Education may be the most essential tool of humanisation at man’s disposal. For the same reason, how to educate is central to the development of any society. Two decades of teaching experience leads me to the conviction that teaching becomes effective only when the recipients become ardent seekers of knowledge. Knowledge given without any demand from the part of the beneficiary seems to make less impact on their life. The success of the teacher depends mostly upon the interest or the need that the s/he is able to create in the students. Somehow the communicator has to make the problematic, s/he wants to develop, the problem of the addressee. Permit me to develop this point narrating an incident.

A few years back I was asked to give a lecture to all those who were teaching catechism in the 8th standard of a diocese. The catechism text of the 8th standard of that time had many lessons related to the heresies in the Church. The lessons on heretical doctrines like Arianism, Nestorianism, Pelagianism, Donatism, Manichaeism, Apollinarianism, etc. were dry in content. Both the teachers and the students had seldom interest in these doctrines because these false teachings had little rapport with their daily life. My class for them was in the afternoon immediately after lunch. As we all know, it is very difficult to motivate the adults of certain age to attend a session after lunch. I had however made up my mind not to give a lecture.

After creating a personal rapport with the teachers with humorous and friendly dialogue I summoned them to be formed in small groups and discuss their difficulties in taking those lessons. To my surprise, they were not ready to gather in small groups because they said that they were tired of attending workshops during the weekdays as part of the so called “cluster programmes” arranged by the government in the beginning of the academic year. Then I decided to change my methodology. I distributed one sheet of paper on which I had typed a few sentences that appeared to be controversial in terms of the teachings of the Church. Here are some samples:

a)    “Jesus was a divine person when He resurrected Lazar from the dead whereas He was only a man while He cried on the cross, “My God, My God why have you forsaken me?”

b)    “There are two persons in Christ corresponding to the two natures in Him. The Blessed Virgin Mary is the mother of the human person in Christ and the Holy Spirit is the father of the divine person in Christ.”

A few minutes after the distribution of the sheet there naturally arose murmuring in the hall. Some had already begun to discuss with their neighbours about the veracity of those statements. Slowly the discussion turned to be in some corners heated discussion. Then I asked them to reflect over the pros and contras of the statements. Later, when I made an appeal to share the summary of their findings, many of them came forward with their comments and apprehensions. There emerged the suggestion from the floor that I should give my point of view about the given statements. Taking advantage of their appeal, I gave them the input I had earlier prepared on the subject. This event made me aware that it is enough to create interest in the students and they themselves will be the seekers of knowledge.

In such instances, the teacher may not be able to handle the topic as he planned in advance. It does not matter. It is enough that we give the essentials of the lesson in addition to what they already contribute by way of their active interventions. At certain occasions, the educator may not be even able to finish the syllabus assigned to him. This also is not necessarily deplorable. If the teacher has succeeded in creating an appetite in the students regarding the topic, that itself will function as a motivating factor in them for personal study.

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