Why do you opt for the profession of teaching— especially in school education — when you long for more comforts and a smooth sailing in meeting the necessaries of life? Exemplary patience and humbleness is a key for survival in the realm of teaching, the school level teaching in particular. In this challenging field, a teacher is her/his own motivational force; public appreciation or approval is trumped by demotivation, unhealthy criticism and unsympathetic attitude. Let us have a review of our teaching culture for fine-tuning it to the requirements of today. Why punch holes in teachers’ working style — just for the sake of fun?
A vast majority of school teachers have been seen preferably responding with the physical / verbal punishment or both against the students not living up to their expectations. This approach— though unlawful — works at times, making a teacher presume that stringent punishment is the way forward to foster learning among pupils. But nine times out of ten, it backfires: neither the students learn nor do they gain inspiration to love their studies. Worse, it births absentism; raises the number of children shunning school and subsequently that of illiterates or semi- illiterates.
Effective teaching is an endless endeavor yielding rich dividends without the use of corporal punishment. A tonic of motivation, although seldom provided, along with a teacher’s efficient skills and command over the content— make teaching-learning a sweet experience. Motivating students for learning leaves any punishment unnecessary. This, however, is a mountain to climb: exceptionally capable teachers are thin on the ground.
Undeniably, demotivated pupils reduce the tempo of learning and the hard work ends in smoke. With learners ready to receive a lesson/ topic, a teacher finds it an easy task to make them understand it. When you know why you are doing something, you work better.
Knowing that the medicine will treat his/her ailment, a patient takes it as advised by the doctor. Obviously, telling the students the reason (s) for learning something makes them curious to know how it will help them. This hunger to know the benefit of doing something acts as a driving force to see them hard workers, keen observers and disciplined. Thus a verbal or physical punishment loses ground.
From that it follows that the students will always be in a learning mode, making the job enjoyable for them and the teacher. Now every time, you plan your classroom presentation, you must keep your students in mind and never forget that they are active, curious and thinking beings. They look upon you as a facilitator, helper and patient listener. You can well ensure that their notes/ reading materials are clear and definite to learn with ease.
In this pleasant atmosphere, a teacher can encourage students to ask questions and teach them ‘when and how’ they should ask questions. The teacher can also ask them his/her own questions. And should a student come up with a wrong answer, the teacher must never rebuke or insult him/her. But reward the student with positive words for having at least stood up to answer. This positive reinforcement appeals to the student’s sense of pride and encourages him/her more to answer or question. A competition sets in among the students.
And most importantly, the class room transforms into the happiest and the most beneficial place to work in. Essentially, teaching in an atmosphere of student readiness enables a quality teacher to learn that the pupils are very active mentally and just need a window to express themselves. And be at their best. How easy teaching becomes then! Yes, they, sometimes, are not able to give right answers or think creatively but most of the time, their responses are quick and correct. Needed here is a dose of encouragement. As a teacher, one must respect and recognize the individuality of one’s students. And show great care and confidence when they talk, act or read.
Make no mistake if students are ignored, they feel nervous, rejected and dejected which, in turn, kills the learning desire, inducing a discouraging learning climate. It is in order to point out that if only a student of more intelligence, perceived or real, is gifted attention, her/his classmates feel jealousy and inferiority. These negative emotions affect the learner’s studies and health.
A responsible teacher discourages biased and lopsided interaction with the students. To him/ her, every student is valuable and capable of learning provided equity and equality is a guiding principle in the classroom situations. And in this day and age, teachers must back their teaching with activities for effective learning.
Gone are the days when the traditional ways of teaching-learning were fruitful; even acceptable. Now times have changed; so have the minds of our children. That we teachers must recognize. Most importantly, majority of the students are gifted with torrents of talent to face the various challenges of life. A class room must have a vast scope to explore and express those capabilities.
In such an academic scenario, pupils feel confidence and exhibit a positive self-image. They like their studies and feel that learning any subject is a smooth sailing. The good news is that teachers can certainly make teaching-learning an enjoyable, easy and productive exercise. For that we need to use newer and attractive teaching methods with the administrative set up behind us.
All we need is to take more pains, motivate our students, respect them, value them and give them opportunities to express themselves. That way, we will see them on road to academic excellence. Let us pledge that we teachers do not push students on to the back foot in a classroom. They learn the best in the school environment which respects and recognizes their talents.
(Author is a teacher by profession and RK Columnist. He can be reached at: [email protected])
