Do not forget `teacher is god’ concept, says Manmohan

Upset by incidents of disrespectful behaviour towards teachers, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday urged every citizen of the country to chant “the ancient words of wisdom” — `Acharya Devo Bhava’ (teacher is god) — on Teachers Day this year.

Addressing national award-winning teachers on the eve of Teachers Day, the Prime Minister expressed anguish at incidents of disrespectful behaviour by students towards teachers and said every citizen of the country should value the idea of `Acharya Devo Bhava.’

Commenting on the recent killing of Ujjain-based professor Harbhajan Singh Sabharwal, Dr. Singh said he was pained when he heard of his death. “I am also pained by incidents of disrespectful behaviour by students and some anti-social elements who pretend to be students. I urge every parent in our country to teach their children the value of the idea of `Acharya Devo Bhava.’ This year, on Teachers Day, I want every child, every student, every parent, every citizen to chant those ancient words of wisdom and pledge that we will never show disrespect to our teachers.”

Stating that crass commercialism and anti-social behaviour was overtaking educational institutions, the Prime Minister urged the teaching community — both at the school level and in institutions of higher education — to uphold the best traditions of excellence and commitment to knowledge that people expected from teachers. “I want every teacher to also take a pledge to impart knowledge to their students without fear or favour, committed to the best and highest traditions of learning.”

Of the view that India needs good, hard-working, honest and caring teachers, Dr. Singh said teachers should be given a status that recognises their great contribution to society and to the processes of nation-building. Describing education as a major instrument for economic and social mobility, he said, “It is also important that we prevent alienation of our youth belonging to the disadvantaged groups.”

How can teachers help if a child has a color deficiency?

a. Label a picture with words or symbols when the response requires color recognition.

b. Label coloring utensils (crayons, colored pencils, and pens) with the name of the color.

c. Use white chalk, not colored chalk, on the board to maximize contrast. Avoid yellow, orange, or light tan chalk on green chalkboards.

d. Xerox parts of textbooks or any instructional materials printed with colored ink. Black print on red or green paper is not safe. It may appear as black on black to some color deficient students.

e. Assign a classmate to help color deficient students when assignments require color recognition. Example – color coding different countries on a world map.

f. Teach color deficient students the color of common objects. Knowing what color things are can help them in their daily tasks. Example: when asked to color a picture, they will know to use the crayon “labeled” green for the grass, blue for the sky, and light tan for Lincoln’s face.

g. Try teaching children “all” the colors. Remember, most color deficient children can identify pure primary colors. It is normally just different shades or tints that give them problems. If they can not learn certain colors, let them know you understand some colors look the same to them and it is “OK”.

h. Make sure a child’s color vision has been tested before they have to learn their colors or color-enhanced instructional materials are used.

Examples of how the condition can cause problems at school.

1. John is working in his reading workbook. The directions to one item say to draw a line to the red ball. The other ball is brown. Both colors look alike to John, so he guesses. The teacher reminds him not to be careless.
2. A teacher is writing vocabulary words on a green chalk board with yellow chalk in mid-afternoon. There is a glare on the board from unshaded windows. Peter is sitting so that the glare diminishes the figure-ground contrast. The teacher wonders why he is copying from a neighbor’s paper.
3. Tommy ordinarily seems to enjoy reading aloud. Today, however, he doesn’t volunteer and balks when the teacher calls on him to read. The poem in the reader is printed in blue on a purple background.
4. Susan, a bright and articulate youngster, was asked to go to the front of the class and read from the blue green book on the teachers’ desk. She went to the front of the class and just stood there looking at the pile of different colored books. Not knowing which one to pickup, she started to cry.
5. T.J. was very out going in pre-school & kindergarten. He loved to wave his arms and volunteer to answer questions the teacher asked. The only time he did not volunteer answers was when it came to learning or identifying his colors. A lot of the colors looked the same to him. They just had different names.
6. The kindergarten teacher notices the kids during art class teasing Jimmy. The other kids think it is funny that Jimmy’s stick people have green faces.
7. The kids at school told the teacher Jeff was cheating during kick ball. They said he would break the rules by kicking the ball when it was out of bounds. They accusingly stated the boundary lines on the green grass were clearly marked with orange chalk. Jeff, rather than admitting he could not see the boundary line, simply quit playing with the other kids during recess.

