1. Tell us more about your experience as an educator.
In nutshell, being an educator is self-fulfilling and self-satisfying. My area of teaching is Marketing Management and is in business education domain. This field provides number of opportunities to explore the knowledge areas and to know more about the subject happening in reality with consumers (we all are consumers) and markets.
I am more interested in the area of consumer behavior, and product and brand management which provide connection with both students and world around. It is always a wonderful experience while interacting with students inside as well as outside the classes.
As an educator, students are at the centre of activities; and there is fun, satisfaction as well as challenge to not only meet the subject requirements of my students but also to fulfill their need to grow in life.
2. What is your opinion of the Indian education system and how would you like to change that?
Every education system has its strengths and weaknesses which is also true for Indian education system. Among others a major strength of Indian education system is providing exposure to different subjects with lot of data and information starting at the primary and secondary level.
However, it somewhat lacks to provide overall self-development and good analytical skills to all the students equally. This gap places challenges to vast number of students in the higher education where there is need for analytical skills.
This lack is very evident when students have to make a choice of subjects either in school after 10th class, or in graduation, or even in higher education say during MBA. Majority of students are confused to make subject choices because focus is not what they can do or like to do but what is the job market or what subjects will be good to study from future perspective. Yes, guidance is required but one should not be completely dependent on guidance for making subject choices.
My view towards education system is that there is need to provide education for self-understanding, and self-development besides subject knowledge. This needs to start from school level and may continue in higher education taking care of different stages of human growth.
This will help students to have self-confidence, decision-making skills and to handle the various aspects of life in positive framework. This will help students as humans to understand that happiness of life is not only in securing higher marks, or making impressive CV, or gaining lot of wealth or social status but in having good family, helping others, contentment in having a simple en-joyful life.
I am not saying that wealth, social status and other materialistic achievements are not good or not looked for but one should not do study only and only to achieve these.
3. What changes in the teaching methodologies have you seen in the recent times?
In view of higher education, there is change from monologue (lecture-based session) to dialogue (discussion-based session). There is change from only theory oriented lectures to methodology providing application oriented active learning which builds on theoretical foundations. Main focus is two-way communication with student participation using different pedagogical tools.
4. How does education help one do well in their career?
In general, education is the foundation to live a good life. A formal education helps one in number of ways to excel in one’s career. It provides required knowledge and both technical and soft skills to perform duties on a job.
However, a right mind set with positive attitude with formal education provides an ideal ground to excel on one’s career path. In other words, formal education has an important role to do well in one’s career but simultaneously there is need to have a right approach to life.
5. Do you think teaching as a profession is viewed at par with corporate jobs?
Teaching profession may appear like a corporate job if one literally sees in terms of fulfilling learning objectives, meeting deadlines or performing number of duties. However, in my view, in reality it is not. It is a dedicated profession where goal is to share and disseminate knowledge to all selflessly.
5. Do you think teaching as a profession is viewed at par with corporate jobs?
Teaching profession may appear like a corporate job if one literally sees in terms of fulfilling learning objectives, meeting deadlines or performing number of duties. However, in my view, in reality it is not. It is a dedicated profession where goal is to share and disseminate knowledge to all selflessly.
Teaching is a profession where one works beyond given duties or deadlines and in return gets self-fulfillment when one sees one’s students’ going ahead in life with success and happiness.
6. How can we adopt technology to make teaching more effective?
Frankly speaking, in present times this question is a difficult one. Now-a-days during Covid-19, teaching is on online platform and all activities are technology-based. I may be right to say, that all over the world at present it is a challenge without option to use technology for teaching.
Teachers are adopting different virtual teaching platforms to make classes interactive, student-friendly and somewhat closure to offline class experience. However, on the other side without Covid-19 situation, technology always act as a facilitator to enhance learning experience.
Technology helps to access information and large amount of data with ease and at low cost. Now-a-days software are must for data analysis. It is difficult to imagine teaching without intervention of technology.
7. Why does India need more educators like you?
Well, I am blessed to be an educator. Thanks to the Almighty who has given me an opportunity to be in this noble profession. Needless to say, that there are many others who are great educators. However, India needs dedicated teachers who aim to share knowledge not only as their mere duty/ job but to serve the society and to build the nation at large with educated beings.
6. How can we adopt technology to make teaching more effective?
Frankly speaking, in present times this question is a difficult one. Now-a-days during Covid-19, teaching is on online platform and all activities are technology-based. I may be right to say, that all over the world at present it is a challenge without option to use technology for teaching.
Teachers are adopting different virtual teaching platforms to make classes interactive, student-friendly and somewhat closure to offline class experience. However, on the other side without Covid-19 situation, technology always act as a facilitator to enhance learning experience.
Technology helps to access information and large amount of data with ease and at low cost. Now-a-days software are must for data analysis. It is difficult to imagine teaching without intervention of technology.
7. Why does India need more educators like you?
Well, I am blessed to be an educator. Thanks to the Almighty who has given me an opportunity to be in this noble profession. Needless to say, that there are many others who are great educators. However, India needs dedicated teachers who aim to share knowledge not only as their mere duty/ job but to serve the society and to build the nation at large with educated beings.
- Prof. Anita Goyal
Associate Professor, IIM Lucknow Noida Campus
- Interview by - Sanjana Jain
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