Plus

“Teachers should change with the times to suit the new thinking of the new generation,” distinguished Toastmaster Dr. Ian Faria of Bangalore told 500 teachers, who had packed the committee room of the BMICH recently for the Toastmasters Territorial Council of Asia sessions. The title ‘Effective Teaching = Better Learning’ was what attracted an unprecedented crowd to listen to ‘What’s new in the Teaching Techniques’.

Dr. Faria’s main focus was the child. “My passion is to sow better seeds in the fertile minds of the people I love – they are the children of the world. Children have delicate minds and hearts. They can’t be bad. This is my approach to teaching children. Their minds are like plasticine, and it is the teacher who can mould the mind with love and not temper.”

“How do we bridge the gap! In this era of fast communication, internet and engrossing and educational TV channels on history, geography and science that keep the kids hooked – how can teachers be different? They have to acquire new teaching habits and ‘get connected’ with the students,” he said.

When two volunteers from the group showed how they begin their lesson, the rest couldn’t suppress their laughter, as most teachers recognised similar inherent attributes they already have. The authoritative voice, the strict tone and grim expressions are not the best of methods to begin a class.

Although one volunteer displayed lots of enthusiasm and energy, her opening of the lesson didn’t make the connection with the class by asking them, for instance, about how the weekend or the holiday was, etc. The two-way communication process should make the teacher understand the child better. The teacher’s vim, vigour and vitality should be so contagious that it should pass on to the children with positive vibes. Detention, punishments and discouraging comments are not the best tactics to correct a child’s behaviour. Perhaps a different approach with love, compassion and empathy may bring about a change in the child’s mindset, Dr. Faria said. According to him, research has proved that at least 25% of children in a class suffer from some form of learning disability, and therefore, these reasons could be why some children are slow learners, while others behave in a hyperactive manner.

It is the teacher who can make a difference in the child by making the class or the lesson a life-transforming experience. His comparative analysis of the traditional vs. contemporary teacher went like this:

Traditional Contemporary
Slow easy paced Quick, energised
Limited Unlimited
Handed down Latest information
Tried and tested In use, while still being
tested

According to Dr. Faria, “the best way to teach is by example”. If you are not willing to change, don’t expect the children to change. This seems a good approach when dealing with difficult or mischievous children. If you keep on showing a negative attitude the children will feel it in their hearts and, therefore, their reactions to your condemnation may only bring about negative results.

The key truths he emphasised to the teachers was, “Before I care how much you know, I need to know how much you care.”
How can you show how you care? These are the points he stressed on:
1. Listen – smile – greet and touch
2. Practise what you preach
3. Give complimentary comments
4. Maximum use of words
5. Be able to say ‘sorry’, and that it has happened to you
6. Have eye contact
7. Put yourself next, other people first
8. Giving is receiving
What is education, he asked. “It is not filling the bucket, but the lighting of a fire.” Ignite the fire in little children. He said that “a mind that is stretched to a new idea, never returns to its original dimension”.

“If you treat the man he is, he only becomes worse
But, if you treat a man the way that he could be
Then he becomes… what he should be”
- Goethe