The Contemporary Nature of School Teaching - Essay Example

The Contemporary Nature of School Teaching It is believed by many especially parents, that nothing is more precious than a young child. Every child is believed to be the angel, happiness and source of inspiration of any family. They are also believed to be the father of man because from them, we borrow our environment and nature. Politically speaking, they will be the future leaders of any nation. These reasons let any one treat any child as a gem, very precious and should not be hurt. They should also be taught very well to become good, intelligent, and able to lead the nation in the future (Babbie, 1999). Children, however, have few emotional resources with which to cope with problems. This is further explained by theories, which state that childhood experiences and development are critically important to their future life. (Goldman, 1996).  In addition, using the theories of human development by Sigmund Freud and Erick Erickson, they describe the early stages of life as crucial, critical and prone to dangers. In the Freud’s theory, he stated that if an individual’s needs in his early stage of life are not satisfied, then some negative results will happen in the succeeding stages and eventually, this may result to problems in the future life of the individual. Similarly, in the theory of Erickson, he identified the stages of development where he quoted that each of the stages of life of an individual has its corresponding psychosocial crisis that an individual must overcome. In the early life of the child until the end of primary grade, the important values and attitudes are shaped. These are enumerated as: trust, autonomy, initiative and industry. These attitudes are very important for a growing child. If these are not achieved by the child in his early years then what will happen to him when he reaches adult or old age. In this times when the child needs to have those values, the person on their sides are the parents and most especially, the teachers in the primary grades. It is therefore important that teachers should be knowledgeable to these conditions and characteristics of a growing child (Duka, 2003). The above-mentioned statements only show that children should be cared properly, nurtured well and most specially must be taught well. These duties are not only for the parents but more specially for the teachers, specifically, primary teachers because there are more times when these children are in the care of the teachers. The mission for primary education is to enable every child to acquire basic preparation that will make him an enlightened, discipline, nationalistic, self-reliant, God-fearing, creative, versatile and productive citizen in the future. This thrust is common to almost all of the nations in which provide primary education to their citizen. As stated by Boiser (2005), the aims of primary education are as follow: 1. To inculcate spiritual, civic and social values and morals; 2. To train young citizens in their rights, duties and obligations in the future; 3. To develop understanding about culture, traditions and virtues; 4. To teach basic health knowledge and the formation of desirable health habits and practices; and 5. The acquisition of fundamental as well as functional knowledge. The above-mentioned literature only shows the crucial role of teachers in the primary level. They are the main catalyst to the holistic development of every learner. In the work of Duka (2003), there are 8 roles or duties that any primary teacher plays. These are: 1. Classroom manager 2. Model 3. Facilitator of learning 4. Motivator 5. Evaluator of learning 6. Parent surrogate 7. Counselor 8. Friend First, Primary teachers are classroom managers; they are the ones who manage plan and execute rules governing the classroom activities as well as organizations. This role of a teacher is very important because nothing can transpire without the managing hand or the prime mover of the class. Inside the classroom where the learners are of young age, teachers can’t find immediate leaders. Teachers can’t also find good class participation. If the teacher doesn’t know how to manage the class room, then, there would be chaos, unorganized and the worst is no learning would transcribe. Second, children especially in the primary grade are very fond of idolatry, or inspiration. They are very good in imitating their idols. As teacher in the primary level, one must be a good role model. He/she should be the source of inspiration of the learners. Every teacher should do things that they are teaching like displaying good heart, calmness, being approachable, friendly, patient and industrious. Aside from becoming the model, teacher should always see to it that he is the leader of every task. In the primary level, most children have no sense of responsibility, they always want to play. As teacher, one must always lead and show what to do to every young mind. Third, children in the primary level are mostly kinesthetic learners, meaning, they are learning well if they move, play, touch or involved. The new trend in teaching is that teachers should be facilitators only. The traditional way like discussion, exposition and others are found to be lesser effective nowadays. Educators are now only facilitators or guides in the learning process, pupils are the center of education. In this case, teachers should be knowledgeable enough in providing interesting activities to the pupils. Teachers should therefore provide activities that will involve the pupils, activities that will let them touch, move, do and participate. Fourth, an elementary teacher should be a good motivator of learning. Oftentimes, children are bored with some lessons, they tend to sleep if not, to destruct the class when ever they feel that the lesson is not interesting. As a teacher in primary level, one must be a good motivator; he/she must provide activities that will arouse the interest of the learners for better learning. In addition, teachers in the primary level should design their lessons in interesting ways. Inclusion of plays, outside activities, songs, dances and other activities to catch the attention of the young children and eventually will lead them to