When my only colleague changed from teaching to another profession,I was left high and dry as a one woman show.But I began to appreciate the freedom to teach four classes using my own methodology.The international syllabus gave me freedom to vary my coursework evaluation so that I could introduce poetry writing and reading,writing of storyboard and scripts,project work of short movies and documentaries,review of feature films,making collage as representation of themes.I believe in educating and teaching of diverse characters from different socioeconomic backgrounds so that there is no one size fits all solution.
I've to observe student behaviour,get feedback and devise lessons that will scaffold step by step towards instilling attitudes and building up skills in editing software,improvisation etc so that they learn to build teamwork and trust.With standardised lessons,we have uniformity in pace of teaching among the four classes but people don't learn in the same way and at the same rate.For the restless class,I devise movement exercises ,for the competitive class,quizzes and contests,for the weaker classes,remedial work to reinforce basic skills.So to make all classes being taught in the same way and the same pace assumes that learners absorb information in same way and so a cookie cutter approach makes lessons dull and repetitive.I like being a maverick teacher and buckle the trend
My approach is to work on social skills as well as EQ.In this I feel drama and play with movement is important because after 4 straight hours of sitting still,the brains suffer a mental shutdown and I'm teaching zombies with brains somewhere in outerspace.
As a language class,I prefer an interactive,noisy,participative class rather than a quiet,passive one.Sometimes there should be jokes and laughter,another time the excitement of running to the finishing line to complete a task,sometimes there is singing and sometimes there is heated debate.
I'm a firm believer in role play and understanding current affairs to make a well rounded person.Sue Jennings work on neuro-dramatic play is really relevant in resolving a lot of emotional problems in teenagers.The creative arts has been neglected in schools when neuro dramatic play and embodiment projection role are as Sue Jennnings put it important in developing core competencies like: "establish healthy attachments,develop trust,creates confidence in the body self,facilitates growth of empathy,encourage resilience and maintains emotional literacy."
These are life skills important in mental health so that the child or teenagers knows how to seek help to pull themselves out of depression and mental disorders at a period of hormonal challenges and trying to find self identity.
It would be great if I can access her reading references here.The book I'm dying to read is Gerhardt,A,et al(2014) Why Love Matters .Hove:Routledge and Jennings,S(2013) Activities for Managing Challenging Behaviour.Buckingham:Hinton House.
We can never really understand someone until we've walked a mile in their shoes.
So when we see a student struggling with schoolwork,I believe we should befriend them so that they see that we are not punitive and hostile but really care for their emotional and social development.To bar teachers from interacting with students outside the classroom limits our ability to intervene nd help students with challenging issues.It's through sports activities,drama activities or class trips that we can establish trust and rapport with the students.We should never take over the parental role but acts as an extra support system to these kids.
My first school was a fully residential school in which all activities and tuition was preplanned and decision making taken out of the kids hands.They would grow up with no initiative and have an "self entitlement" attitude.My second school had students from different socio economic backgrounds and races.I empower the kids to initiate projects,seek their own funding and carry out activities without constant monitoring by me.i only step in if they are in serious trouble.The kids in this environment are resourceful and self reliant besides taking initiative without being prompted.
When we did folk dancing and lacked a stage,wooden tables with wobbly legs or slightly damagedones were used by kemahiran students to be recycled into a stage.Legs were sawn off to the same height,cheap planks placed on the table tops and covered with old carpets to became a make do stage.Of course with tap dancing,you can get away with noise.
Some kids came from rural backgrounds.I found out the Malay student who skipped classes did so because he had to guard the durian trees of his grandparent orchard by staying in a hut so that no one would steal the durians that dropped in the nite.In those days,durians were costly and had only one harvest a year. I didnt have the heart to reprimand him but gave him coffee in the morning to stay awake.He gave me a whole basket of durians after he passed his high school exam.
Some students ,I did home visit and went to Pulau Ketam to stay for the weekend.Theirfamilies were fishermen who depended on the sea to make a living.The kids took me to the kelong to see how the fish like garopa were reared in cages.They took me to the seafood processing plant and the stench of drying salted fish is unbearable.The place was previously a mangrove swamp so all houses are built on stilts with no cars allowed.
So kids who are not overprotected and oversheltered by parents are more hardy,resilient and resourceful and adaptable.
One of my students was determined to enter the medical line although he took arts subject in high school.He was so determined that he took extra tuition in science subjects to catch up.He used to ge up at 5am in the morning and drive across town to reach the college and slept in the car park until classes started.I told him to open a gap in case he had carbon monoxide poisoning.He got into the medical course through sheer hard workThe gal i was teaching came from a single parent family with two younger siblings.She has been working part time to pay for her tuition fee and even saved enough to be an exchange student in the UK and describing the thrill of watching Shakespeare play live in a theatre.She changes two MRT lines to reach for 9am class although she works past midnite at her part time job.Kids like that will do well in life because they have the right EQ.
The education system that does everything for a child will grroom adults who will not have the mental strength to face the ups and downs in life.I tell the kids all the time,if you are not ready to learn in school,I'll let Life teach you as experience is the best teacher.There's no one to guide you ,to tell you right from wrong or what to do,Life is a tough teacher and you will have to learn on your own.The other thing I won't do is lower my expectation of an A grade.Getting an A from me is like squeezing blood from a stone so when Claire Chew and Choo See Yuan got A at international examsthey know they have reached the global standard of achievement.
No comments:
Post a Comment