The Secret – Knowing our students well

In the past, students were motivated primarily by results. If a teacher had told the student to stick his head through a glass window to earn an A, that student would have looked questioningly at the teacher and then run to the head of the line to do so. Nowadays, I believe that most students are not motivated by results. Most students are motivated to work in school by the relationships they establish with teachers and their friends. One of the important lessons I learned as a teacher is that the majority of students nowadays work hard for teachers they like and respect and from whom they feel respect, and they do not work for teachers when the student does not feel respected – and students decide very quickly if a teacher is worth working for. Thus, the heart of teaching is really about establishing bonds and relationships with students. Hence, I believe that a Good School is one at which “teachers are wrapped around students” because “only relationships change people.”

Teachers do make a difference in the lives of students, and I believe that such influence of teachers is based on the connected teachers make with them. A close bond with a competent, emotionally stable teacher is essential in the lives of our students to overcome adversity. We have all heard of reports that found that after a family member, a favorite teacher is a students’ most positive role model. Just look at our own teacher example of Mr Kumar. Thus, it is important that teachers look for the strength and possibilities within each child and that means at times to look beyond the hostility in some of our ill-behaved students to the insecurities that lie underneath. Personally, I would list my Primary 5 teacher and NIE tutor as heroes of my life. The secret, once again, is to know the students well.