Blog

10 October 2022, Monday

Are we still teaching how we were taught?
By Desiree Kaur

I recently started teaching again, after a hiatus from teaching regular classes. While I thought it would be a struggle for me to teach face-to-face lessons after getting used to the comforts of online lessons, I was pleasantly surprised that it was like 'riding a bike.' In fact, I think my hiatus from teaching, has made me reflect even more on the type of teacher I would like to be. Coming back to my centre physically and meeting my students and their parents face-to-face brought me a sense of joy that I had long forgotten. One of my favourite parts of teaching is the chit-chat I get to have with my students. Recently, something my student said has haunted me for days and prompted me to ask myself, are we still teaching how we were taught?

My student made a fair number of mistakes in his exercise, and he was clearly upset about it. So, I comforted him by saying. this is why he was coming for lessons. We, his teachers are supposed to help him learn and understand things, and mistakes are part of that process. His response left me rather bewildered. He said, his friend who attends English lessons at another tuition centre, gets hit on his hands with a pencil for every mistake he makes. This brought back memories of how  teachers would use punishments for wrong answers in class back when I was schooling. 

I had hoped that since we are now in the year 2022, much more woke about childhood trauma and more aware of teaching methods from a learner centered approach - that we were done with the punishment for not knowing method. In the same lesson, I also noticed my student writing at lightning speed resulting in very small handwriting making it so hard to read. I kept reminding him, slow down, write slowly and his handwriting would be more legible. To my surprise his response was, in school, the teachers insists that students write fast. Mind you, he attend a private school. 

Both these matters came up in a span of 30 minutes, and till today (3 days later), I am still suffering the shock of hearing that teaching methods have not changed much in the last 30-years. While we have advanced in so many ways, orthodox teaching methods of - only correct answers are rewarded, finish your work fast, mistakes are to be feared - is still very much alive in this day and age. 

So, this brings me to the question: are we teaching how we were taught? While there is no harm in that since most humans begin their learning experience through imitation, but can we take a step back and ask ourselves first - which methods or which teachers do we want to emulate? I have the greatest respect for all teachers as it is such a noble profession, but at the same time, I need to question methods that are more harmful than good for our children. As a parent now myself, I always emphasise on a positive learning experience rather than ensuring a skill is mastered in the shortest span of time.

Some of us take 1 lesson to master something, some may take 20 or more. To me, as a parent and as a teacher, that is ok! We have to learn at our own pace. Also, as a teacher I also reflect on methodology. If I am teaching something repeatedly to the same student; am i using the right method or am I the right teacher for him / her? So, with that, as a parent, teacher and student, I invite you to ponder on a learning style that works best for you and then, ask five other people this same question and see how many have the same answers.