Yes! You read it right. We do have memorable “academic” experiences in college as well apart from all the lovey dovey, friendly-wiendly or in short “non-academic experiences” that we enjoy and savour the most.
Well to start with, I was grateful to be having the opportunity to spend my three years of BMS in SVKM’s UPG College of Management and from day one I knew I was in for a blast!
Over these three vital years of my life, I went through a lot of good/bad/worst/best experiences and would like to add that these years played a great part in sculpting the human that I am today.
I probably have loads to share but would stick to just one good memory that I feel has been instrumental in helping me know the actual essence of what “academics” or teaching is.
Mr. Shriram Deshpande – the name of my professor in UPG which had been with us since year one till the end. He taught various subjects ranging from PR, Human Resource Management, Strategic Management and what not!
It generally is difficult to hop between these many subjects and a professor is utmost the best in one or maximum two subjects in which he/she has complete confidence and a command.
But Shriram Sir was an exception. He used to come to the class not to teach but to learn! By this I mean not like he lacked the knowledge of what he taught but he was so open minded and well receiver of our viewpoints, suggestions and doubts that we would completely forget that we are students and he is the teacher.
This method of teaching through full interaction and two-way exchange of thoughts influenced me to a great extent and I was instantly turned into a fan of his knowledge delivery mechanism. Well practically also I feel that teaching and learning are two sides of the same coin. The more they are balanced, the better it is for the students and the teacher himself.
Be it any subject that he taught, he always ensured that all of us interacted in the class and maintained the decorum despite it turning into a fish market sometimes. He did not possess a superior amount of knowledge to boast about, which normally separates a very good professor from a normal one, and despite of that was able to attract the maximum attendance during his lecture.
Knowledge is acquirable, but to gel with the student is inherent and Shriram Sir had that in abundance. The mannerism in which he conducted the lecture was simple yet understandable, light-weighted yet full of information and the most importantly at the end of it you always looked forward to his next class and not feel like “huff… khatam hua”!
All other professors of my college were excellent and the best in what they did. What differed amongst them was the equation they shared with the students and the bonding level that each one of them was able to reach with all of us. That is normally the case in all the colleges and with every student. What clicked with Shriram Sir was the ease with which he could merge himself with all of us and transfer the information into our brains in a smooth swipe.
I can still go on with the innumerable qualities of his but whatever I mentioned is just enough to express my core feelings of what makes up a teacher-student equation and how certain people are able to handle these relationships with ease.
We all are students since birth and learning is our duty till the end of life. What matters is the journey in between and those wonderful creatures called teachers which play a part in laying the knowledge bricks to build the intelligent “I”.
46 Comments