Getting the students’ point of view!

This week I read one of my teacher’s reflections which addresses the pastoral care in her classroom and was glad to know of the teacher’s decision to spend quality time in the classroom – that is to understand her students’ needs first. I too believe that it will ultimately be the quality of classroom life that determines the quality of students’ learning. And once the teacher is able to get her students to open up, the teacher will be in a better position to impact the students’ learning and create a respectful relationship within the class.

The teacher has rightly pointed out that teachers should analyze the attitudes teachers themselves hold towards troublesome students and their way of working with them. I believe that as teachers, we work in human care and have enormous power over the students we are trying to help. I am at the same time mindful of how such power can be “misused” even when they meant well. Sometimes, I hear of teachers who use their power to try to force students to behave in “normal” or acceptable ways. Sometimes they do so successfully, but more often that approach only sets up detrimental and unnecessary barriers between teachers and students.

I personally think that teachers, sometimes, forget the power they hold over the students of their charge, which can be far greater than they might think. I agree with my teachers’ course of action which was to get to understand her students who are difficult to manage. Through this way, we will better understand the students’ own perspective on life and the world. It is usually a waste of time to try to get the students to see the “right” way of doing things. Instead, I believe that the students benefit more if we help them learn to disagree with us respectfully. And to do that, we must encourage them to give their points of view, which then give us opportunity to learn from them.

I believe that it is not the teacher’s job to make students over in our image. Trying to do so will only produce frustration and battles of wills (which sometimes lead to heated arguments between teacher and student), leading to more use of force (caning due to defiance). I think the best way is for teachers to accept these students as individuals with different perspectives on life from their teachers’. Even with these differences, teacher and student still share values, emotions, certain points of views, thoughts, ideals. Teachers can move to understand these mutual interest with students by talking with them frequently. As we strive to understand them, to acknowledge them and avoid exerting our power over them, it will help them to open up to the teacher who then can share life views with them – which students who are difficult to manage do not often encounter.