My Teaching Philosophy

My Teaching Philosophy 

As a teacher, I often carried this thought with me while interacting with my students:

You tell me, and I will forget

You show me, and I will remember 

Let me do, and I will understand!

One of the principles in Educational Psychology is: ‘You should know Ram when you teach Ram’. 

This means that when a teacher knows his student’s background, circumstances and traits he can foster deeper connections with his student and design the approach of teaching for meaningful learning.

I further extend it and say: ‘You should know Sham when you learn from Sham’. 

This means that when a student understands the teacher, his character, integrity, and dedication to his subject, the student admires and respects his teacher; it enriches the learning experience.

It has been observed that when a student holds his teacher in high esteem, he excels in his subject.

I had learned the subjects from great teachers like Prof. P I Bhangale and Prof. S. N. Nagaraju. I always held them in high esteem. I secured highest marks in the subjects they taught me at Board and University level.

I taught Applied Mechanics to my students, and they learned it, as if they learned cycling or swimming. 

I taught the subject to more than 1200 students of different Engineering Colleges like Naval Nagar, SSVP, Nagaon and Shahada, affiliated to Pune University, in year 1988.

I have written a poem, Hope: The Greatest Force!, on ‘Force’; the most important topic in Applied Mechanics. It says: 

The force goes beyond Mechanics’ domain 

It governs life’s joy, its loss, its strain 

A push to grow, to love, to strive

Force inspires the essence of being alive!

I write blogs on blogger. The links is: drmahendraingale.blogspost.com 

Here I have said how my teachers, students and writers in engineering subjects have played a great role in developing my personality, not only as a teacher, but also as a human being.

While reading my blogs, one of my former students, Kishor Bhadane, reached out to me. He shared his journey of completing a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering, graduating from a Government Engineering College, and now thriving as a successful entrepreneur in Pune. During our conversation, he mentioned how he and his friends had been inspired simply by seeing me walk through the corridors of Government Polytechnic, Jalgaon. Kishor also proudly shared that he had scored a perfect 100 out of 100 in  Applied Mechanics, the subject I taught him. His words filled me with immense joy. Touched by his words, I felt compelled to pen a blog that day titled, ‘Keep It Up!’ What a great pride it was to walk through the 500 feet corridor !

To be an exceptional teacher, one must master over 90 distinct skills, alongside proficiency in his subject. However, in my view, earnest zeal and compassion towards students stand out as the most vital qualities, surpassing all others.

To embrace the pride and joy of being a teacher, I appeal to all my fellow teachers to explore my blogs. 

If students ever ask for the names of some great teachers, it is nice to have a list of few names besides our own !

Dr Mahendra Ingale, Former Principal 

Pune, May 16, 2025