Proactively developing relationships with students

It’s not about trying to get down with the kids. Get the image of the teacher in a baseball cap skipping up to a group of gnarled year 11s with a ‘Yo mothers wahgwan, dis new Phil Collins is safe man’, out of your head. It is certainly not what I am suggesting, although it would be fun to watch.

Chose your opportunities to build a relationship with a student carefully. Open up casual conversation when the student appears relaxed and unguarded. Try asking for help or advice, giving the student something you know they are interested in (a newspaper cutting, web reference, loan copy of a book) or simply say hello and pass the time of day. You may choose to wait until you find a situation that is not pressured or time limited. Aim for little and often rather than launching into a lengthy and involved conversation.

Remember, your intervention may be unwelcome at first. Your aim is to gently persuade the student that you are committed to building trust. Be prepared for your approaches to be rejected. The student may be testing you to see how committed to developing the relationship you really are. He may not welcome any informal conversation with you because it is easier for him to deal with a conflict than a relationship of trust. Or quite simply, he may have decided that all teachers need to be given a wide berth.

Give your time freely and expect nothing in return; in time and with persistence your reward can be a positive relationship that others will be amazed at… “How do you get him to behave like that? In my lessons he has made a home under the table and is refusing visitors.”

Closed requests For Teachers

Prefacing requests with ‘Thank you’ has a marked effect on how the request is received.

‘Thank you for putting your bag on the hook’ or ‘Thank you for dropping your gum in the bin’.

The trust in the student that this statement implies, combined with the clarity of the expectation, often results in immediate action without protest. It is almost a closed request which leaves no ‘hook’ to hold onto and argue with.

A similar technique can be applied to requests for students to make deadlines or attend meetings that they would rather ignore, salesmen would call it an ‘assumed close’.

‘When you come to see me today get as close to 3.30 as you can so we can resolve this quickly and both get home in good time’. As opposed to, ‘Meet me at my room at the end of school’.

‘When you hand in your coursework next Monday, meet me by the staff room so that I can store it securely’. As opposed to, ‘I want your coursework in on Monday’.

You are assuming and encouraging a positive response; making it awkward for the student to respond negatively.

Countdown For Teachers In Classroom

A good technique for getting the attention of the whole class is to use a ‘countdown’ from 5 or 10 to allow students the time to finish their conversations (or work) and listen to the next instruction. Explain to the class that you are using countdown to give them fair warning that they need to listen and that it is far more polite than calling for immediate silence. Embellish your countdown with clear instructions so that students know what is expected and be prepared to modify it for different groups:

‘Five, you should be finishing the sentence that you are writing

Three, excellent Marcus, a merit for being the first to give me your full attention

Two, quickly back to your places

One, all pens and pencils down now

Half, all looking this way

Zero, thank you.’

Some students may join in the countdown with you at first, some will not be quiet by the time you get to zero at first but persevere, use praise and rewards to reinforce its importance and it can become an extremely efficient tool for those times when you need everyone’s attention. You may already have a technique for getting everyone’s attention, e.g. hands up. The countdown technique is more effective as it is time related and does not rely on students seeing you.

How to manage behaviour in the classroom

We know that to effectively deliver sanctions the message needs to be simple, clear and non-negotiable; in practice it is easy to get caught up in a lengthy argument or confrontation. Focus on moving in, delivering your sanction as discreetly as possible and then moving out quickly. Choose a phrase that you will withdraw on ‘I need to see you working as well as you were in yesterday’s written task, thank you for listening’ or ‘I will come back and give you feedback on your work in five minutes’.

Avoid waiting around for the student to change their behaviour immediately; they may need some time and space to make a better choice. Engage another student in a positive conversation or move across the room to answer a question and only check back once the dust has settled. No one likes receiving sanctions and the longer the interaction the more chance of a defensive reaction or escalation. Get in, deliver the message and get out with dignity; quickly, efficiently and without lingering.