''Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan "
Born: September 5, 1888
Died: April 17, 1975
Achievements: First Vice President and second President of India. Placed Indian philosophy on world map.
Died: April 17, 1975
Achievements: First Vice President and second President of India. Placed Indian philosophy on world map.
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was first Vice President of India and second President of India. He was also a philosopher and introduced the thinking of western idealist philosophers into Indian thought. He was a famous teacher and his birthday is celebrated as Teacher’s Day in India.
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was born on September 5, 1888 at Tirutani, Madras in a poor Brahmin family. As his father was poor Radhakrishnan supported most of his education through scholarships. Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan had his early education at Gowdie School, Tiruvallur and then went to the Lutheran Mission School in Tirupati for his high school. He joined the Voorhee’s College in Vellore and later switched to the Madras Christian College. He chose Philosophy as his major subject and did his B.A. and M.A. in it.
After completing his M.A., Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, accepted an Assistant Lectureship at the Madras Presidency College in 1909. In college, he mastered the classics of Hindu philosophy, namely the Upanishads, Bhagvad Gita, Brahmasutra, and commentaries of Sankara, Ramunuja and Madhava. He also acquainted himself with Buddhist and Jain philosophy and philosophies of Western thinkers such as Plato, Plotinus, Kant, Bradley, and Bergson.
In 1918, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was selected as Professor of Philosophy by the University of Mysore. In 1921, Radhakrishnan was nominated as Professor of Philosophy at the Calcutta University, 1921. In 1923, Dr. Radhakrishnan’s book “Indian Philosophy” was published. The book was hailed as a “philosophical classic and a literary masterpiece.”
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was called to Oxford University, to deliver lectures on Hindu philosophy. He used his lectures as a platform to further India’s cause for freedom. He also argued that Western philosophers, despite all claims to objectivity, were biased by theological influences from their wider culture. He showed that Indian philosophy, once translated into standard academic jargon, is worthy of being called philosophy by Western standards. He thus placed Indian Philosophy on world map.
In 1931, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was elected Vice Chancellor of the Andhra University. In 1939, Radhakrishnan became the Vice Chancellor of the Benaras Hindu University. In 1946, he was appointed as Ambassador to UNESCO. After Independence Dr. Radhakrishnan was requested to Chair the University Education Commission in 1948. The Radhakrishnan Committee’s suggestions helped mould the education system for India’s needs.
In 1949, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was appointed ambassador to the Soviet Union. He helped laid the foundation for a strong relationship with Soviet Union. Radhakrishnan was elected first Vice-President of India in 1952. He was honored with the Bharat Ratna in 1954. After serving two terms as Vice-President, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was elected President of India in 1962. During his tenure as President India fought wars with China and Pakistan. As President he helped see India through those trying years safely. He retired as President in 1967 and settled in Madras.
Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan died on April 17, 1975.
I feel proud to be a "TEACHER".
NOW I AM WORKING AS A COMPUTER TEACHER IN RAVINDRA BHARATHI SCHOOL - BHAVANI NAGAR - TIRUPATI - CHITOOR (DT) - ANDHRA PRADESH - INDIA.In the end, what makes a great teacher? I wish I had a magic eight-ball that allowed me to figure this one out, but it's something I've really given a lot of thought to... and I think what follows are at least some interesting ways to think about the profession.
I've
been on the hiring committee at Beacon for several years, and I've seen
us make some amazing hires, and I've seen us make some less than
amazing hires. I know what are the things I look for, but finding the
right mix, the right person can be so difficult.
So what makes a great teacher?
1) Passion for teaching. This can manifest itself so many ways. I'm the "jump around the room" kind of teacher, and sure, that comes from a lot of passion, but some of the best teachers I've known have had a passion that students had to be quiet to catch onto. For me, when I was a young teacher, watching people like Maura Gouck and Marijolin DeJager teach with their quiet passion and brilliance was so important to my development as a teacher.
2) Love of kids. You laugh, but it's true! I've seen people come in and talk about teaching and talk about how much they love their subject and know about their subject, but they never mention the kids. Worse, we had an interview once where the teacher clearly knew his stuff, but he basically admitted that his classroom management style was fear and intimidation. Not who I want teaching kids I care about.
