Do we need teachers

1. DO WE NEED TEACHERS?
I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well. Alexander the Great
Dr.T.V.Rao MD With advancement of Information Technology, and faster communication skills, one wonders do we need Teachers in any Profession, as we live in a complex, and rapidly changing world, the answer is certainly yes, as true education should deepen our concern for a suffering soul rather than mere concern for physical body. The transformative power of an effective teacher is something almost all of us have experienced and understand on a personal level Centuries of Indian Philosophy has taught, there is supreme power beyond physical body and mind that is soul. With time cultures, altitudes and concern for society may change, but the words of the great teacher of the century Dr. S. Radhakrishnan cannot be forgotten "The function of the teacher is of vital importance, committed to faith in future of man, humanity. No teacher can progress unless he has faith-in humanity that is his pupil. A question is posed by the society weather all we do as a teacher, is correct, certainly not, it is said in Upanishads "do not do all things which your teachers do, only follow the blameless acts, but not others". Basic philosophy of any living conscious individual is to be happy, healthy and fearless, nobody wishes to have pain," suffering and misery. It is only conscious teachers can bring in change and mould in early days of Medical Education, the value of preserving the human life and art of consoling the suffering soul, and not mere trading of our knowledge for material gains, as happening with commercialization of our educational system. The recent advances in Information Technology can load the people with mere facts on Science and Medicine to be understood as new modality of leaning and not a substitute for humanistic teacher with passion for Teaching.
The purpose of better informed, communicated and skilled person is to possess a better moral, kind, generous and selfless attitude to co-humans. The ideal teachers should strive to be a model to enrich human life and dignity. Good teaching will continue to be foundation of the Nation’s economic and social progress. With all the advanced modalities of teaching^ students still believe there is no substitute for a sincere and faithful teacher to the changing needs of the students. Many effective teachers put forward many ideals which include
1. Clarity of teaching
2. Arousal of students
3. Use of examples to face the realities of the world
4. Depth of the knowledge in the subject
It reminds that when Mac Carlyle was asked the secret of successful teaching he replied back "Be what you would have pupil be, all other teaching is unblessed mockery and apery. Our first and best teacher is the mother, yet no computer has replaced a true mother. A true teacher conscious to the needs of the students can never be compared with heartless machines. The great words of Plato purpose of education are not to fill the empty vessel but to turn the eye of soul towards the light.
Let us not forget that computer and e-education cannot provide a human touch, as they are better tools to serve the humanity for quicker and efficient delivery of knowledge. We need more and

2. more self-conscious teachers in all fields to bring in value based Medicine as part of fast degenerating moral and ethical values towards to our co humans. Teachers who infuse new thinking makes many students creative and Taking knowledge out of a vacuum and infusing it into an authentic experience ensures that creativity is grounded in relevant learning. All the teachers cited lessons they had taught that had real-world applications. The fact that the teachers viewed "real- world" learning as creative, tells us that such teaching moments often feel fresh and bring in novel thinking. Many of the Medical teachers like any other professionals have a higher capacities to make our students worthy of the Profession we preach?
Dr.T.V.Rao MD Professor of Microbiology Freelance writer