Column

They say the best teachers teach from the heart and doesn’t require a book for support. Least of all, technology, I may add, contrary to popular perception.

So, when the coordinator who had called me for a guest lecture session to the Institute for Technology and Management (ITM) in Thane, near Mumbai accosted me with the query on how I could possibly address students without a powerpoint presentation (PPT) at hand, I wasn’t surprised. Common perception ruled that MBA students were intelligent and driving a point home without the aid of powerpoint would not merely amount to underestimation of their intelligence, but would also render the lecture bereft of purpose.

Despite the misgiving writ large on the coordinator’s face, I decided to end the matter with a terse reply, “When you have a powerful point to make, you don’t need powerpoint.” With that, I walked up to the classroom and began my session — with no aids, just words at my disposal. The college has a practice to take coffee breaks every 90 minutes. My class went on for three hours without, let alone a break, the students even batting an eyelid. In fact, the peon had to knock at the door to remind us that we had actually skipped the coffee break!

If a teacher knows his subject, the world listens. Sadly, not many teachers today may agree with American scholar, William Arthur Ward. That’s because they aren’t as sure of their subjects as Ward would have cared for. Mostly, PPTs have now become tools to cloak one’s grasp on the subject and also the ability to send the message across convincingly to the pupils. PPTs are a teacher’s discretionary tool to add value and not a dash of grandeur to his lectures. Remember the days of yore, when teachers had nothing but a dusty blackboard and a piece of chalk to make a point? Well, in arresting the students’ attention for three hours or more without any aid, I think one need to make the point so strong that it is more ‘power’ful than anything else.