By By: Oyem, Israel Ekene.
Teaching is far from just delivering content for students to listen and digest and/or absorb; it is a strategic interaction with different individual learners with different backgrounds and abilities. In all classrooms, there are different levels of intelligence, confidence level, pace and different chances of exposure levels. In our society, there is this constant celebration of students with outstanding academic results by teachers. While it isn’t bad, but such evaluation is shallow if it only considers the performance of naturally gifted pupils/students. To know the true test of a teacher, check how effectively those with disadvantage positions are held towards the path of growth, understanding, transformation which includes intellectual, and self-confidence.
Smart students often do well academically, with it without instructional quality. Their quick grasp of concepts,the ability of their memories to capture and retain information, and intrinsic motivation to help them become better in any learning environment. Although effective teachers can refine these exceptional abilities, the success of such pupil or student can’t be used as the yardstick to measure the success within the classroom, not should it be used to measure the competence of such teacher concerned. The true yardstick is when a child who has been referred to as a never-do-well, a child who is slow witted and require different methods of teaching so as to have the information absorbed become clear and starts getting good grasp of what is being taught. Guiding such pupil or student require patience, resilience, a heart willing to help, passion, creativity and a deep understanding of both content and pedagogy.
Students who are slow witted often encounter more academic challenges because they find themselves being caught in the web of discouragement, comparison, self doubt and low self esteem. An effective teacher knows that these kind of cases needs serious attention because what the pupils/students need is to overcome this is more than repetition: they need reassurance, realistic structures in place to help them and a passionate heart. By breaking the lessons into manageable chunks, employing the use of examples that they can relate to and allowing room for mistakes in the class, an effective teacher actually brings about transformation of such child’s intellectual development. This transformation is noticeable when such pupil or student begin following the lessons confidently.
Additionally, the transformation that takes place in students who lack fluency in speech is another way to know an effective teacher. I’ve been of the opportune moments to teach learners who are burdened with the fear of being ridiculed, fear of saying the wrong answers, or fear of speaking at all. This is because they aren’t fluent in speaking which is as a result of poor usage of grammar. As a skilled teacher, I made sure to create a safe environment for them academically. I made them see that the class is a lab for you to test yourself and correct yourself. I recognized and overcompensated efforts rather than perfection. Their erroneous responses to questions weren’t seen as failures . Through constant encouragement, freedom for them to express themselves , students who would naturally not talk would begin to speak, “weak” voices grew “stronger” and fluency developed sequel to loving and welcoming corrections. These are possible when a teacher understands the emotional dimensions of learning. This isn’t only about speaking. it is also related to writing. The effectiveness of helping them grow from an intellectual point of not being able to read.
Academics aside, teachers also have the duty of nurturing students’ sense of self-worth. Many of these learners have been convinced and made to believe that they can’t do well. I’ve seen students wish never to go to school again just because their teachers insisted and/or made fun of them because of poor ways of managing the classrooms. These negative comments and reactions have been internalized from past experiences, and they are now the barriers to their growth. An effective teacher changes the beliefs by renewing the mind of the learners with positive affirmations of students efforts to be better, not just results. Children loves to be seen and appreciated, and this builds or restore their confidence. Once confidence is restored, they become stepping stones to successful transformation.
Conclusively, the true yardstick to measure the success of a teacher isn’t and shouldn’t be measured by the examination of the performance of top students, but by the depth of transformation of the weak ones in class. The mark of true teaching is seen in the weak ones becoming strong. The true test of a teacher is seen not when 17 out of 20 students in a class do well, it is seen in when the remaining three don’t feel left out. The effective teacher is known when there is transformation of the students from the least to the best.
