The moment someone asks me about my Teachers, immediately two names sparkles out into existence. The first, Dr Nalini Rao, Reader, Dept., of Education, BU., who was my teacher during my postgraduate years, who impressed on me regarding the importance of professional growth, refinement and Upgradation- i.e, my Professional Self. Second, My Guide and Mentor Dr.Yeshodhara, professor, Dept., of Studies in Education, UoM, who has left a lasting impression on me regarding my Humane Self. This article I dedicate to these two………..
Now, what is this TTs I am talking about? The first TTs means Transactional Teachers, the ones we come across in all junctions of our life, who give us literacy and are short lived in our memories and the second TTs are Transformational Teachers who greatly impress on us and transform us into what we intend move towards……..A very rare breed.
Similar thoughts have been put forward by with Dr. Robert Sternberg and he talks about four of his teachers who greatly impressed him and talks about their impact on his life in his article ‘The Teachers we never forget”. When I read this thought provoking article I really realised why my heart swells up with a warm feeling when I even think of these teachers. And that is the impact of a Transformational teacher.
The terms transformational and transactional are drawn from the literature on leadership (see, e.g., Bass 1998) but, when applied to mentorship, they have a somewhat different meaning. The mentor is professionally and personally supportive, a source of advice, a sounding board when a student needs one, and a helper in times of distress.
A transformational mentor is all of these things, plus something more: He or she inspires one, reveals new ways of understanding professional and personal matters, and motivates one to transcend who one is to become a different kind of professional and, perhaps, person. He or she literally transforms one's mental world, and sometimes one's physical world as well.
Dr. Sterberg opines- Transformational mentors are the teachers and role models we never forget. They help their students to:
Become the best they can be by recognizing and capitalizing on their strengths, and recognizing and compensating for or correcting their weaknesses. Create their own niche of professional and personal accomplishment, rather than simply following in the footsteps of their mentors. Discern the importance not just of solving problems, but also of realizing just what the important problems are, whether in one's professional or personal life.
Thus, the transformational mentors not only transform their world but also impact on their pupils’ world and also transform it.
Today in this conflicting and disturbing time what we need is a Transformational teacher and not just a Transactional teacher. So please teachers wake up and realise towards becoming transformational teachers………