"Docendo Discimus" is a Latin phrase that means "We learn by teaching". Having made the transition from being a student to a lecturer in a span of just about 2 months, that too in my own college, the taste of the other side of the classroom is rather difficult to put in words. On one side it feels great to have even more power than I did as CSI chair or student council member. Not to mention that various restrictions now no longer hold true...like surfing the net in the labs and going right inside the library to find books for urself!!Ofcourse uneasy lies the head that wears a crown and so I have to pick up added responsibility as well. I can no longer bunk college and run home at anytime I wish! No more loitering on the stairs and no more participation in fests (oh hw i miss GD/PI, debate, creative writing, etc. etc.!!). Even more than these, I never knew that wielding the red pen would be so much harder than the blue or black pen!
To repeat the same thing over and over again to different batches of students, to remember that all students have different learning levels and to teach so that the fast learners stay interested and the slow learners understand, to teach not for a semester but for a lifetime, to understand and make it understood that education is the kindling of a flame and not the filling of a vessel. Teachers sure don't need anything like the Hippocrates oath, they practise something akin to it everyday!!
And what do I get out of all this? We come back to the topic title to answer that question. Ofcourse the job-satisfaction that a job with attentive listeners, strict 9-5 schedule, weekends off and quite a lot of free time brings. But more than that, uninhibited learning without the tension of completing assignments, meeting submission deadlines or worrying about exams and marks. I have never learnt as much before as I am learning now! As the GTalk status says, 'Docendo Discimus'!!!
1 comment:
Now I understand why there was a very BIG delay in updates on your blog. I didn't the fact that you are now working as a lecturer in your own college. Now thats the sweetest thing, but will remind you most of your college days as well.
So how do you keep in control of things you encounter? Like you know as students what you did were right and the lecturer was just crazy and now you are in the point of Lecturer, should be a interesting one.
Do share more of your experiences and good title for your Blog Post as well your GTalk :)
Happy "Docendo Discimus" !!
Cheers,
Vinay
Post a Comment