We Learn lots of things from our teachers

Our very first memories might be of our parents but sometimes they are of our teachers. We attend nursery school at merely two or three years. Our teachers are remembered like our second parents. As years pass by we leave our first teacher and move onto our second. Most of the time we never realize what we are leaving behind when we let ourselves get swept in a rush. More often than not, we never even get a chance to thank our teachers for the time they take. We don’t even realize that we have copied their habits.

I remember trying to balance my chair on two legs while the teacher kept advising me not to. In the end it flipped and I fell down with the chair. He helped me up and wiped my tears. A few years later another teacher put her saliva on a classmates newly formed bruise. I watched with fascination. Time passed and I ripped my book in half against my teachers orders right in front of her. I remember like yesterday when my ninth grade teacher screamed at me for a misunderstanding between us. When I apply for a job in the future I will write ‘resume’’ because it was my A’ level English teachers pet word, and on the very day of leaving school , on my graduation speech the teacher correcting it replaced ‘school’ with ‘Alma Mata’ and in the future I am sure I will unconsciously do the same thing.

At the last exam of our A’ level exam we all smiled. We were ecstatic about leaving school. Going to jobs and doing our own thing. The teachers smiled and watched as we left. They were happy that we took what they had to give. The same thing happens with our parents. When it is time to leave the nest, they accept it and let us go with their blessings. We find is hard to even come back and visit them. Same happens to our close friends whom we find no time to talk to or even greet as we rush by trying to live our lives.

Teachers are the real nation builders

The teacher is one of the pillars of the society and the country. Without good teachers, no country can progress. The importance of teachers in the life of a nation cannot be overlooked. The teacher influences the immature minds of-the youth. He treats and moulds the young mind into various forms. The future of the nation is built him through the process of education. As nation which tries to march ahead on the road to progress must do so with the help of able teachers. A nation cannot afford to leave its future in the hands of incompetent teachers. According to a philosopher, “The world of tomorrow will be born from the schools of today.” Thus the teacher is very significant as the builder of the nation.

India is known for its great teachers. In the past, there were highly competent teachers. They were held in high esteem by all sections of the society. Even the kings and rulers paid great respect to them. They used to look up to their teachers for guidance and advice in the hour of crisis. In those days, teachers were the true benefactors of society. They were the trustees of common welfare. History is full of examples that great decisions of vital importance were taken by kings on the advice of their teachers or gurus. Alexander, the Great was indebted to his teacher, Aristotle for the knowledge and advice given to him from time to time. Thus teachers in the past enjoyed a place of esteem and reverence.

However, those times have passed. Now the teacher does not hold as much esteem as he did in the past. Teachers have lost their old glory. Now they are looked down upon in society. Their economic condition is also miserable. We know that our country is economically backward and the standard of the masses is very low. Burin this system, the teacher stands on the lowest rung of the ladder.

Moreover, the nature of society has changed. We have become materialistic. In this society, only those people command respects that have power and money. Thus an illiterate minister gets more respect than a highly qualified and scholarly teacher. The society of the past which respected teachers has vanished. The poor teacher does not enjoy much prestige in the society of today. The proliferation of private schools, which are merely teaching shops, is another reason of the decline of a teacher’s prestige. These schools employ teachers at very low salaries and the teachers cannot give his best to the students. The teacher suffers in many other ways also. A person who fails in getting a job and is rejected by his employers, blames his teachers for his own failures. In this way also, the teaching profession has been disgraced. As less attention is paid to education these days, he teacher has also lost prestige.

Child’s Development depends upon their parents and teachers

A child has a distributed time for school and home thus he is distributed amongst parents and teachers. We can say that parents and teachers play a very important role in shaping child’s future. Education is basically a process that leads to mental and psychological growth of a child. Apart from leaning the academics a child learns various other things like team work, table manners, sharing, unity, teamwork. A school is a form of institute for a child; some say parents are the first teacher for the child however I feel teachers are the second parents for children. Since kindergarten a child is handed over to the teachers and teachers nourish him and bestow him with the love support and good habits.

Parents on the other hand are responsible for the overall development of the child; they play a very important role in the socializing process of the child. Right from the bed time stories to the behavioral habits parents play a very important role in making a child a responsible citizen. A successful teacher always has a keen ear on parents. Such teacher normally asks the parents about the behavior of the child, his habits and activities and behaves accordingly to him; she is responsible for his growth and development and thus tries to bring out the best in him.

She is always alert with the cultures and family values of the child and thus tries not commenting or passing any judgment on the parenting styles. She thinks widely and makes sure that at any moment she may not hurt the mind of the child. Communication is best medium to solve problems. A successful teacher is always ardent at talking to the students and solving their problems, she is always approachable by almost every child of the class. Instead of blaming the child for not completing particular thing or being incapable of working on particular project or achieving bad grades she tries to find out the reason behind child’s failure or incompetency.

