Web Talk by Mrs. Ushashi Ghosh

Report on the Web Talk by Mrs Ushashi Ghosh, The Heritage School
on 'The Happy Teacher'

On February 05, 2021, The Department of B.Ed. Loreto College, Kolkata had organised a web talk (approved by IQAC) by Mrs. Ushashi Ghosh, faculty, The Heritage School, Kolkata and alumna of the Department of B.Ed. Loreto College. The theme of her talk was ‘The Happy Teacher’. The web-talk had begun from 3:30pm onwards on Google Meet. The programme began with a word of welcome by Sister Christine Coutinho, Principal Loreto College, Kolkata. It was followed by an introductory speech delivered by the Head of the Department of B.Ed, Dr. Debika Guha. Mrs. Ushashi Ghosh began her inspiring lecture with the help of a power-point presentation and by stating that in order to be a happy teacher, one must love the profession of teaching and be passionate about the job. Being chosen for such a profession and to do justice to it one must choose to be happy. The profession sometimes become monotonous due to repeated teaching of the same course material year after year and the initial motivation and happiness that a teacher enjoys may fade away with time. Thus a teacher needs to reinvent one self, find out newer techniques of teaching the same course material, innovate and find joy. This is because happiness is elusive and is therefore a never satiable goal. Mrs Ghosh further explained that happiness is inward, it is unachievable from any external source. Hence, a teacher must remember that happiness can be felt not only through performing simple day to day activities but also by having self-confidence, positive feelings and faith in oneself and sometimes by nurturing simple hobbies like reading, cooking, listening to music, playing and travelling. It can also be realised by helping someone and even through meditation. She asserted that a teacher must allot sometime in a day, or in a week in some self-satisfying activity to refresh, motivate and boost oneself. Each one of us have that capacity to figure out one at least one such activity that makes us happy and we must engage ourselves to be happy to make others happy. Students can identify a happy and a confident teacher and hence happily follows the teacher and it makes a classroom ideal one.
A teacher must remember that there will never be any tailormade classroom; disturbances are obvious and acceptance of this fact and agreeing to work in such a situation by giving the fullest is perhaps the best solution for a teacher. Mrs Ushashi Ghosh proudly shared that according to her the teaching profession is the most giving profession towards society and teachers must realise this. As an individual a teacher must be humble, grateful and thankful to the almighty and be happy and feel blessed for what has been bestowed on her. To become an ideal teacher and happy teacher it is important to become a simple human being and thus one must learn the art of living a simple life by understanding the basic needs, priorities, luxury and control waste, greed and any such behaviour that welcome unhappiness. She further added that as a teacher one must shun negativity, criticism, jealousy, attitude of complaining, blaming others, negative self-talk, dwelling in the past, posing as know it all, rigidity and trying to impress others. A teacher must know to love the inner self and respect the inner-self in order to become a role model to the students. It is also necessary that a teacher must know to accept mistakes and failures to find proper workable solution in the form of a better planning and design of teaching strategies suitable for a particular situation. Adopting proper workable simple techniques at times of crisis can relieve a teacher from anxiety and burn out. For a healthy mind a teacher must eat healthy, practice yoga or meditate regularly. Overall, teaching is to be considered as an adventure, as each day opens up new pathways and one learns to deal with each day with a new point of view. Teachings plans are meant for re-structuring each day to suit new challenges and to increase its effectiveness. A teacher who happily accepts all these challenges, becomes a successful multi-tasker and the most happy teacher. A happy teacher creates a happy student and eventually creates a happy society in true sense. The lecture was followed by an effective, and truly interactive session amongst the participants, teachers and the resource person. The interactive session was efficiently handled by the programme co-ordinator Mrs. Sukanya Mullick. The programme got over with a happy Vote of Thanks delivered by Dr. Ranjita Dawn, Head of the Department of Education , Loreto College, Kolkata. The participants of the lecture expressed their deep satisfaction by attending such an enriching and stress relieving lecture.