You will be punished by your anger

I really don't understand why people, especially parents and teachers get so angry even when there is no provocation. Things sometimes take a fatal turn like in a case reported recently when a teacher flung a duster at a twelve year old killing her. I have no pretensions of being a psychologist and to completely understand the origins of anger or strategies to keep it at bay. I have no intentions of delving into them but in a general way we all know what anger is and we have all felt it at some time or the other whether as a fleeting annoyance or as a full blown rage. Yet to show unnecessary and uncalled for annoyance just because you are in a position of power is not only abominable but also irresponsible. What right does a parent or a teacher or a boss have to fly into a rage. Will Roger's comment that people who fly into a rage make a bad landing is not only very witty it is very incisive.
Teachers losing their cool at the slightest pretext is unacceptable. A teacher or anyone who aspires to be a leader and hopes to influence future leaders in a positive manner has to learn to conduct himself in an exemplary manner at all times. A lot of thought has to go into every thing he does. He cannot let his guard down. He cannot afford to lose his temper because he does not know who is watching him and learning from him. He does not know who he is mentoring informally. In any case the unintentional negative influence he can have on students is sometimes unalterable especially when the teacher is held in high esteem for his knowledge by the students.
I am not even suggesting that a teacher never ever can lose his cool. He, like everyone else, can do so easily. Aristotle has said, “Anyone can become angry. That is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree,at the right time, for the the right purpose and in the right way...that is not easy.” We all need to mull over what Aristotle says and if we cannot get all those dimensions right it is wiser to decide never to become angry. Even Aristotle perhaps is not suggesting that you should never get angry but what he is saying is that you learn how and when to become angry and to what degree.If that sounds like being contradiction in terms; it is. Any one who needs to keep a clear mind can't afford to get angry because, like it is often said,no man can think clearly when his fists are clenched.
The other day I felt very sorry for a colleague's sudden burst of anger when a few students did not respond quickly enough to fill some seats lying vacant in the front rows, when he asked them to do so at the beginning of a comined session. I am not even sure if it was anger or demonstration of power or even just an exhibition of superiority. A teacher should never have to demonstrate superiority or power. What gives them the right to lose it before we can even say anger? Students keep quiet and do not react not because they love an angry pedagogue but because they are either too decent to react, or more damagingly, because they feel this is kind of outbursts are expected from a person of great learning. They subconsciously take a note of it and will act in exactly the same manner with their juniors or when they themselves are in so called position of power. The damage has been done and a vicious behavioral cycle set in motion. Apart from the damage we can inflict on our students in this manner, anger also punishes you in a very subtle but damaging way. It is not my intention to explain how but we can take Gautama Buddha's word for it who said, “You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.

Grades, Knowledge Character and Success

One dilemma that continues to persist in the minds of the students is whether to focus on grades or on knowledge. What is more important getting better grades or acquiring more knowledge? Normally it should not be an either or questions as better knowledge should lead to better grades but the evaluation system in most business schools is so subjective and convoluted despite all efforts to make it more objective and simple that the students focused on higher grades do not hesitate cutting corners and go to extremes to make their grade sheet look better. The fault lies with our entire education system which encourages students to score higher marks which enables them to get into coveted institutions for higher education which in turn leads to better jobs; Even the parents pressurize their children to focus on grades instead of learning, on higher marks rather than on knowledge, ability, character, value, skills and personality.
Once Students join a professional school they must realize they are no longer preparing just for exams but for life. They will not be carrying their mark sheets and certificates with them wherever they go all the time but their knowledge, character and values go with them every where. There is no getting away from them. Every time they interact with people and talk to them their character shows through. To be successful as a manager or in any other sphere in life you have to focus on yourself and become the kind of person people will like to deal with. In business as in every other sphere in life people deal with people. If you have not learnt the art of dealing with people you will not succeed despite your high grade. You have to learn to be a caring person and care for everyone who comes in contact with you socially or for business. People don’t care how much you know till they know how much you care. Your success in life and business will depend on how well you can get along with people and how caring you are. It is the business world’s best kept secret. In fact it is not even a secret. It is so obvious that no one notices it till failure is staring them in the face.