5th September - Teacher's Day is celebrated as a tribute to Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan on his Birthday, the former President of India, who has been a great teacher and contributor to the cause of Education. This day, teachers of all schools take a break from teaching, while students play teachers and run mock classes.
In 1991, children poured in to Swagat for the 'Reading & Grammar' sessions which included extra-curricular activities and I still continue the journey of teaching at Swagat. Teaching has always been a wonderful journey for me and becomes a memorable experience too. The result is dedicating my Book 'Guardian of Angels' to parents, teachers and children everywhere. Today, many of my ex-students are all with me on my online journey on the web as I explore and find them at places esp. on Facebook. It is amazing for them too, as once they would Google their name in the Search Engine and they end up finding Swagat page.
Well, Dr. Radhakrishnan said once:
"A good teacher must know how to arouse the interest of the pupil in the field of study for which he is responsible. He must himself be a master in the field of study and be in touch with the latest developments in the subject, he must himself be a fellow traveller in the exciting pursuit of knowledge"
A teacher - inspires, motivates, encourages and shapes lives. As a mentor, teachers need to understand the dreams and aspirations of students; be a guiding force in their life. I feel, as teachers when we are honoured as Educators and our contribution is acknowledged, it is our duty to be a 'Guardian Angel' as Guardians, as we are the caretakers in place of parents.
Each child is born and brought up differently, have their own learning abilities and even are extroverts or introverts. Some children are branded as fast learners and some as slow. In the process of their Education, I understand, Teachers often knowingly or unknowingly, are partial to students and parents are found to be reporting and complaining about them. When Teachers call to give reports of the child, the parent of a failing student is faced with abuse, criticism and even hurt the self esteem of the child when he is scolded in front of the mother, who's ego is hurt too.
Recently, I came across a parent who fears to meet the teacher - just because the teacher keeps complaining as the child fails in class. Her child is almost facing Learning disabilities or maybe, ADHD (Attention deficit-Hyperactivity) symptoms. As such, the child lose the study skills effectively, is at a loss to organize, plan or manage time to work out on lessons. Sometimes, children are only Attention deficit or they can be Hyper Active/Impulsive or a mix of both. The teacher should be the first to take note on their attitude as school environment demands more sitting hours, concentration, attention, focus and are aware of their patterns of behavior. Accordingly, find the reasons and be a practical Educator by implementing various Effective Teaching techniques.
If you are a teacher, you probably know this. Children staring out of the class, writing a d instead of b, won't follow instructions, speak endlessly or shout on top of their voice, forget homework book....more on this. Students with the ADD/ADHD present challenges for the teacher with such behavior in class :
1. They often forget to write down homework assignments, do them, or bring completed work to school
2. They have trouble following instructions and don't listen
3. They demand attention by talking out of turn or move around the class
4. They usually have problems with projects where there is no help from the teacher or parent
5. They have difficulty in taking notes and their handwriting is not clear
6. They often have trouble in Maths with long division or solving equations
7. They often don't complete task and shift from one to another
8. They often misplace things and fiddle with rubber, pencils, sharpeners, etc.
All children who behave this way are not necessarily having the ADD/ADHD problems. However, it is the strategies to implement as a teacher by being positive and motivating the child with appreciation and tactfully managing the situation. Do not nag or complaint to the parent but be constructive and creatively work-out with the parent on how to solve the problematic child.
Here's a Help Guide to understand on many mannerisms which might be useful.
And here's wishing "Happy Teacher's Day" to all the online Teachers/Readers who visit kidsfreesouls and who, directly or indirectly are motivating me to continue writing articles and experience my journey as an Educator too - Learning to write and Change with the Change, using Tech learning in classroom too. You can find Teacher's page here 'For Teachers' and also articles by Teachers on 'Teachers Day' page.
- ilaxi patel
Editor, www.kidsfreesouls.com
Newspaper for kids
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