TEACHING: AN EXERCISE IN PUBLIC RELATIONS AND HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

A few years ago, I was having a conversation with some students of mine; the enterprising youngsters – two years away from gaining entry into universities around the world – were debating the relative worth of a spectrum of occupations. Being the elder at the “roundtable”, I moderated the discussion and felt content to sit back and listen to the views of a group of enthusiastic and opinionated young men and women. Through the content of their talk, I had the vicarious thrill of listening to tomorrow’s acoustic engineer, observing the architect of another generation, assessing the potential businesswoman, being patient with the pedantic surgeon-to-be and picking a bone of contention with the lawyer of the future.

However, while bringing the conversation to an end I told them I was of the opinion that while all of their prospective careers looked lucrative and rewarding, mine – teaching – was the most difficult of all jobs. Not having time to go into details, I smiled and spoke out: You admire monuments by famous architects, you praise the inventions of great scientists, you marvel at the technological milestones that engineers have propelled us past, you are grateful for a doctor’s skill, you are envious of a tycoon’s acumen…the list goes on! My question is this: who built these people who built – and keep building – this world of ours? Wasn’t a teacher somewhere along the line?

People do have their own slant on things and I am sure, time permitting, my students would have argued for a doctor’s enduring patience or a pilot’s immense responsibility. Nevertheless, I firmly believe that teaching is among the most demanding jobs and is one that is a lifelong exercise in public relations and human resource management.

Wherein lies my argument, you may ask? In the first place, teaching is a labour-intensive job that requires critical thinking. And then, more than any other job, it is immensely people-oriented: you deal not just with sensitive souls, nervous neophytes or tentative teenagers; you also deal with demanding parents and inquisitive guardians. In short, you deal with people from all walks of life; and with globalization the prevailing trend, you traverse the globe in your own classroom! Yes, you deal with the ambitious Indian doctor whose precocious child feels overwhelmed; you converse with the conservative Arab mother whose daughter is ambivalent about tradition; you make suggestions to the hapless Australian engineer whose troublesome son exhibits strains of technical wizardry; you deal with people of all temperaments from all places. And most of all, you deal with young lives! You deal with ideals of the past, ambitions of the present and dreams of the future. In short, a teacher’s job description involves building the people who build the world!

Am I glorifying teaching? Rather, I feel I am actually painting a reasonable picture of a difficult profession. And, as a teacher, I feel there have been times when I have – wittingly or unwittingly – fallen short of my job description. Yet, it is a job I enjoy. I enjoy the banter of classroom discussion as much as I enjoy the achievement of great results. I take pleasure in talking things through with the troublesome teen as much as I take pleasure in helping precocious talent fulfill potential. I benefit from watching the world walk into my classroom as much as I benefit from giving my “citizens” a view of the world! Yet, at all times, I tell myself: teaching is an exercise in public relations and human resource management; make sure you do it well. Study the pupil and find him his niche, study the parent and allay her grief!

Yes, teaching is not just the imparting and dissemination of knowledge. It requires critical thinking, perceptive analysis, levels of patience and, most importantly, people skills. It requires just the right amount of careful prodding to get the star pupil thinking outside the box; it requires the right dose of “carrot and stick” to get the indolent idler moving; it requires the right amount of understanding to quell the ambitious parent’s fears and the right amount of consideration to empathize with a family’s demands for excellence.

Am I still glorifying teaching? I think not; for when I sat back and pondered on an appropriate topic for an International Business Review, I felt that it would be nice to render a tribute to the profession I have chosen. For, in this day and age of globalization, teaching is one of the most international jobs around and an unending exercise in public relations and human resource management: a daily work out in which motivation and leadership meet culture, character and community.