Children in their own world

Teachers and their Classrooms

Whenever you happen to meet your son's or daughter's teacher, they happen to complain this and that about your ward. But you never feel that your son or daughter is so problematic. So you just listen to him/her without any objection just to avoid any conflict with him/her. Then you try to skip Parents-teachers meetings. This is not a solution to the situation.

I would like to concentrate my comments related to the aspect of teacher. If you see the gist of all the perplexes in a classroom situation,it is that the teachers treat themselves as self proclaimed master of class and think they have the authority to rule 20 to 40 brains, whatsoever be the case in a classroom.

Now the National Curriculum Framework,2005 categorically specifies that the teachers are not the leaders in the class; they are the facilitators, guides and friends to children. The role of teachers needs drastic change. He should not remain the traditional teacher, who used to gather information and pour over the brains of little citizens in the present tech-savvy world. Today, getting information is no longer a problem for the learners. The school has not remained the only place to get information, knowledge. So it has been proposed this is the era of Knowledge Construction. The teachers need to understand that there are thousands of tools and sources available to learners how to learn. The learners construct their own knowledge. The teachers need to provide suitable environment for the knowledge creation.

The teachers generally complain that the students do not listen to them. For those complaining teachers I have a question-"Do you ever listen to your students?" If students are making noise, if students are fighting, if students are not paying attention to you, if students did not listen your instruction to switch off the fan, if students are following your instructions during a practical class, if students are jotting down your so called important notes and so on *the list continues to infinity*; you in your whim immediately brand them as indisciplined, naughty, careless etc. Did you ever ponder why are they behaving like that? Did you ever observed them why are they behaving like that? Did you ever talk to them on equal grounds with cool mind about their behaviour?

You go on........

When I say, they do not listen;

When I instruct, they do not follow;

When I command, they do not obey;

When I greet, they do not bow;

When I thank, they do not welcome;

If you talk to a child whom you or the traditional system of education brand as problematic child, a new world opens to a sensitive teacher.

Recently I encountered a situation, a few days back while coming from school after school break I found one of the students of 10 th standard of our school having a good fight with a student of another school situated in the neighbourhood. Since both the schools are situated in military camp area and the event took place in the camp premises, military police caught hold of the student and handed over him to our Principal. The student's parents were called and he suspended for a few days. Being a student of Guidance and Counselling I pursued the happenings and started observing the child, talked with the child. I am completely amazed to see my findings. The student of the other school with whom he took up the fight was actually teasing one of his girl classmates on the way back to home and the girl sought a help from him. He tried to tell the student politely but that fellow did not pay any heed and so the fight began. This child is very confident. He puts his view point very boldly and does not see anything bad in his doing. But as per the norms the school he has resorted to indisciplined behaviour. He is, as per my observation, very polite and respectful to teachers, though I have found him bunking the academic classes to participate in some events of games and sports. He wants to join army and serve the nation. [to be continued]