To Make Students the best teachers development is important

Teacher Preparation

The best teacher-preparation programs emphasize subject-matter mastery and provide many opportunities for student teachers to spend time in real classrooms under the supervision of an experienced mentor. Just as professionals in medicine, architecture, and law have opportunities to learn through examining case studies, learning best practices, and participating in internships, exemplary teacher-preparation programs allow teacher candidates the time to apply their learning of theory in the context of teaching in a real classroom.

Teacher-Induction Programs

Support for beginning teachers is often uneven and inadequate. Even if well prepared, new teachers often are assigned to the most challenging schools and classes with little supervision and support. Nearly half of all teachers leave the profession in their first five years, so more attention must be paid to providing them with early and adequate support, especially if they are assigned to demanding school environments.

Mentoring and coaching from veteran colleagues is critical to the successful development of a new teacher. Great induction programs create opportunities for novice teachers to learn from best practices and analyze and reflect on their teaching.

Why Do teachers become angry and hostile

You have to admit that over the years, school has changed.And not just in the things students learn or how they are taught,it is also how they act towards teachers.Back then a teacher asks you to do something you do it whether you want to or not.Now the students respond with attitude.And i have to give it to the teachers when they keep calm when students do that kind of thing or say things they shouldn’t because i know that is hard to do.But sometimes i know teachers who are way to hard on the students,and don’t get me wrong the students have no right to talk to the teachers the way they do,but the way the teachers act now a days it is like they forgot about when they were a kid.

I was volunteering to help a teacher and he literally was just handing out pink slips for detentions for things that i thought was absurd.One day the class was taking a test and i heard the teacher say that if they had a question to come up and ask him at his desk,1 student did that and got a pink slip for getting out of their seat during a test.I was shocked.

And you know that made me think of how many teachers now a days do things like that just to discipline a child.I know teachers who have gotten fired for that kind of stuff.Now i don’t really have an answer to my question because to me i guess it depends on the situation,i mean it could be the teacher but yet the student should be able to control their actions.

Why do we need to study and learn

Aspiring teachers spend fours year going to college to become a well-trained teacher and then as soon as they do their student teaching, some turn their backs on teaching and want to be social workers instead. I come in contact with many teachers in training who think that their number one calling in life is to dig deep into the lives and homes of their students, ostensibly, so they can better understand them to teach them, but in fact, the purpose has little to do with education.

I responded to one of my teacher prep students in the following manner when she expressed surprise and great concern for all the problems students deal with at their homes:

* You started off your post [it's an online class] with an emotional plea regarding the dire situations in which your students live. Let me remind you that of course we care for the students and their plights at home…but the best way we can help them is not to solve their home problems, but to help them learn in the very best possible way. These students know that education is the solution for many of their problems and make tremendous sacrifices to come to school.

* Also, we have to be realistic too; some students may play “woe is me” to a naive teacher…Does this mean that I am unsympathetic to the plight of many students who find their way in to public schools today? No. What it means is that I am more sympathetic with their most powerful needs and I desire to use my skill and expertise as a teacher to provide a tremendous service that is more valuable than money, food, shelter or clothing. I desire to satisfy a ravenous need that every child born with in this world. It is more urgent than hunger and thirst, more pressing than warmth or shelter. It matches and sometimes eclipses the important need to feel loved.

* I am talking about the need to learn. This is something hardwired into our physiology… and our psychology. We are by nature, learning machines. Therefore, if I am a true teacher, then that is the greatest need that I can help the student to satisfy and if I do my job correctly, I will enlarge and enhance that ravenous need to learn in each student.

Tips For Student Teachers

1. Be On Time
Punctuality is very important in the ‘real world’. If you are late, you will definitely NOT start out on the right foot with your cooperating teacher. Even worse, if you arrive after a class has begun which you are supposed to be teaching, you are placing that teacher and yourself in an awkward situation.

2. Dress Appropriately
As a teacher, you are a professional and you are supposed to dress accordingly. There is nothing wrong with over dressing during your student teaching assignments. The clothes do help lend you an air of authority, especially if you look awfully young. Further, your dress lets the coordinating teacher know of your professionalism and dedication to your assignment.

3. Be Flexible
Remember that the coordinating teacher has pressures placed upon them just as you have your own pressures to deal with. If you normally teach only 3 classes and the coordinating teacher asks that you take on extra classes one day because he has an important meeting to attend, look at this as your chance to get even further experience while impressing your dedication to your coordinating teacher.

4. Follow the School Rules
This might seem obvious to some but it is important that you do not break school rules. For example, if it is against the rules to chew gum in class, then do not chew it yourself. If the campus is ’smoke-free’, do not light up during your lunch period. This is definitely not professional and would be a mark against you when it comes time for your coordinating teacher and school to report on your abilities and actions.

5. Plan Ahead
If you know you will need copies for a lesson, do not wait until the morning of the lesson to get them completed. Many schools have procedures that MUST be followed for copying to occur. If you fail to follow these procedures you will be stuck without copies and will probably look unprofessional at the same time.

