Term 3 week 3

The trainee under me started teaching this week. It was a time to really reflect also on my own practices and be more aware of what works and what doesn’t. It is really true that what any teacher needs to constantly work on is the way the lesson is conducted and classroom management. After every lesson she taught, the feedback given by me was often about how to better the the lesson delivery and how to make the class a more conducive place for learning. In providing her with the feedback, I also realised how important it was to make instructions crystal clear. I am actually proud to say that I am most of the time able to make instructions clear enough, even for the lower ability students. (This is in fact something my hubby is lacking and I often get really frustrated about!) But it didn’t just come overnight. It’s years of trying and experimenting and of course, it helps being a language teacher. I know words don’t come very easily to many, and I’m glad to say I am bestowed with it
Well, coming back to teaching…this week has caused me to think back a lot on being a good teacher. Teaching is indeed a craft; an art which takes time to be perfected. In fact, in my opinion it can never be perfected. There is never 1 best way to doing something, like what I told my trainee. I often recommend her a better way of lesson delivery but I strongly encourage her to try out other ways she think may work. This is something I guess I still do, if I think I did a lousy job in the previous lesson.
Teaching is also a tool that needs to be constantly sharpened. A tool on its own is worthless unless it is being used. The mere act of using it is already sharpening itself. So, the more you use it, the better it gets.
But there’s something that I still do not have an answer to. If teaching is a tool that sharpens itself over time, why are there so many blunt and overused tools around. I’ve seen one too many experienced teachers who have dedicated half their lives to the profession but at the end of the road, they end up becoming jaded and indifferent to things. I’ve not come to that stage yet, and hope not to. Is this the law of diminishing returns? Or have these tools been put to use which are not of their original purpose? I am more inclined to think of the latter. The edge of a sharp knife often used to open a tin will soon lose its sharpness.
My mother-in-law used to boast about this good old kitchen knife she had. But she recently bought a new and better one, saying the old one has expired and no longer effective. I’m not sure why. Perhaps it has served to its fullest or has it been used like a swiss-knife; to cut, open, tear, jab, knock. Name it, and the teacher will most likely be able to do it…