learning. Fifth, a primary teacher should be a good evaluator of learning. The role of a teacher is not only to provide information for the children. Teaching of this type is like an archer without a target. He must assess the learning of the pupils. This will give him knowledge on how far the pupils have learned which will be the basis for the next lesson. This will also provide the teacher an opportunity to evaluate his teaching strategies or methods. In the assessment roles, teachers in the primary level should be knowledgeable in good test construction, rating and grade interpretation. Teachers must know the Dos and DON’Ts of constructing tests, conducting recitations, quizzes and home works. One must also know how to level the way he teach to his pupils. The law of readiness by Thorndike must always be followed, that is give only activities that are suitable to the age of the pupils (Lardizabal, 2000). Sixth, the principle of loco parentis is applied to teachers. A teacher is the surrogate or second parent of every child. He plays the role of parent in school in providing care, attention and concern to his pupils. This role is one of the most crucial since a teacher is like a single parent of 20 or 30 or more child. He should have the combined patience, and understanding of all the parents of his pupils. In the primary grades, teachers must have a long and stretchable patience. Most of the pupils especially in the private primary schools are reared by their parents in the most precious ways. They are always pampered, supported and guided. Most also have the help of maids for the children to have great care. As teacher then in the primary grade, one must be rigid in providing care, concern and love for the pupils. They should always be guided in everything they do. In other words, teachers in the primary level are sometimes playing the role of being a care giver or maid of the pupils. Seventh, a primary teacher is a counselor. He is the one who investigates, hears, decides and solves cases of the pupils. As a primary teacher, one must have fair treatment to every child. He must also show similar concern to each of his pupils. This role needs that the teachers should understand the nature or background of his pupils. In a class where pupils are so hyperactive, energetic and playful, teachers are not excused to observe many incidents, quarrels or misunderstandings of the pupils. Of course, the first person immediately looking at them are the teachers. They are the ones who would play as a mediator, a police or investigator. In which case, teachers should play fairly and as much as possible look for a win-win solution where neither of the parties will be hurt or disadvantaged. As teacher, one must be familiar with the strategies to gain the trust and respect of the pupils in cases where problems arise. Lastly, a primary teacher should be a friend to his pupils. This role is very difficult because to show authority is in contrast with being friendly. It is difficult then to be a friend and at the same time a teacher. However, a good primary teacher should know how to separate being a teacher and a friend. He should develop since of authority during the lessons and a since of friendship after or outside the classroom. The above-stated roles of a primary teacher are very important in nurturing the tender buds to become beautiful and colorful flowers. It means that it is in the hand of a primary teacher the future of the small children. Teachers in the primary level should be very careful in the things that they taught. Children in the primary level are known to be very malleable, they are trustful. As a teacher in primary level, therefore, one should bear in mind that there is a snowball effect in teaching; one mistake will be multiplied because of learning transfer. Aside from the roles inside the classroom, primary teachers also play important social roles. As teacher of the kids, one must have a clear understanding about the relationship to the parents. Teachers must always deal with parents properly, in the light manner. He should talk with the parents calmly even though he feels not and must always show respect to angry parents. During conferences, teachers in the primary level showed always report in details the performance of the children, the things they do inside and outside the classroom, their violations, attitudes, and improvements. As teacher therefore, one must be familiar with all of his pupils, he must always monitor them like a policeman during surveillance. With regards to teacher administrator relationship, teachers must always submit themselves to their administrators. They must follow with will the rules, regulations and policies. Teachers must always pay respect to the heads and administrators and should communicate with them through channels. In respect to teacher-teacher relationship, one must develop camaraderie and trust to each and every teacher. In one school, each teachers plays like an organ which is related to the other organs which should play in harmony for the good of the whole organization. With regards to these, primary teachers should have good socialization skills to be part of the organization. Each teacher should also see to it that in the things they do, no others companions are hurt or may be disadvantaged. In general, teaching is the noblest profession and teachers are the noblest professionals. This is the reason why teachers are looked-upon as the present heroes of any nation. They are seen as sculptors of the youth who are the future leaders of the nation. They are also seen as leaders who have hearts for the community, and nation. They are also seen as catalysts of change. This profession is multi-faceted, very complex, very crucial but very important and vital for any nation. References Babbie, E. (1999). The Educational Practice 5th Ed. Wadsworth Publishing Company, Belmont California Boiser, D (2005). Teaching Made Easy Phoenix Publishing House Quezon City Duka, C. (2003). Contemporary Teachers Rex Bookstore Manila, Philippines Goldman, H. (1996) Review of General Psychiatry. London: Prentice-Hall International Inc. Lardizabal, A. (2000) Principles and Methods of Teaching Phoenix Publishing House, Quezon City Read More