3) Love of their subject. Again... pretty important. I spent four years dropping by Mike Thayer's classroom because to watch him explain physics or calculus was, for me, to understand how you could have a passion for something that was always a mystery for me. Great teachers not only love their subject, but they love to share that joy with students.
4) Understand of the role of a school in a child's life. High school is more than the sum of the classes the kids take. It's a time to grow, explore, try on identities, find joys that might just last a lifetime. Sometimes the best teaching we do happens on basketball courts, in the halls after a class, at a local coffee shop or in a drama studio. The best teachers know that they are teachers for much more than the time they are in the physical classroom.
5) A willingness to change. This one gets overlooked sometimes, I think. I've written about this before, but it bears repeating. We talk about how schools should be transformative for kids, but I think they can be just as transformative for teachers. If you expect kids to be changed by their interaction with you, it's got to be a two-way street.
6) A work-ethic that doesn't quit. It's a hard, draining job that will demand all that you can give sometimes. You've got to be able to have some balance in your life, but there are very few teachers who can be effective by cramming everything they need to do into the hours allocated by the average teacher's contract. (And for the record, the overwhelming majority of the teachers I've met put in hours well above and beyond the contract.)
7) A willingness to reflect. You've got to be able to ask why things went the way they did... both on the good and the bad days. And you have to be able to admit when the reasons it went bad were because of what you did, not what the students did. (Equally important is the understanding that often things go right because of what the kids brought to the table, not because your lesson plan should be bronzed.) Teaching requires a willingness to cast a critical eye on your practice, your pedagogy and your self. And it can be brutal. Organization.
8)My personal Achilles heel, and one of the things I'm always working to improve. My Palm Pilot helped, really. But I hate paperwork and official looking documents, and it kills me. I am amazed at the people like Dale Lally who seem to get his papers handed back before the kids hand them in or seems to be able to put his hands on every unit he's ever taught within a moment's notice. Kids know what to expect, they know he's going to be organized and have a structure to his class... and he's still creative and spontaneous and interesting. I can only imagine how much better of a teacher I'd be if the structure of everything I did was just a little more organized.
9) Understanding that being a "great teacher" is a constant struggle to always improve. I'm starting my eighth year as a teacher in a little over two weeks. I'm pretty proud of what I've accomplished, and I think I've had some moments of great teaching in my career so far, but I also still see all the holes in my teaching -- sadly, often times mirroring holes in my self -- and I still want to get better... because I think I've got a long way to go to be a great teacher every day. And even if I get better at everything I see as weaknesses now, I can only imagine what new challenges will face me on that day.
10) Enough ego to survive the hard days. The tough days will leave you curled up under a desk, convinced that you can't teach or the world is too hard for these kids or the work is too much or whatever the problem was that day... you have to have enough sense of self to survive those days.
11) Enough humility to remember it's not about you. It's about the kids. If your ego rules your classroom, if the class turns into "me v. them" or if you can't understand that a sixteen year old might be able to tell you something you don't know, then don't teach. Or at least, don't teach high school.
12) A willingness to work collaboratively. Sure, there are some great teachers who close the door to their classroom and do what they want, but I think you send a strange message to the kids that way sometimes. Teachers are part of a school community, and even where that community can be flawed (and lots of schools are), a great teacher should be willing to work to make the community a better place.
I wish I could say that I was good at all these things. I wish I could say that I even knew every place I needed to improve. I don't... although, after eight years of journalling about teaching (including the year student teaching), I certainly have a lot of writing to point me to my own sense of self as a teacher. And after seven years at Beacon, I've had a chance to see some of the best teachers in New York City practice their craft. I guess I'm questioning if I even have the right to write this entry... but for me, the act of writing it is as much to question my own sense of what makes a good teacher as it is to claim that I have any idea of what does.
So what makes a great teacher?
1) Passion for teaching. This can manifest itself so many ways. I'm the "jump around the room" kind of teacher, and sure, that comes from a lot of passion, but some of the best teachers I've known have had a passion that students had to be quiet to catch onto. For me, when I was a young teacher, watching people like Maura Gouck and Marijolin DeJager teach with their quiet passion and brilliance was so important to my development as a teacher.
