Why should we become great teacher? (A Reflection)

Teachers should not aspire to produce enlightened students if we live a constipated life. Teachers must live an enlightened life to produce enlightened students. We must first become great teachers to have great students and great education, but how should I become great teacher first? This question irks me every day.

In the wisdoms of His Majesty the King, “Good is not good enough.” Mediocrity is not our trait, it is not even ‘good’ because we live in a great nation. We have great leadership in the form of His Majesty the King and great vision is already vouchsafed upon us in the timeless wisdoms of their Majesties. When the nation has great leader ad great vision, if we however have only good teacher expecting to produce great students, we as teachers, are nowhere close to the logic. Jim Collins, an American author, consultant and lecturer said, “Great vision without great people is irrelevant.” If teachers settle to just being good teachers, we are pulling down the national vision to irrelevance. Being good is being complacent. Complacency, as His Majesty the King pronounced, is dangerous to our nation.

Most books about Bhutan begin with the phrase, “Bhutan is sandwiched between India and China.” However, this phrase has become such a cliché that not many give serious thought about it. The phrase got consumed by our ignorance to serve mere geographical location. If we must care to reflect on this and attach a deeper meaning, it will give us couple of sleepless night. Bhutan being sandwiched also infers that Bhutanese are sandwiched between two economic and military power of Asia. We, as people sandwiched between two powerful nations of Asia cannot settle ourselves to be good. Our survival instinct and our vision to prosper as nation is always telling us to push the limits and become great people with great talent. To have great people in great nation, teachers bear enormous responsibility. Teacher either make or break great people. Just good officers going to work every day is teachers’ deepest pain but a great officer going to work every day is teachers’ greatest joy. Yet, if teachers settle to being good teacher, we will neither feel the pain nor joy and this will be greatest sin. We will only become enemy to the greatness of this nation. 

Children wake up every morning from most comfy blankets, wash their face half-asleep, separate from lovely parents and travel miles to come to school. If they come to school with so much trouble only to see us just being good, I don’t see a point of our presence in school. Every day parents sacrifice their crops to wild animals and tether their cattle to hunger to send their children to school. Government spend in millions every day to educate and nurture children and millions are spent on teachers like me. These spending should not be treated like welfare projects; it is a serious national affair. In such grand national affair, excellence should be the only standard and greatness, the only quality. Yet again, if we limit ourselves to just being good teacher, teaching, claimed as noble profession will be compromised by ourselves.
We have children in our custody and their future in our trusteeship. No human, forget our children, wish to live a moderate, lukewarm or just good live, not even ourselves. If teachers and school cannot expose our children to great experiences and exuberant way of living and learning, they will live their life believing that good is good enough. To live up to the great vision of great leaders, to expand the greatness of this nation and to produce great citizen, greatness is fundamental as well ultimate requirement of teachers.

Nonetheless, having reflected this, not profound though, the fundamental question to ask is, “Am I a great teacher? Am I a just a good teacher or am I not even a good teacher? The recent moderation graded me in “Good” category. Does it truly qualify me? Does it over-quality me or under-qualify me? Did that grading affect my quality or is it just another white elephant in my professional resume?” I don’t know and I don’t want to dwell here. This is not a good place to be. I am less consumed by grading but more ignited by passion for work. The only aspiration I have, is to become great teacher if I am not or to become greater if I am already great.
Are we great teacher? Or are we just teachers expecting greatness from our students? How can we become great teacher? Becoming great teacher is a serious trade. How to become a great teacher is topic for another reflective moment. 

Remember, “Good is the enemy of great. And that is one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great. We don't have great schools, principally because we have good schools. We don't have great government, principally because we have good government. Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life.”

Jim Collins

Teachers should not only be great teacher, but also great human being. 

Note: This article is limited self-reflection and it is not intended for any audience in particular.