2. AKHUND
◦ One Sindhi word for "teacher" is "Akhund".
◦ It comes from a Persian word "Khandan"
which means "to read".
◦ It is said that God writes His law on the
hearts of men, and a teacher is one who can
read what He writes on the human heart.
◦ This message is a reflection of God's word
found in the sacred writings, as well as
enshrined in the work of creation, all of which
came from the divine command.
3. READER PAR EXCELLENCE
◦ A teacher is a reader par excellence,
◦ one who fulfils God's command expressed in the first word of the
revelation (Wahi) which says: "Read".
◦ The teacher is one who knows how to read God's words be it written
on the human heart, or the Holy Book or in nature.
◦ Hence, our own language possesses a word "Akhund" which is the
best expression of a teacher's status and dignity.
4. QUALITIES OF A TEACHER
◦ Such a high position requires that the teacher strive to be more and
more worthy of it.
◦ This a teacher does by cultivating several personal and professional
qualities.
◦ This explains, why people in the East have always had a very high
regard for teachers, revering them as holy.
5. MOST
IMPORTANT
QUALITY
◦ The first and most important quality of a teacher is
that he or she loves and appreciates the
profession.
◦ He must prefer the welfare and progress of the
students and keep their interests in the first place.
6. AWE AND RESPECT FOR
THE HUMAN BEINGS
◦ He or she has an awe and respect for the human beings, he or she
deals with, since God's law is inscribed upon their hearts.
◦ The teachers speak of the wonders of nature with reverence since
they have come into being by divine decree.
◦ They ponder over the sacred writings, which tell us the meaning of
life and the way to live it fully. No other work could please them
better.
7. THIRST FOR KNOWLEDGE
◦ Another necessary quality of good teachers is thirst for
knowledge. Before teaching others to read, they must
themselves know how to read.
◦ The best teachers are always those who remain students
forever.
◦ They are humble enough to learn from any and everyone,
even those younger or less gifted than themselves.
◦ This is why they drink deeply from the sources of truth,
beauty and goodness.
8. PRACTICE WHAT THEY
PREACH
◦ A very important quality of a teacher is that he or she not only
strives to know what is true, good and beautiful, but also seeks to
incorporate these in the life.
◦ They practice what they preach, after the examples of the prophet
of God, who taught by the words in the Holy Book as well as by his
deeds in everyday life.
9. RECAPITULATION
◦ One Sindhi word for "teacher" is "Akhund". It comes from
a Persian word "Khandan" which means "to read".
◦ A teacher is a reader par excellence,
◦ A teacher loves and appreciates the profession.
◦ He must prefer the welfare and progress of his /her
students in the first place.
◦ Another necessary quality of good teachers is thirst for
knowledge. Before teaching others to read, they must
themselves know how to read.
◦ They practice what they preach, after the examples of the
prophet of God, who taught by the words in the Holy
Book as well as by his deeds in everyday life.
What does profession mean?
Occupation
Vocation
Job
For Example : Doctor, Teacher, Officer, Engineer
There are two professions discussed in this lesson i.e. teaching and Fishing . Today We shall study about teaching.
Before we move forward let me ask you
What qualities do you like in your teachers?
Yes so in this lesson we are going to study the qualities of a teacher.
Lets read the first paragraph.
Aafia please read the first paragraph
So before we move on to the qualities of a teacher the author first goes into the definition of a teacher or shall we say what is a teacher?
So he breaks down the meaning of the word that we use for a teacher i.e. akhund which is a sindhi word and comes from a Persian word khandan meaning read.
That word if you remember is connected to our Holy book. ( IQRA)
Sacred means Holy
Divine means From God
What the author says that a teacher is one who can read what's written on human heart and sacred writing if must make you wonder of the high expectation that the author has from teachers???
But if you look closely this is a reference to something far more honorable.
What's that famous saying about teaching that teaching is a profession of ___________________________________. ( Mahroo)
So I think that is what author is talking about over here is talking about prophets and great saints who were insightful enough to look into the hearts of men to understand the sacred writings and to love and appreciate the creations of God.
So according to the author a teacher is a perfect reader. They can read hearts and minds of people, scripture as well as Nature.
The author connects it once again to the Quran and the First word of Revelation Which means Read.
Can you tell me the Arabic Word for it ??
What was the first words of revelation?? (IQRA = Read)
This is why according to the author akhund is the perfect word to express the dignity and status of the profession,
So this makes one think that prophets and saints are fine but these are really high expectations of a teacher..
But its not!!
what we are studying here is that teachers are following the footsteps of noblest of personalities and they can’t achieve that level of insight and knowledge but they have to try to do their best to be worthy of it .
So even though teachers today cant reach that level of nobility and purity that prophets and saints had but that have to still strive to be more and more worthy of that status and dignity that’s given to them .
And teachers do that by working on themselves ……..By adopting certain personal and professional qualities
can anyone tell me the difference between them ?? Personal and professional??? ( Fatima)
Personal means Individual
Professional means specialized / related to job
So best teachers are always those who work on their personal and professional development.
And that is why people in the east have always regarded teachers so highly ( revering= admiring)
So this brings us back to that question that what qualities do you think and a good teacher must have if you tell me the one quality that a teacher must have what would that be ??
Because they are following the profession of prophets and because they are always working hard to be worthy of the status given to them.
Love and appreciate:
No matter what profession one chooses for oneself if you don’t like it you can’t do a good job at it.
So for teachers this is most true…. to be a good teacher , to give your best to your students you must have love for your profession , only then can you keep the interest of your students first.
A teacher always keeps the interest of the students in the first place. You must have noticed your teachers coming to school and giving you extra classes even when they aren’t feeling well because they know how important your time is and they don’t want to waste it.
For a teacher her student is her first priority everything else comes second. i.e again why students always remember teachers they think cared for them … the subject knowledge isn't their priority.
A teacher who has the highest degree but doesn't care about the students can never do justice to her job.
awe means admiration
The teachers respect their students and admire their inquisitive nature.
They respect their pupils as they know that it’s a God given responsibility to shape a young mind.
wonders of nature
Reverence means admiration
Divine means From God
decree means Order
Teacher who truly try to follow in the footsteps of the noble teachers like saints have the same level sensitivity towards things in their surroundings. So they absorb the beauty of nature and are greatly inspired by it.
I should say they try to absorb everything of beauty and knowledge in their surroundings.
They ponder over the sacred writings
Ponder means think about
The teachers think deeply about the sacred writings (Talking about saints) to know how to live life fully.
No other work could please them better.
So before teaching other the teachers must himself or herself know the subject matter. It’s very important
The teacher must be well informed and that’s why they must take knowledge wherever it comes form. Specially in these times of technology.
So they remain students forever.
Always learning always keeping an open mind.
Humble means down to earth
What does the author mean by less gifted?
Less educated / poor
This is a very very important quality!!! so a teacher must be humble enough to learn from anyone specially their students.
So often people think that because they have read so many books or are older they know better that their students don’t know better.
But the reality is that you can learn from anyone even those with less Education or age. Because so much that learn is through experience and we can learn from others experiences.
And so the author talks about learning from truth beauty and goodness.
the three words basically refer to everything that is positive and beautiful in life and it’s important that teachers concentrate on the sources of goodness be it good books or nature or our Holy book because they are shaping the minds of the young.
And so we come to our final and very important quality. That’s practice what you preach.
So it’s not enough that a teacher learns all the great sources but he or she must incorporate it in their personality.
That is the only way to inspire people that how our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) inspired his followers and taught them though his actions.
