Question

"The teacher is the fountain of all knowledge."

What is your response to this statement? Why?

What is the perception of the roles of teachers and students in your country?

How is the learning environment structured and does it facilitate your learning? (By 'learning environment I am referring to situations within which learning occurs, such as lectures, seminars, group work, individual work, learning by rote.)

Answer 1

1. In my views, teachers are no longer the foundation of all knowledge. This place has been occupied by the Internet in the current times. Whenever in need of any kind of information, students resort towards the Internet, the central repository of any kind of information. However, the validation of data on the Internet is not 100% accurate. So, when in doubt about the validation, the students approach the teacher. The teachers act as facilitators of this knowledge and they solve the doubts for which, Internet did not give 100% clarity. Another reason for the popularity of Internet over teachers is that it can be accessed from anywhere and anytime, while the approachability of teachers is limited to school time.

2. In India, the role of teachers and students is still in the traditional format. The relationship between them is also very formal. Students depend on the teachers for gaining knowledge. In India, Internet acts, as facilitator while the teacher is the prime source for gaining knowledge. This is because, the classroom mode of learning is critical in India.

3. The learning environment in India still follows the old school format.

• Presence of teachers is essential
• Classroom learning mode is the most common form of learning
• Evaluation is written assessment based
• Formal relationship between teachers and students