While thinking about the topic of assessment I recalled a story from the Ramayana as told by my grandmother. Since I am recalling this story from memory, allow me at the outset to apologize to scholars of the Ramayana if the way I remember the story does not quite find a match in literature. Without digressing further let me tell the story and then follow it up with why I feel it is relevant in the context of educational assessment. In their search for the abducted queen Sita, a group of Vanaras reached the southern seashore.
Are certain individuals born to be teachers and can only those be truly competent? Or can people without such aspirations develop to become ‘great teachers’? Are there certain conditions, the presence of which foster such development?