2) Love of kids. You laugh, but it's true! I've seen people come in and talk about teaching and talk about how much they love their subject and know about their subject, but they never mention the kids. Worse, we had an interview once where the teacher clearly knew his stuff, but he basically admitted that his classroom management style was fear and intimidation. Not who I want teaching kids I care about.
3) Love of their subject. Again... pretty important. I spent four years dropping by Mike Thayer's classroom because to watch him explain physics or calculus was, for me, to understand how you could have a passion for something that was always a mystery for me. Great teachers not only love their subject, but they love to share that joy with students.
4) Understand of the role of a school in a child's life. High school is more than the sum of the classes the kids take. It's a time to grow, explore, try on identities, find joys that might just last a lifetime. Sometimes the best teaching we do happens on basketball courts, in the halls after a class, at a local coffee shop or in a drama studio. The best teachers know that they are teachers for much more than the time they are in the physical classroom.
5) A willingness to change. This one gets overlooked sometimes, I think. I've written about this before, but it bears repeating. We talk about how schools should be transformative for kids, but I think they can be just as transformative for teachers. If you expect kids to be changed by their interaction with you, it's got to be a two-way street.
6) A work-ethic that doesn't quit. It's a hard, draining job that will demand all that you can give sometimes. You've got to be able to have some balance in your life, but there are very few teachers who can be effective by cramming everything they need to do into the hours allocated by the average teacher's contract. (And for the record, the overwhelming majority of the teachers I've met put in hours well above and beyond the contract.)
7) A willingness to reflect. You've got to be able to ask why things went the way they did... both on the good and the bad days. And you have to be able to admit when the reasons it went bad were because of what you did, not what the students did. (Equally important is the understanding that often things go right because of what the kids brought to the table, not because your lesson plan should be bronzed.) Teaching requires a willingness to cast a critical eye on your practice, your pedagogy and your self. And it can be brutal. Organization.
8)My personal Achilles heel, and one of the things I'm always working to improve. My Palm Pilot helped, really. But I hate paperwork and official looking documents, and it kills me. I am amazed at the people like Dale Lally who seem to get his papers handed back before the kids hand them in or seems to be able to put his hands on every unit he's ever taught within a moment's notice. Kids know what to expect, they know he's going to be organized and have a structure to his class... and he's still creative and spontaneous and interesting. I can only imagine how much better of a teacher I'd be if the structure of everything I did was just a little more organized.
9) Understanding that being a "great teacher" is a constant struggle to always improve. I'm starting my eighth year as a teacher in a little over two weeks. I'm pretty proud of what I've accomplished, and I think I've had some moments of great teaching in my career so far, but I also still see all the holes in my teaching -- sadly, often times mirroring holes in my self -- and I still want to get better... because I think I've got a long way to go to be a great teacher every day. And even if I get better at everything I see as weaknesses now, I can only imagine what new challenges will face me on that day.
10) Enough ego to survive the hard days. The tough days will leave you curled up under a desk, convinced that you can't teach or the world is too hard for these kids or the work is too much or whatever the problem was that day... you have to have enough sense of self to survive those days.
11) Enough humility to remember it's not about you. It's about the kids. If your ego rules your classroom, if the class turns into "me v. them" or if you can't understand that a sixteen year old might be able to tell you something you don't know, then don't teach. Or at least, don't teach high school.
12) A willingness to work collaboratively. Sure, there are some great teachers who close the door to their classroom and do what they want, but I think you send a strange message to the kids that way sometimes. Teachers are part of a school community, and even where that community can be flawed (and lots of schools are), a great teacher should be willing to work to make the community a better place.
I wish I could say that I was good at all these things. I wish I could say that I even knew every place I needed to improve. I don't... although, after eight years of journalling about teaching (including the year student teaching), I certainly have a lot of writing to point me to my own sense of self as a teacher. And after seven years at Beacon, I've had a chance to see some of the best teachers in New York City practice their craft. I guess I'm questioning if I even have the right to write this entry... but for me, the act of writing it is as much to question my own sense of what makes a good teacher as it is to claim that I have any idea of what does.
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