| Incidental
learning! |
“
I had a very bad day today !”- on hearing this from her 14 year old son, the
mother was concerned.
“What made your day so bad ?”
“Mom, if the teacher is not clear in her teaching, is it a sign of
disrespect to ask for clarity?” the son asked, evidently puzzled.
“Tell me exactly what happened”
“ We did not understand a concept that my teacher was teaching today in
class, so my friend Anika raised several questions to get clarity. But, my
teacher got angry and walked out of the class. Moreover, she even reported us to the
Principal saying that my class is unruly. As a consequence, we have to learn
this concept on our own and come prepared for a test.”
The above conversation is commonly heard from many houses with school-
going children. |
Maintaining the teacher
student relationship is still a challenging task.Effective communication
plays a major role in this regard.While teaching and learning, communication
is inevitable. Many a times, both teachers and the students wish to maintain
a positive relationship with each other. But, unfortunately, knowingly or
unknowingly, there is almost always a gap rendered by miscommunication.
Though one can't rule
out purposeful questioning of some students for the sake of whiling away
class hours or distracting the teacher for sheer amusement, taking from this
incident, when students are encouraged to be inquisitive, why do some
teachers get defensive or mistake it to be a sign of disrespect when the
students' perspective on the subject matter varies? The simple reasons could
be lack of preparation for the class from the teachers’ side, or the teacher
might not want the flow interrupted while teaching. Whatever the case might
be, walking out of the class gives does not lead to any productive solutions
but merely reflects the inefficiency of the teacher’s classroom management.The
state ofguilt or confusion as to why thequestion cannot be answered, does not
create an environment of respect expected by teacher. |
This inefficientcommunication
arises specifically due to incongruence inunderstanding the intent of the
other person. Some students are used
to certain manner of communication, such as their tone and body language,
that may perceived by the teachers to be rude. The teacher has to acknowledge
this discrepancy, and make the students understand that being inquisitive is
encouraged, as long as it doesn't disrupt the class or others.
An integrated effort
in learning the skill of communication is much needed at the earliest stage
in a student’s life. Guiding and correcting then and there is not a waste of
time during class hours. In fact, this is where incidental learning happens.A
teacher’s smile or a frown matters a lot to a student to turn his /her day
into a sweet or bitter one. Action speaks louder than words!
By
Jayanthi Ramesh
Teacher Trainer- Cambridge International Examination |
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