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March 26, 2006
Leaving a positive impact on students
I REMEMBER as a child I wanted to do things exactly the way my teacher did and the same is the case with every student. Very few teachers realize the impact they have on their students. The teacher’s attention means a lot to them and can affect their whole lives. A teacher can transform a naive and juvenile mind into a constructive and assertive individual.
After the mother, a teacher is the one who plays the most significant role in producing responsible and useful citizens. Education can revolutionize the fate of nations and a good example of this is South Korea. That country was poorer than even most African countries in the 1960s. And by 1996 it had joined the OECD, the rich countries club. The drastic change in the economy did not come overnight but was the result of extraordinary reforms in education and by giving it top priority.
In Pakistan, unfortunately education is a most neglected sector. There are many instances of an individual turning to teaching as a profession as a last resort, after finding no other job. As a consequence there is a dearth of teachers who are passionate about what they do.
Here are certain tips for primary school teachers that I have learnt from my teaching experience and which may help provide inspiration to students.
1. Always greet students politely in the morning by giving them a sweet smile and saying assalamo alaikum. Make them feel important and that will help you in getting your work done.
2. Try to love your students and do not hit anyone. Our society badly needs loving individuals.
3. Speak kindly to your students.
4. Maintain a balance with regard to discipline. Sometimes a teacher has to be strict and firm but should not overdo things. Improvement in a student’s performance or behaviour, even slight, should be appreciated.
5. Try to communicate with your students on their level. If you are teaching class II, try to know the level of your children and avoid using terms with them that they may not understand.
6. Get to know your students personally. Those who you think are stubborn or have a discipline problem should be spoken to alone, separately. This can work in helping them deal with all kinds of problems and can also be used to motivate them. 7. Avoid using language that may be perceived as mocking your students. Never criticize students by using phrases like “You don’t work hard” or “You are dumb” and so on. If needed try to speak in general terms. Teachers should try and remember that what is being criticized are wrong gestures or habits and not the student himself.
8. Try and have a broader perspective. Sometimes a child may be experiencing a problem which may have an entirely different cause to what you comes to your mind. A child who is not willing to study might not necessarily be dull or stubborn but may well be having problems with his peers.
Here, I would like to share one of my personal experiences. Mishal was a student of mine in class one. She did not want to come to school or to study. Nobody wanted to sit with her either. I tried my best to motivate her but failed. I thought of observing her in the games period and I found out that nobody wanted to play with her. The very next day I called her in the class and told my students that Mishal was my best friend and if nobody would sit with her I would. She seemed a changed person after that. My sacrifice of my one free period (during which time I observed her) made it possible for her to be socially accepted by her peers.
9. A teacher should ensure that her students don’t look down upon others — especially those who may be less privileged than them. I have seen teachers showing bias in favour of students whose parents are politicians or landlords. This can only encourage class differences among students and make some of them suffer from an inferiority complex.
Once I notice that children in the school I was teaching in would make fun of this peer of theirs who used to bring a paratha for lunch. Those who made fun of him were mostly eating burgers or donuts themselves. I asked the paratha-loving student, in front of the whole class, if he would share his lunch with me. After that he stopped hiding his lunch.
10. Control your anger. Teachers who scream and yelling are not appreciated by students. There are many different ways to cool down and lot of literature is available in the market on this.
11. Apart from studies give your students an occasional lesson in grooming.
Email: yubahbilal@yahoo.com
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