Evolve and Transform
TEACH ME TEACHER!
– Lugina Miranda
Most of us recall the teacher who had a positive impact on our lives. Some of us are inspired to follow their footsteps and some others inspired to lead a better life.
Present day teachers are fighting an uphill task handling present generation children because of drastic change in the society. The world of work is ever changing. There surely is emphasis on the competition, pressure to achieve targets and meet deadlines or to keep up with the rapid advancement in technology, modified vast syllabus and extra responsibilities along with handling personal life. Expectation from teachers is very high. What teachers are looking for is someone who appreciates for who they are and not just what they do.
Teachers are responsible to shape students’ life with their positive attitude, love, care, concern, understanding and respect. If teachers are to excel, they have to enhance their self as well as students.
Here are some of the motivation skills to be a better teacher:
1. Respect:
Whether your student is big or small, treat them as a young dignified human being. Learning is difficult when there is absence of respect. It is a respectful attitude and respectful language that makes it possible for our students to hear us and co-operate. When we are angry, we sometimes lash out at students with words that attack or demean them; so, they either withdraw or counter attack. Stating our expectations clearly and respectfully students are more likely to listen and try to live up to those expectations. Each one is unique; just accept them as they are with respect and without expecting them to change the way we want.
2. Teach to influence lives, Not for high marks:
Some great teachers didn’t teach others, they influenced them. Their lives as well as their teachings still impact individuals and societies. They influenced others because of their character. Make it your goal to affect not only the minds of your students but their lives as well. Let your discussion teach them how to live and not just how to spell and count or memorise battle dates. Instead, we could teach to boost their esteem and self – confidence, how the mind works, how to be positive, how to handle relationships, finances, good parenting and how to handle stress and pressure. If they are taught all these along with their regular curriculum no doubt these children will grow as responsible adults.
3. Give them a good role to play in life:
If you labelled a student as a slow learner, he or she could begin to see himself or herself as a slow learner. If you call a child mischievous, chances are he starts showing just how mischievous he could be! Similarly calling them bully, bossy, destructive, lazy, nuisance etc. these students who acquired their labels begin acting as per them in their life. Teachers can influence not only the way the students see themselves but also the way they behave. A teacher’s look of disgust or tone of voice can hurt deeply. But if in addition a child is subjected to words like, stupid, careless, irresponsible, you -will-never learn etc, he/she is doubly wounded. Somehow words have a way of lingering long and poisonously. The worst part is that the children sometimes pull out these words at a later date and use them as weapons against themselves.
4. Focus on encouragement:
Some of your students will probably have taken a beating before he starts going to the school. Maybe they haven’t been physically beaten but some have been psychologically beaten. Perhaps discouraging words have been used as sticks and stones and their potential has been bruised and battered by the selfish attitudes and action of others. These students are scattered throughout your classrooms. Perhaps a younger child has come from a desperate home. May be there is an older student who is dealing with the fear of failure or a teenager who is facing tremendous pressure from a peer or parents. Take this opportunity to stop the abuse if only for a few hours. Your word may be the only encouraging word they will hear in the classroom or outside it. Your smile may be their only smile. Your praise may be their only praise. Remember your encouragement boosts their confidence and self- esteem.
5. Keep Information as short as possible:
Children dislike hearing lectures, sermons and long explanations. For them shorter the reminder the better. Teenagers we have worked with told us that they prefer single word like: assignment, silence, practice etc. if you practice one-word statement it would save time, breathe and boring explanations. Also, one-word statements give students an opportunity to exercise his own initiative and his own intelligence. Students tend to tune out long lectures. A short reminder focuses their attention and is more likely to engage their co-operation.
6. Be Available:
The most valuable gift you can give is TIME. The most important moments in teaching may come outside the structural class time. Learning happens best when it relates to life. That is why those moments are so important. Student may have forgotten what you taught in the classroom as per syllabus but the time you spent outside the classroom will remain in the minds of the student forever. You don’t have to be a buddy but you can be a friend. Your empathetic listening, speech, mannerism, body language, attitude convey the openness to friendship. Two or three extra minutes after the class session might just be filled with more personal influence than two or three hours of structured classroom time.
7. Balance work with recreation:
Learning is hard work (for some it is!). It may be exciting but it is also difficult. On most school days students rise too early, eat too little and earn even less for their efforts. Apart from these some have extra classes, tuitions after class hours. No wonder students look spent and jaded. Students are expected to assimilate in mere minutes the concepts that have taken you years to understand. So, give them a break. Literally hit the “pause” button once in a while. Give your students a timely time out. It will be good for their bodies, minds and spirits. Set the borders and then turn them loose for a little play time. The books will always be there but the moment is fleeting. In-fact that moment may be the most opportune teaching time. Weave your subject matter into games and downtime activities. The change will benefit the teacher as much as the students.
8. Take charge of your life:
Love yourself so that you can love others. There are times a teacher’s fuel gets over and they feel very tired and helpless. Teachers need a ‘time out’ . Remember you are teaching with your life as well as your text book. Certainly you need lots of energy, strength and patience. Nourish yourself with good friends, good food, good books, good experiences. Take time for yourself, relax, rest, play, take long walks, travel and enjoy the world, buying yourself nice things. Yoga, meditation, exercise, counselling are some techniques which restore your lost energy, strength and patience; to leave lasting influence on students.