My Experiences as a Teacher

Manglal Chongloi *

A Classroom at Moirang Multipurpose Higher Secondary School on 09th Oct, 2011 :: Pix - Shanjoy Mairembam

Experience may be best understood as the knowledge gained through some kind of learning and doing something. People around the world have different kinds of experiences in different fields of life's activities and learning processes. And experience may be of sweet or bitter or of tasteless one, depending on the nature of work and span of time one has been engaged in. I too have lots of sweet and bitter experiences as a teacher for the past many years at different school and colleges. I would like to share these few teaching experiences, which I have gained through this long span of time; and the roles of a teacher and school administration as per my experiences, to my fellow teachers, students, parents in particular and the public in general that atleast a little may be contributed to the world of teaching.

Teaching experience may be said to be one of the most touching, promising and exciting experiences, full of life's taste ingridients-anger and laughter, happiness and sadness, strength and weakness, liveliness and idleness, freshness and dullness, sweetness and bitterness, peace of mind and restless of mind, etc. So, the saying-life is not a bed of roses, is truly depicted in the life of a teacher. Because, a teacher toils hard with little or no rest for the sake of his students from morn till night. His adventure, as a teacher, is full of hurdles, difficulties and temptations.

Intermingling with different kinds of souls and heart belonging to different family social, economic and cultural background, I experience the joy of dealing with different souls with varied tastes and habits.Such joy gives me immense pleasure and satisfaction. It is this satisfaction that makes me interest and enthusiastic to work harder with zeal and purpose of making my student learn what he/she ought to learn in his life time. I definitely understand that a student who keeps on learning everyday, making his/her class standard and his knowledge equivalent, donot pass his life without being sought by the society in which he/she dwells.

As a teacher, the most difficult but very important task I have ever experienced is: reading and understanding the mind/psychology of a student and the quality of his learning ability. It may be very difficult but is a must for a teacher to read and understand his students' psychologies as it is the foundation of teaching-learning success. It is through such knowledge a teacher is be able to undertake his task of feeding the cravingly empty minds of his students.

Face and behaviour of a student is the index of his inner being. Therefore, studying their face appearance and reaction in tune with or against the environment would be very helpful for a teacher to read and understand his students' psychologies, learning qualities and attitudes towards the school environments. I find, this task of teacher-student attractive closeness in teacher's discovery of the students' psychologies and learning qualities on the one; and students' submissiveness, on the other, to the school and teachers, to be the foundation of school teaching-learning process and the means for the success of school education in the life of the students as well as teachers.

Of the many, few important clues to make a teacher able to read and understand the psychology and the quality of learning ability of a student are given as below:

-giving homework and checking student's performance/progress/weakness every day. This will ensure a teacher lays strong foundation in the educational life of his pupil.

-asking a student read a passage of a lesson time to time and asking easy questions and encouraging him to answer it. This step will enable teacher to understand the progress and working of his pupil. It will also help him understand his lesson better.

-interacting with a student time to time even outside the class. This interaction is as important as that of the class. It supplements class teaching and helps shape the personality and career direction of a student.

-continuously watching a student in play and in company. This role and responsibility of a teacher helps him understand the nature, preference, temper, psychology, character and behaviour of a student.

-meeting parents from time to time. This is innevitable because parents know their children better such that it will be helpful in carrying the load lighter and easier. The load here refer to as child's life and education.

-finding his physical condition whether or not a student has any impaired sense organ or any other physical weakness. knowledge of the physical strength and weakness of a child will enable a teacher understands the learning ability of a particular better.

-discussion with fellow teachers about a particular student with regard to the strength and weakness of his learning. This is called combined effort that lightens the load.

-instant punishment/correction of a pupil's mistake etc. For the saying-heat the iron while it is hot is quite reasonably applicable in the life of a child.

