Asma Ishaq
“Generally it is assumed that at school, kids are young and immature.Yet! The outcome is,over there they makeever-lasting memory even being so young. Here, they glow, learn and grow to be ready for the world. Whatever, these kids become in the long run for that school remains the most focal brick in the edifice of life.”A teacher by heart enjoysone’s interaction with the kids or youth daily. This routine-meeting not only serves the purpose of impartingknowledge or the bifurcated curriculumbut also to teach them the requisite life skills.
Core Life Skills:The UNICEF suggests 10 core life skills.All these skills focus to develop a behaviour that enables any child to adapt and deal effectively with the demands and challenges of life. These are: 1-Problem Solving. 2-Decision Making. 3-Creative Thinking. 4-Critical Thinking. 5-Self Awareness. 6-Interpersonal Relationships. 7-Communication Skill. 8-Stress Management. 9-Emotional Intelligence. 10-Empathy.
Each of these core skills has an importance of its own. Nothing can be thought of omitting or subtracting from the need of life. Any young child who gets acquaintedwith these core skills would be able to face the twists of life much more efficiently than the one who never knew about them. All in all, life is not just about leaning the subjects but it is about preparing the child for a successful end.
Life Coach InThe Disguise:Teacher is a life-coach in the disguise. This life coaching keeps going on concurrently with conveying of knowledge. Many teachers become some kind of embodiment in transferring the good values and norms into their students. Couple of university students were questioned about the learning from school, and their answer was an eye opener. Surprise to many, theyshared about good traits having learned from their respective favourite teacher instead of the subject that they had been taught. One boy said, I have learnt tolerance from the Islamiyat teacher because we always tried to disturb the lesson but our teacher chose to remain calm. He kept giving us religious citation for becoming a good child. A girl shared, “She used to be an unusual shy person when it comes to thepublic speaking. And it was her English Language teacher who killed her fear of public speaking. Today, she wins every declamation competition.” Likewise, one boy shared that he had learnt distributing fewer money in accordance with the more expenses from his Mathematics teacher. Another boy talked of a wonderful experience of controlling his unpredictable mood swings that he had learnt from English Literature teacher. He told, he was way short tempered. He further told that I had done every possible trouble during the Literature class because I had zero interest but it was my teacher’s unbelievable empathy level that transformed me completely. Listening to these students testifythat this is what a teacher’s role in real. This is any teacher’s sincere effort of going extra mile for the students. Such teachers become a true-life coach. Students remember them as the protagonist of one’s life forever.
Urge ForKnowledge:
“Teachers have three loves: love of learning, love of learners, and the love of the bringing the first two loves together.” -Scott Hayden.
A teacher’s foremost responsibility is creating an urge in the student for knowledge. Of course, any successful teacher is the one whose students become the avid knowledge-lover. Now it comes as a challenge at the teacher’s part, how to make the process of learning knowledge interesting for the kids. The love for knowledge lives and raises with the child throughout his/her life.
Experience Is A Learning:Humans continue to experience different phases of life. Therefore, much necessary to teach the youth that each experience marks the learning. Telling kids that even when an experience is theeffect of a mistake or ends as a mistake yet it teaches an invaluable lesson.Simultaneously, making a mistake is no shame rather accepting it adds in to one’s maturity. However, mistakes must be corrected with the passage of time not to be repeated.
Perks Of Team Work: A number of educationists have concluded that a primary-school age of the kids is the best for teaching them team work. At this age, kids are much welcoming, like sharing and take initiative to help each other. Class room learning activities must have an objective for raising the willingness of team work. Furthermore, for any kind of academic or co-curricular’s competition, teachers must encourage students for participation necessarily. Students must be trained not to focus on the winning alone but to develop the sportsmanspirit. To develop the respect for the fellow-competitors is much essential for the life in the long run. And who can deny the fact that it assists greatly in toning down one’s ego.
Love-Love-Relationship:Teaching is all aboutmaking the difference in any child’s life. This must be the primary goal of any teacher to prepare the child that he/she can do marvel believing in the potentials, endowed by the Almighty. Here, a teacher’s assurance of ownership and love to every child matters the most. It casts the sea-change impact over them.The careful amount of love not indecent frankness works like the magic wand. It not only helps teachers in making a child result-oriented but also much helpful in reaching out to the children who are closed-mouth about their emotional turbulence.
It is undeniable that in the presence of social media, guarding the emotional health has become animperative job-description of teachers. It is as important as to taking care of the academics. Likewise, children learn from one’s elders to regulate one’s emotions.Thus, representation of emotions to them should be calculated carefully. Moreover, each one of us knows that a growing age kid and in particular the late teen-age kid goes through a lot. They easily fall prey to the ‘wow factor’ that social media screens have brought to them. Reactions i.e. like, heart-react and laugh, all these keep them entangled. Train them ‘firm’ not to look for this ‘virtual appreciation’ rather to be an ‘inspirational personality’ in the real life. Trust it for doing all this, love is the most useful here. So, begin for your students with love and it will end with love too.
‘Face’ and ‘Faith’:Without any iota of doubt teacher’s another commendable task isto develop the faith in students. Life is to face it with an unwavering faith in Almighty. Any child who has an absolute faith to face the challenges of academics will eventually get prepared to face the faltering twists of life too. The strong faith transforms a child into a calm and collected personality. It is a fact now that today’s society is the cruellest. It is definitely the power of faith that becomes a protecting-tool for the kids. It is much disappointing to have heard from the teachers or parents, “Kids have got changed.” They have not got changed rather society has changed disgracefully. So, making them to face the world on their own faith in Almighty is the most vital. The child with an intact faith grows to be righteous, consistent, aspiring and encouraging as well.
Last of all, teaching is indeed not an easy task. It is not a cup of tea for everyone!
Furthermore, greatness never comes without commitment and sacrifice. A big shout out to all the teachers or mentors who go beyond the subjects and leave the unremitting impact over their students for the lifetime. And Yes! Tell your students daily that you are proud of them!
Happy Teacher’sDay!
Asma Ishaq is a lecturer.
