KOZHIKODE: For students, those teachers are special who give them something to take home to think about besides homework. K Manomohanan, the Sanskrit teacher at the East Hill Kendriya Vidyalaya, who won the national award for the best teacher, comes under this category.“Teachers should not be confined to classrooms. The word teacher has a broader meaning and teaching is about reaching out of the four walls of the classroom,” says Manomohanan, who has won the national award for teachers 2010 instituted by the Department of School Education and Literacy under the Ministry of Human Resource Development, New Delhi. He is one among the four teachers of the state who will receive the prestigious honour from President of India Pratibha Patil.According to Manomohanan, who has been in the profession for the past three decades, teachers should also be social activists. “Teachers should involve in social activities like campaigns to gain more experience. It has become very essential especially with the introduction of the Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation system in schools,” said the teacher, who has published a collection of children’s poems, Minnaminungu.He firmly believes that students’ interest in Sanskrit language largely depends on the way the teachers handle the class. “There are schools that lost the post of Sanskrit teacher as students are hardly interested in learning Sanskrit. This should not happen. Every teacher should adopt a way of teaching which will encourage the process of learning.” “Classes should not become a venue for expressing teachers’ knowledge. They should come down to the level of students to make the classes more interactive, he added.Manomohanan claimed that by learning Sanskrit, one can easily understand almost all the other Indian languages. “It is the easiest way to learn other languages. Most of the words used in other Indian languages — be it Malayalam or Hindi — are Sanskrit,” he added. The veteran teacher says the award has added more responsibility for him. He is all set to publish a collection of 24 poems by the name Chilamboli and is also working on a Sanskrit drama.In a bid to promote Sanskrit language, Manomohanan said it should be made compulsory in the state schools as well. “Sanskrit is compulsory in central schools from Standard V to X. The same should be the case with the state schools,” he added. Manomohanan, who hails from Thiruvannur near Meenchantha in Kozhikode, will receive the award from President Pratibha Patil at a function to be held in New Delhi on September 5, the Teachers Day. The award carries a certificate of merit, a cash award of Rs 25,000 and a silver medal.
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