Monday, September 3, 2012

52. Teachers’ Day 2012



[Kerala University English Teacher Educator’s Forum - KUETEF]


Austrian born   Rudolf  Joseph Lorenz Steiner (1861- 1925) does not find mention in the Philosophy paper of  the BEd curriculum of the University of Kerala.  He became famous  as  a cultural philosopher and   through the spiritual movement- Anthroposophy. Recently, while surfing the Web,  I came across a series of lectures  delivered by  him  in 1919.  

The last lecture- # 14 was delivered on 05 September 1919.  Incidentally, 05 September  is celebrated as Teachers’ Day in India.  The following is an extract from  the Pdf version  of the book entitled Practical Advices to Teachers : Fourteen Lectures   :  I  thought it would be an appropriate message for  the members of our KUETEF fraternity on the eve of Teachers’ Day:

At the end of those lectures, Steiner made the following concluding remarks:

Today I would like to conclude these discussions by pointing out something I want to lay upon your hearts; I would like you to stick firmly to the following four principles. First, teachers must make sure that they influence and work on their students, in a broader sense, by allowing the spirit to flow through their whole being as teachers, and also in the details of their work: how each word is spoken, and how each concept or feeling is developed. Teachers must be people of initiative. They must be filled with initiative. Teachers must never be careless or lazy; they must, at every moment, stand in full consciousness of what they do in the school and how they act toward the children. This is the first principle. The teacher must be a person of initiative in everything done, great and small.

Second, my dear friends, we as teachers must take an interest in everything happening in the world and in whatever concerns humankind. All that is happening in the outside world and in human life must arouse our interest. It would be deplorable if we as teachers were to shut ourselves off from anything that might interest human beings. We should take an interest in the affairs of the outside world, and we should also be able to enter into  anything, great or small, that concerns every single child in our care. That is the second principle. The teacher should be one who is interested in the being of the whole world and of humanity.

Third, the teacher must be one who never compromises in the heart and mind with what is untrue. Teachers must be true in the depths of their being. Teachers must never compromise with untruth, because if they did, we would see how untruth would find its way through many channels into our teaching, especially in the way we present the subjects. Our teaching will only bear the stamp of truth when we ardently strive for truth in ourselves.

And now comes something more easily said than done, but it is, nevertheless, also a golden rule for the teacher’s calling. The teacher must never get stale or grow sour. Cherish a mood of  soul that is fresh and healthy! No getting stale and sour! This must be the teacher’s endeavor.

               {Steiner, Rudolf  Anthroposophic Press  2000 P 187-88}



Dr. C. Praveen
Secretary, KUETEF