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Young World
Bringing out the best
MALA ASHOK
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Happy is the student who knows that his teacher has faith in him ...
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When I first read Alexander Solzhenytsin's statement, "A fool loves to teach, but a clever man loves to learn," I was a young teacher and bristled at the perceived affront.
Decades later, I can see the wisdom in that message. As we celebrate Teacher's Day on September 5, let me relate a personal experience.
I was at my school for adults in Surrey, Canada. This was an independent learning, self-paced environment where the teachers were facilitators and mentors, helping students (ranging in age from 19 to 75) achieve their full potential.
Within a few days, I realised that my job there would be very challenging and extremely rewarding as well. One student, I forget his name since everybody called him Happy, posed a real challenge to all the teachers. He was one of our youngest students and still a playful adolescent. I prided myself on being able to bring out the best in him, by using sports analogies to explain tough Mathematical concepts.
He was whizzing through the Algebra Text at breakneck speed, much to the surprise of my colleagues, when one day he reached a particularly tough topic. He struggled through it for some time and announced he was ready to take the test. I urged him to study some more but he insisted on taking the test. Sure enough, he did not get the required `Pass' marks.
Both of us were upset at his first `failure' but I couldn't help feeling rather smug in an "I told you so" sort of way.
I consoled him and said, "Don't worry, we'll work together and you can take a `make-up' test'." He, however, pointed to the wastepaper basket about 10 metres away and said, "Guess what? Let's make a deal. If I make the `Free Throw' with my test paper (he had, by now, crumpled it into a neat ball!), I get to proceed to the next chapter."
Happy was one of our best shooters but I dampened his enthusiasm by saying, "Why not? There's no way you're going to make that shot!"
He took the shot, missed by inches and was devastated. He looked crestfallen and walked back to his seat silently to nurse his wounded pride. He could not concentrate on his studies for months after that. Our positive student-teacher relationship too was scarred irreversibly.
Where had I gone wrong? I had not shown faith in his abilities. He had, unconsciously, equated his skill in one field with that in another, and by failing to see the connection I had crushed him. That was the turning point in my teaching career. I realised that a teacher can never stop learning... from his/her students. I cannot help but wondering how Happy would have fared in the course had I had faith in him.
Yes, students (of all ages) believe what their teachers tell them and rise (or fall) to their expectations. Thus, the importance of positive reinforcement cannot be over-emphasised.
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