An interesting and knowledgeable class room

Great teachers are born  and not made  just like poets. 

This noblest of professions is actually an art. 

Still, we can learn the strategies from some of our great teachers and practice them.

Art is polished with ritualistic practices. Craftsmanship requires hard work, careful preparation and continuous practice.

Every leader/manager/administrator/mentor has to know his strengths and weaknesses to manage others. The teacher plays all these roles in the class room. 

There are many areas where the teacher should know his position.

1. Knowledge/Reading/updating

The wise man knows he knows only little; even all the knowledge the Mankind has acquired is still very little compared to the immense ignorance we are grappling with everyday.

Thiruvalluvar says in Chapter 85 'Pullari vannmai':  The arrogance of thinking we 'know' is the greatest stupidity.


We all would have had teachers who became extremely harsh with students to hide their lack of  scholarship. They hurt as a strategy to protect themselves.

2. Communication Skills

Chapter 65 in Thirukkural discusses communication skills. It is called 'Sol Vanmai'.

Chapter 20 discusses how to avoid unnecessary talks. It is called 'Payanila Sollamai.'

The teacher has to communicate his knowledge in an effective manner.

1. The key concepts have to be defined clearly. 
2. Then they have to be explained with suitable illustrations drawn from contemporary life. 
3. Finally the key concepts have to be explained once again. 
4. In the following classes whenever possible the teacher has to bring back this definition for a minute or two. 
5. This is a linear pattern. If there are 25 definitions they would be constantly touched by the teacher effectively that all the students become familiar with the concepts.
6. These repetitions can be made interesting if each time a definition is brought back, the teacher can use a different illustration from popular culture like the media.
7. Round about speaking, insinuations will confuse the listener.
8. Ordering points is a good pattern.
9. Illustrations must be chosen carefully. It can have extra meanings. Value based illustrations have to be discussed. 
10. Speech/talks should bind the listeners together. Eye contact and a friendly expression is a must for every teacher.
11. The teacher has to listen to every word he speaks; he should be aware of every expression that comes to his face; he should consciously observe his thoughts as he is teaching. A man who goes on talking without listening to his words will be a bore.
12. Effective introductions; effective key points; effective summaries; effective analyses are the pillars of a knowledgeable and interesting class room

3. Knowledge of the self

'Know thyself' said Socrates. It is the most difficult thing in life. 

Each person has a distinct configuration. It gets modified with experiences, how the mind is receiving these experiences and how it interacts with other people.

This process is life that is permanent on one side and flexible on the other side. This dual quality is the biggest challenge that blocks our understanding of our selves. Dwaita philosophy considers life as dualistic. Existentialism studies this dual nature of mankind. 

We often complain about others how they have changed. It is essential we become aware of the changes that keep happening on our personality.

One has to develop a sense of self-observation to emerge as an effective professional.

Of all the professions, teaching exposes the leader to a large number of students who watch him minutely and critique later. Every expression that slips from the teacher gives a message to the student. Most of the times, students might even misunderstand these messages coming to wrong conclusions. The teacher has to become aware of these messages given by his body, words etc. to have command over himself. 

An effective understanding of the Self gives the teacher more confidence and authority. 

4. Knowledge of the students' minds

Chapter 71 in Thirukkural discusses extensively how we can read minds from facial expressions, especially the eye. It is called 'Kurippu Arithal'.

1. One should learn to read silences
2. One should learn to read the heart
3. The eye must keep travelling to look at every face and understand its thoughts
4. The face is like a marble piece that reflects thoughts
5. The face has to be studied carefully
6. One should respond to sadness on faces instantly
7. The face will tell if the listener is a friend or enemy. Accordingly one should plan strategies.
8. The finest metric system to understand human mind is the eye.

The teacher has to keep assessing the students as he is teaching. If a student's eye shifts it is time for a humorous anecdote; if there is a yawn, it is time to bring in an interesting illustration; if there is murmur, it is time the students are given time to speak; if there is passivity, it is time to given an activity etc.

Class Room Management - 2. A leader has to read minds

In the Indian class room where the teacher stands symbolizing authority and administrator, observation becomes an essential skill for the teacher and student apart serious listening.

Foucault, the French post structuralist philosopher has discussed in detail the nuances of human communication systems in his book 'Archaeology of Knowledge.' 

Systems of thought and knowledge are discursive, says Foucault. They are governed by rules beyond grammar and logic. They operate beneath the consciousness of individual subjects. They discuss the conceptual possibilities of a given space and time. 

In a class room a knowledge atmosphere is created by the teacher that in turn stimulates more thoughts, new consciousness, and builds a certain emotionally charged scene of learning. Our students with our traditional attitude to the teachers will remain silent throughout the class. Hence the discursive elements have to be studied carefully by the teacher. 

Thiruvalluvar calls this act in chapter 71 as 'Kuripparithal' in his second part 'Wealth' where he defines the act of communication. He refers to this  as  'Kuuraamai Nookki'. Every Indian teacher has to learn to 'read' the silences of his students. Or any Administrator or leader requires this skill of observing the minute shifts in human expressions, the flashing eyes, the mild smirk that appears and disappears, the little too quick smile, or the dead passive expressionless eyes.

The Banyan Tree - a painting - oil on canvas by my Dad S. Chellaiah who paints only nature

A leader with this ability to read human thoughts is an asset to this world, says Thiruvalluvar. 

In Mahabharatham it is said how Arjunan could communicate with all the species of the world. It becomes essential that future leaders learn to communicate with not only fellow human beings, but also with all the species of this earth. Foucault brings forward a philosophy that recognizes all kinds of living creatures. Thiruvalluvar demands that such leaders with the capacity to read fellow minds perfectly well should be put in charge of important positions.

Reading mind is reading discursive expressions. Thiruvalluvar puts this down to the 'eyes'. He says that there is no other tool than the eyes to measure the human heart. A smart teacher will hold his students' attention just be communicating through eyes. He has to receive the thoughts and direct them towards the concepts being discussed. 

As Foucault says one need not try to fix this communication within the usual rules of logic or grammar. Reading minds and linking thoughts will bring maximum silent interaction between the teacher and the student. It opens the possibilities for more learning, and more understanding and also will channelize students' energy towards a specific goal. 

At the same time the teacher has to be cautious about what he is communicating to his students through his eyes. Self-management is one of the basic requirements for this profession. If a teacher likes/hates his students a little too much, the consequences would be many. 

An awareness of the discursive elements in human expressions will help teachers acquire more command and respect if not love from  all the students.