Dr Koyi Mchunu.On Being A Student
On the face of it, being a student seems like a no-brainer. Obviously if you are going to classes, you’re a student, right? Surprisingly, not always. Studentship is a skill. Even when you are dropping in casually to a weekly class, your experience will depend to a great extent on how you are able to receive instruction, on the kinds of questions you ask, and on your attitude toward your teacher.
That is why, in the old days, when a student approached a teacher and asked: ‘Are you really my teacher?’, the teacher would often answer with another question: ‘Are you really my student?’
The question wasn’t rhetorical. In the relationship between teacher and student, the ball is ultimately in the student’s court. No-one can teach you if you are not willing to be a student. The corollary is true as well: A motivated student can learn from even a mediocre teacher. And when a student meets a “real” teacher – that is when a student’s world changes.
We live in time of intense transition in the student-teacher paradigm. Classically, a teacher worked with a few dedicated students, vetted them carefully, and drove them hard. A good student possessed qualities like humility, devotion, forbearance and much more. Above all, the student accepted the teacher’s authority, at least for the learning period. In return, the student received a full download of the teacher’s knowledge. But just as the traditional model of the family is changing, so is the model of the teacher and student.
There has been a fundamental shift in the way people perceive authority. Nowadays society tends to be suspicious of vertical hierarchy and anything that smacks of “giving away your power”. But the old truths about studentship still apply. The respect for the teacher and the teachings are still important as they were. Paradoxically, so is the willingness to ask tough questions and tune in to your own responses.
In a healthy teacher-student dynamic, the teacher is there to teach, and the student to learn. The teacher is accessible but keeps appropriate boundaries with students and students understand that the teacher is not their new best friend, lover, or substitute parent. The student is not afraid to ask questions and the teacher is not afraid to admit mistakes.
One of the trickiest issues in student-teacher relationships is the natural human tendency to project our own feelings onto others. So when the teacher shows human flaws or fails to live up to these projections, they are demonised. The media is full of students who are angry and disappointed with teachers. Sometimes these are legitimate, other times they may also be a reflection of the students unexamined personal issues, such as how they have been parented or their feelings of having been insufficiently recognised or encouraged. Either way, it is important to know the difference.
The best way to start is by being aspirational. The old adage ‘When a student is ready, the teacher appears’ is true for all times. The more priority is given to learning, the more open a student is to receiving teaching wherever one finds it. Teachers are confronted with formidable competition in the form of MTV and reality TV shows for young people’s attention. The message is clear, the lesson better be cooler than bling bling.
We have to inculcate a sense of vocation among students which is the next best thing to one’s calling. Vocation cuts deeper than profession. It is about making a life than earning a living. One of the best ways of making a life is by being of service to others, especially the downtrodden, despised, and marginalised groups in society: the “least of these” according to the bible.
Finally, a true student is appreciative, knowing that every stage in the process of studying with the teacher is useful. Often, we don’t realise what we have learned from a teacher until later.
* Dr Mchunu is an Urban Planner with international and local experience as an academic and practitioner. Currently he teaches Planning in the School of Built Environment and Development Studies, a position he holds since 2012.
- Koyi Mchunu