Education and Students Environment - Essay Example

Education Environment For to be able to participate freely in the learning process there needs to be an environment that will set the mood for learning and prevent the students from being distracted. The mood should also be set so that student can be mentally prepared for learning. According to (Denton 2), mentors need to choose words wisely so that they can set the mood right and conducive for learning. The choice of proper language is the most effective tool that teachers should employ to facilitate for a good learning experience. Despite the environment of the school being conducive, there are other challenges that affect the performance of the students. Many students feel that the meals they take for lunch are not tasty and as a result they prefer to skip the meals. According to Martin and Oakley (438), care programs that provide the learners with meals that have proper nutrition will succeed to make the learners ready for their studies. Learners should enjoy high nutritious meals before they get to school because this will help them to easily transition to meals offered in school. Physical Environment The physical environment of the school is ideal for learning. While in school, the students are to access the services of a well organised classroom, play ground and dining hall. When activities change, students change their physical setting, making them able to relate the activity they are doing with the environment. A student like Samuel for example is able to differentiate the different setting with the activities to be undertaken. The physical setting of the classroom makes students ready to learn. Interactions within the class According to Cashin and Cooper, interaction between the teachers and the students improves the environment of learning compared to using online platforms to teach students on language. The positive interactions between the students and the mentor make the students motivated to learn. The mentors are also able to demonstrate their interest to participate in the learning process of the students and to provide the students with sufficient mentorship. From the experience of interacting with the students, the general performance of the students improve substantially when new innovative mentoring techniques are used in an alternating manner. Some of the effective techniques used include brainstorming sessions, note taking sessions and group activity sessions. While note taking enables the students to further master the language, other techniques like group activities make the students to motivate each other to learn more. Teacher’s participation in class activities breaks the barriers of communication with the students and makes students to be free to engage the teacher in learning and to ask whenever they do not understand. When teachers appear to work for the same team with students during group sessions, the students respond by improving the way they relate with them. Many students feel they are not good enough to freely use English during class sessions. This makes the students to be silent and reserved during the class session. In order for the students to understand well a language that is not their first language, they should be ready to practice without fear of making mistakes so that they can learn from their mistakes. The use of Spanish in the school compound hinders learning of the new language. Students prefer to use English only during the lessons. This means that the students do not have enough time to practice the new language. Students need to spend more time communicating using English so that they can improve their language skills. From journal number three, we get a good example of Samuel who enjoys good interaction with the rest of the students. The good communication and interaction skills make him liked by many of his classmates. When Samuel is playing, he feels free to interact with his classmates and engage them in games but while in class, Samuel remains silent and does not feel free to participate in learning. This behavior should alarm the teacher and be used as a feedback on the progress of learning by the student. From this case, it is evident that the student is not courageous enough to communicate using English and that is why the student decides t being silent and reserved in class. This type of student needs to be constantly encouraged to practice the use of the new language. The more the student uses the language and makes mistakes while practicing, the better the student will be to learn the language well. Response to the Environment When the environment is conducive for learning, many students willing fully participate in learning and there is low cases of students being absent minded. However, when teaching becomes monotonous and boring, the students tend to lose interest and become absent minded as a result. Teachers need to be engaged in making sure that the students participate in learning by helping them to understand the lessons being taught. A good example is how using simple explanations in mathematics helps the students to understand the calculations better as compared to when the students are only exposed to the calculations and formula used. Ideas to improve the environment Teachers should keep the students motivated and ready to learn. In addition, a good teacher should be concerned about the issues that disturb the students. By helping the students to solve the problems that they face, the teacher is able to increase the students need to learn even more. Teachers should also be ready to be a good example to their students. If a teacher for example wants the students to use English when they are out of class, the teacher should lead by example and communicate to the students in English even when they are out of the class. By doing this, the students will be motivated to join in and start using English. A good teacher should also be fit to inspire and encourage the students to challenge themselves. When students challenge themselves, they are able to achieve more than the target that they initially had. Ideas in relation to the journal These ideas are evident in the journal presentation. From the journal, the use of sports has managed to help the students to bond among themselves as well as to bond with the teacher. Bonding results to increased trust between the teacher and the student to a point that the students consider the teacher to be their friends and feel free to ask questions. By going through the journal, it becomes possible to understand the main requirements in a learning environment and how a teacher can use different strategies to make the students comfortable and ready to learn. Works cited Martin, Josephine, and Charlotte Oakley Managing Child Nutrition Programs: Leadership for Excellence. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2008. Print. Denton, Paula. The Power of Our Words: Teacher Language That Helps Children Learn. Turners Falls, MA: Northeast Foundation for Children, Inc, 2014. Print Cashin, Kathleen M., and Bruce S. Cooper. Remaking Schools as Socioemotional Places. Education Week. N.P., 2013. Web. 2 June 2015. Read More