned earlier, women play a significant role in Kerala’s progress. In a child’s development and evolution of the team spirit, the school, as a miniature form of society is quite important. Interestingly the statistics regarding the number of women teachers also points to the need for more focus as women teachers. In 1957, just after the birth of the state of Kerala, only 41% of the teachers were women. Thereafter in 1976-77, women caught up with men and their numbers got equalised. 30 years later, in 2004-05 the records show that out the total 1,74,881 teachers 1,21,016 are women and only 53,865 are men. Which means that the percentage of women among the teachers has risen from 41% in 1957 to 69.5% in 2005! Women’s supremacy in this field has come to stay (see figure).

In spite of the attractive salary, job security and social respectability why are men staying away from this profession. This is a question nobody is raising. And when the teachers’ organisations select their leaders, the representation of the woman majority is sadly being ignored.NEW SCHOOL SCENARIO In changing Kerala, new ideas have been put forward that education should be child centred and that the teacher’s role should be that of a co-student. This increases the social responsibility of the woman teacher. But what is being observed is that while the child’s world becomes wider the women teacher’s world is getting narrow. How can teachers as a whole overcome this malady?The foremost need is to be able to identify the nature of the child. The woman teacher in her class faces children coming from a variety of social and economical backgrounds, -a miniature edition of society. It is the important that the teacher has the capacity to realise and accept these differences.Women teachers should be given an upper hand in making education policy making and implementation at school and state level. There is a need for an organised movement to achieve this Apart from this, the woman teacher should be able to understand the changes in society and also put her knowledge into practice. The woman teacher should voluntarily participate in people’s social groups like Kudumbasree, Ayalkkoottam and Gramasabha. Discussing her problems with her colleagues is one way for a woman teacher to arrive at an understanding about her students.WHAT CAN BE DONE DURING TRAINING Eighty percent of the candidates studying at the numerous teacher-training centres in Kerala (Govt., aided and unaided) are women. But the mode of training indicates that this fact has been knowingly or unknowingly ignored till now. The B.Ed. curriculum should be designed in such a way that the teacher acquires the ability to take up social responsibility, identify the changes taking place and to decide by her self upon the necessary changes required in her work in accordance with the changes. The present method of ‘promoting’ the teacher’s commitment by increasing the number of record books has to end. In its place a new training method should be evolved that takes into account that the majority of teachers are women. In this way, teacher-training students will learn to think and act by themselves developing their own personalities and also widening the possibilities of knowledge and wisdom.

by

ROOBIYA. K. M., RADEENA. D. N.

• At 1/01/2007 9:58 PM,  clicksreekanth said…

  the topic s relvnt. women play a significant role in Kerala’s progress.

   

• At 1/02/2007 8:07 PM,  www.nostalgia.blogspot.in said…

  topic kollam. entha men teacher kollille. women.... teacher mathramalla good profession. journalists (like me ....hi...)
  write about journalists . avarude kadanakadhakal.....ok....

   

• At 1/04/2007 9:51 PM,  Noel Don said…

  friends,
  
  majority of male teachers wont get inner side of students. they just bang around their minds and mostly they gets very angry than female teachers do. female teachers are just like our mothers. they know their student's mind. if students finds a nice lady teacher with helpful mind, surely her students love her very much, but there one fact lying. there are some female teachers who really dont care their students and try to harm them in many ways. female teachers are really very very good

   

• At 1/05/2007 10:21 AM,  Sindu said…

  What you said is true. Nobody is focusing on training. Now we are planning to develop our kids personality, creative thinking and so on. For that we have to develop our teacher's personality and creativity. Authorities are not willing to do that or teachers themselves. They want to finish their job by 4 O' Clock, that's it. Teaching is not a profession it is a passion. There may be 10% who take it as passion. 90% of "teachers" became teachers only because they got a B.Ed degree. Do you ever think why we have more women teachers? In my opinion that is because they can take care of their kids and can have a job. Most of the time they can have same vacation as their kids. What do you think?