An All-Round Education

Thirty three years in the field of teaching, umpteen challenges and hundreds of miracles is what professor Parashar Thakkar is made up of.
These accomplishments most certainly make for one revolutionary teacher. But more than teaching his pupils to be good students, since 1979, this professor has taught them to be good humans.

Your students say that you are not only the best teacher they’ve ever known but also a friend they respect. Why do you think your students feel this way?
Even though I am a teacher, I have never liked to be treated differently. In fact, I try not to behave like a teacher! Instead, I prefer to be a student’s friend. I believe that students should ‘learn while they learn and play while they play’. I try to give them a learning experience which is enjoyable.

You have a totally different method of teaching. Tell us more.
In most of the competetive exams these days, including the exams that higher-level students appear for, and even in practical life, ‘thinking’ has become very necessary as a means to succeed. Hence, my teaching methods aim at encouraging ‘thinking’ as well as motivating students. This comes at a time when rote learning is the norm of the day in our country and educational system.

Every coin has two sides, what’s your fun side?
My ‘true’ side has quite a bit of fun sprinkled in. Trying to be loyal to my duties, students rarely get to see that I am at heart, a peace-loving person. I love to interact with people and appreciate nature, music, stage acting, and cricket.

What is the one belief that you’ve stuck to all through your teaching career?
Not only in teaching, but also in all areas of my life, I strongly believe in ‘karma’. Every deed that we perform bears its fruit and no matter what, we have to undergo it.

What would be your ideal education system?
I would prefer that education is taught in either a student’s mother tongue or the national language of the country. It is an irony that as Indians, we tend to know English better than our own mother tongues or Hindi for that matter.
I do respect English as an international language and strongly feel that there should exist a balance between our regional language and English. I’d like a system that not only encourages hard work, discipline and healthy competition but also brings about an all-round growth of a person, which in turn makes him/her a good human.

What does the youth of today lack?
Today’s youth lacks a sense of spirituality and thus, emotional maturity. They are too obsessed with material things. They need to improve their human qualities for the betterment of their own lives.

Volume 2 Issue 1