Truly Teaching Students - Part 2

I began looking in my last post, at some of the aspects of great teaching, and hope that some of these points can be useful to you as you seek a position in an education career; especially one that puts you in the mode of directly teaching young minds. We looked at how teaching is to be considered more than just standing in front of people and shoving fact and figures at them. The goal should be to instill a habit of the mind to them, a desire to learn and continue to learn for life. If the student just desires to complete the task and get past this section of study, then the teaching is not working. They should be engaged and desiring for more.

Unfortunately, many in the teaching position today have settled more for the cold hard facts approach, and do not engage students, but simply throw instruction at them. Not everyone is gifted with the ability to properly communicate with students, and those that do not have this ability, tend to be the less successful teachers in the field. Teaching should be less mechanical and more human. One aspect of getting in touch with a student to engage them is to have a relationship that is more respectful than the type of "I'm the adult, you're the silly child" mentality. Looking down upon students, or dismissing them as ignorant, or in any other way that they might feel a demeaning attitude, is not an effective teaching style.

In order to engage the mind of the students, there are many ways in which you can show respect for the dignity of the student, such as simply learning and calling them by name, greeting them politely, or discussing and later remembering issues that might have been bothering a student. Think about things that make the student feel like an individual person and not just a number on the seating chart. Things like resisting the urge in the classroom to use sarcastic responses that at the time are amusing, but in fact may be hurtful or embarrassing. Or even to tolerate other students and colleagues when they toss out what may appear to be silly insults or jokes about other students. While these things may seem benign on the surface, they could in fact cut to the heart of a student who may already be struggling with personal acceptance.

Other ways you can go that extra step and connect with the student is to pull them aside and be honest with them, showing real concern and respect, telling them the cold hard truth about something that they need to hear. If you engage them one-on-one, in a non demeaning manner, respectfully pointing out a shortcoming in their attitude or practice, they will see you as someone sincerely concerned and not just another adult coming down on them. Never seek to embarrass them in front of their classmates, always give them the courtesy of doing things in private. As the old saying goes, "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."

If you are the type of teacher that simply demands respect and looks down at students as young and ignorant with you as the one that is there to only pump knowledge into them, then your teaching skills need some help. Be a learner yourself. Do not be afraid to admit to students when you are wrong or do not know an answer. Be a go-getter that always learns and seeks for the answer and seeks to teach the students how to have a desire for learning and continuing to learn for life. Expect more from the students than they expect from themselves, and always accentuate the positive, praising them for their work as often as possible. Be friendly, and be friends with the students - though not their buddy, which can hinder the teaching process.

It takes a special someone to successfully teach and reach the students, and these traits need to be examined if you desire to fill the high calling of teaching. Work to strengthen these traits, and to seek new avenues to honestly engage the younger minds into the path of life-long learning.

Jeff McCormack resides in Virginia Beach, VA. where he works as a web designer by day. In his off time he is a husband, father, mail order book store manager, and musician. Aside from being a freelance writer for this Education Jobsite blog, he also seeks to assist in career choices and information by contributing to other Nexxt blog sites.