The goodness of the school and the students by and large depends on the sacrificial acts of a teacher towards the school and the students. Within the purview of such acts, a teacher is faced with unavoidable contradictory limited and unlimited time factors- the limited time period of working days for covering the lessons on the one; and the unlimited question hour and checking of students' improvement which required extra time period but, that is not available all the time, on the other. Under such circumstance, it is on the part of the teacher to make necessary adjustment between the two factors keeping in view the number of students in the class and the time alloted for the particular subject. Perhaps, the glowing of school education is the result of the untiring and coordinated team works of teachers.

The success of teaching-learning process in a school also depends on the effective school administration and teachers' active participation in the administrative process. Such effective roles of the school management committee and the teachers, that revolve round the lives of the students as the protective fence, guide, director, friend and helper etc, is the cornerstone for the success of the students and school education.

In the absence of such responsive roles of the school management and the teachers, the school education tends to fail miserably. The ineffectiveness of the school administration is also responsible for the failure of teaching-learning processes in the school education. Frequent absentism and irregularity on the part of the teachers as well as the students which makes school atmosphere paralysing; and management handicap indicates the unmindfulness and negligence of duties and responsibilities on the part of both the teachers and the students, and which further indicates the unsoundness and weakness of the school management's administration.

Frequency of quarrel and dispute is another important common phenomenons of school education in the lives of school going children. It is counted important because, through it, a teacher can study his pupil's attitudes towards his friends and environment in which it temporarily exists and dwells. When two pupils quarrel or fight, teacher's interference in such situation, as a mediator, is very much necessary. It is the respnsibilities of a teacher to settle dispute amicably and impartially. Because such simple and little problem can become a big issue.

Another very important aspect of teacher-student relationship is, effective class room management and control. A teacher can best control a student if he knows his name. It is also advisable to call a student with his good name rather than his full name. Because there are some who do not like their real and full names called. Student's respect towards his teacher more or less depends on teacher's effectiveness in the class with regard to the lesson he taught and the action and the behaviour he displays before the students. They have a direct impact on the students' attitudes towards learning. Teacher's efficiency and his effective teaching method makes the class and students lively and interesting.

A teacher can best make his class effective by getting himself thoroughly prepared, and making, note and name list of students, and other teaching related materials, available, as per required, on hand. As for me, I could understand and feel my students' abilities or inabilities to grasp my teaching. I could also understand and feel whether or not my teaching is understandable to the students. Teaching is really interesting when students take interest in the lecture-listening with their mouths opened. My ability to draw students' attentiveness to concentrate on the topic I taught determines my well preparation as well as my interest in the teaching profession.

Another very important but inevitable circumstance a teacher being interfaced with his teaching exercise is the co existence different learning qualities of different students. Some students are good and fast in learning while others weak and slow. To bring these different qualities into a common poll of learning is another challenge lying before a teacher. Here the task could be dealed with by way of adopting the best and easiest method of teaching, teaching which is understandable to all.

On the other angle of school education, a teacher is best studied by his student(s) in the class and outside through his way of dress, action, tone of voice, eats and drinks, and his way of lifestyle in the school and the society. As teachers are the life model of students, it is essentially methodical for a teacher to show off commendable behaviours and attitudes towards the students as well as to the society. A teacher's behaviour can either spoil or build a child. A child is how a teacher is, especially, with the lifestyle of he who practises what he teaches, which makes him a real teacher. Thus, teacher becomes a role model to the students in almost all aspects of life.

A child will simply believe in what a teacher says, may it be wrong that it will not take the parent's words even if they be right. Therefore it is very dangerous for a teacher to tell or teach things to a child wrongly and blindly. Therefore, a teacher should teach only the right story. If a teacher happens to be deceiving, the same style of living may be developed in the life of a child. It is well understood that a child's mind is just like a blank paper. So what ever is marked on it will remain forever. That was why the biblical Solomon had exorted that a child should be taught in a way he should go so that he would not forget throughout his life time.