It is just over the past six months that I have begun to journal my thoughts as a teacher. As a teacher, I believe, a supreme teacher is someone who is able to contribute to the cultural, personal/emotional and spiritual capital of the student. This is done in ways in which the student is actively participating in the growth of this capital. Covey relates to this as ‘sharpening the saw’ I his book seven habits of highly effective people. I feel that it is a highly effective teacher who allows their students to be autonomous. This means that that teacher also has to sharpen their saw. The growth of the student is based upon the teacher being a role model for students to aspire to. This also means as a teacher differentiating between being a professional and being a friend of the student. Being a professional means that you just have the students best interest in mind, being a ‘friend’ means that you only have your best interest in mind. For this reason you must never confuse compassion and understanding with engaging in personal friendships with students. Also teaching purely to gain the students’ favour, is a negative way to approach your teaching because again this is for your own benefit.
An analogy that I like to use is that the student can be seen as a bank account. Their autonomy can be seen as the rate of interest. Placing deposits into the student’s bank accounts means adding to the cultural, educational, personal, emotional and spiritual capital of the student. Through autonomy, they can increase their need for knowledge (interest rate) and the capital grows. This knowledge and their approach to autonomy can only grow through the direction of the teacher. However, you can also withdraw from the student. This is done through poor, unprepared lessons that do not have the student’s learning in mind. Once a student has become bankrupt, there is nothing left to give (this is where acknowledging the emotional bank account is important) this is where resentment and an unwillingness to learn becomes a part of the student’s nature. By doing this you are adding to the student’s pain and could be creating new pain within the student. Thus you must ensure that you are constantly adding capital to the student. This can only be done if the teacher also adds to their bank account and ensure their ‘interest’ is high. The only way you can assess yourself is through reflection.
A common theme that is emerging in education is a teachers yearning for the ‘good old days’. Usually when a person indicates this they long for a time that was much simpler. Aspects such as
greater responsibility especially regarding paper work
* Reduction in respect for teachers
* Parents playing less of an authorative role in their child’s life.
* Children having to ‘hold the fort’ at home
* Greater need for counselling for teachers
* Professionalism of sport playing a larger role in the student’s life
To make a comment on some of those points relating to the student. Some students have had a fairly hectic day well before period one. The responsibilities at home, training since 5:30 in the morning all add to the student’s frame of mind when they arrive at school. To comment on the other points, when you place constant negativity upon yourself, this emanates on to your students. This could also have a detrimental effect on the way that you think about them. Ultimately you have to find what is valuable within each student. Each student has their own talents and when you explore and find this, I believe, you are teaching from the perspective of the student.
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