6. Befriend the Office Staff
This is especially important if you believe that you will be staying in the area and possibly trying for a job at the school where you are teaching. These people’s opinions of you will have an impact on whether or not you are hired. They can also make your time during student teaching much easier to handle. Don’t underestimate their worth.

7. Maintain Confidentiality
Remember that if you are taking notes about students or classroom experiences to turn in for grades, you should either not use their names or change them to protect their identities. You never know who you are teaching or what their relationship might be to your instructors and coordinators.

8. Don’t Gossip
It might be tempting to hang out in the teacher lounge and indulge in gossip about fellow teachers. However, as a student teacher this would be a very risky choice. You might say something you could regret later. You might find out information that is untrue and clouds your judgement. You might even offend someone without realizing it. Remember, these are teachers you could be working with again some day in the future.

Teachers are the agents of change in society

The role of teachers does not stop in the classroom as educators and architects of a society, but they also serve as community activists.

Hence, they are expected to promote social change in schools and in communities in which they serve. In this formulation, I would like to look at the roles of teachers in the fight against HIV/AIDS and poverty.

1. Health (Hiv/Aids)

The HIV scourge has long been identified as a major economic and social threat. Similarly, it should be common knowledge that only through effective education programs can both prevention and support issues be addressed to mitigate the impact of the virus. Therefore, the role of teachers in addressing Hiv/Aids is significance when it comes to the promotion of social change in schools and in communities at large.

Teachers work directly with children and community members affected with HIV/AIDS, thus they are expected to promote awareness about the virus, and for example, how it can be prevented from spreading. As behavioral change agents, I strongly believe that teachers are expected to understand the subject of HIV/AIDS to effectively address difficult and sensitive matters such as condom use, abstinence and sexuality, with clarity and without fear.

2. Poverty

Poverty affects school children and their academic progress. Equally, it affects community members, specifically families with orphans and vulnerable children (OVC’s). It is public knowledge that some children go to school on empty stomachs, barefoot and without proper uniforms because they are poor.

To make matters worse, some children cannot afford to contribute to the School Development Fund (SDF). Poverty in our country is real, a phenomenon exacerbated by unemployment standing at more than 51%. Effective teaching and learning cannot take place in the presence of abjectpoverty. Poverty denies human beings the right to satisfaction of their physiological and basic needs, such as proper shelters, food and clothing. If human being’s needs are not met or satisfied, it is obvious that social change will not occur.

Use Of A library in the classroom

Unfortunately, the “powers that be” rarely hand out funds for creating a classroom library, or at least one of any size. So how do you get the books you need. I was in this situation as I taught in a small rural school system. But by the time I retired, I had over 3000 children’s books. Here are some suggestions for starting or growing your own classroom library.

* Buy them yourself. I know, teachers shouldn’t have to buy their own supplies. But, realistically, we all know we do. Buying books is certainly money well spent. The thing to do is find the best buy.

* Use paperback bookclubs with your students. They give bonus points for each dollar spent by your students. The points can be used to get books for your library.

* Talk to your librarian or whomever runs the school bookfair. See if you can leave a list of books that parents can voluntarily purchase as a donation to your classroom. This could be a school-wide project.

* Convince the parent organization in your school to raise money for classroom libraries.

* Ask relatives and friends with older children if they have books around their houses that their children have outgrown.

* Ask your public library about a loaner program. In my area, the local public libraries allow teachers to check out books for an extended period of time to use in their classrooms. The downside to this is that the teacher is responsible for any lost or damaged books.

Teachers are the nation builders

What is the true definition of teacher ? Is he simply a person whose occupation is teaching or he who guides, inspires the life of a pupil? Both the question and answer are difficult. But India has her own answer and from time immemorial, Hindu civilization has been considering teacher as the true representative of the Almighty. The ancient Vedic Sloka states with conviction – Guru Devo Maheshwaraha, Guru Brahma Gurur Vishnu, Tasmai Sree Gurave Namaha, Guru Saakshat Para Brahma,” This means that Guru (teacher) is in truth the representative of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva and is responsible for creating, sustaining knowledge and destroying the saga of ignorance. What should be the ideal form a teacher then? If you want to find a role model or an ideal teacher whose moral excellence, sagacity motivates students for more than millenniums; you have to concentrate on Great Chanakya.

Acharya Chanakya was most instrumental in usurping the Nanda dynasty and establishing the widely acclaimed Maurya Empire. Besides he did form “ArtahShastra” – a treatise depicting the ideal form of welfare economics, statecraft, political science, sociology and the King above all. The efficacy and fame of the treatise is not limited within the sphere of India only but has motivated the West to a large extent too. all these indicate that the role of a teacher doesn’t end within the classroom but in building up a humane, vigorous nation and society at large.But this is not possible for everyone to achieve.

These days any individual can be a teacher provided that he/she satisfied the necessary conditions as per the government rules. But this can’t sole the problem. The significance of a teacher in the role of an architect of the nation demands that only the best and most sagacious, intelligent, proficient members of the society should be enabled to qualify for this noble vocation.