The Compassion of Teaching

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love."

A story is told of Mrs Thompson who walked into her fifth standard class and told her students that she loved all of them equally.

She actually lied because loving little Theodore in her class was going to be very difficult, because, he was shabbily dressed and an extremely shy and introvert child. As the days went by, she scorned him, failed him and posted red indicators on his report card for poor performance.

At school, teachers were to review past records of every student. Mrs Thompson was in for a surprise when she read the remarks of the previous years. Theodore’s first standard teacher had written: “He is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners...he is a joy to be around."

His second standard teacher wrote, "Theodore is an excellent student, well-liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle." His third standard teacher had written, “His mother's death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best but his father does not show much interest and his home life will soon affect him if some steps are not taken."

His fourth standard teacher wrote, “The boy is withdrawn and does not show much interest in school. He does not have many friends and sometimes sleeps in class." Tears welled up in the teacher’s eyes when she realised how insensitive she was.

At Christmas, she received from Theodore, half-bottle perfume and a used-bracelet. When she opened it in class, all the students laughed. She dabbed some perfume on her wrist and wore the bracelet and appreciated Theodore’s gift. After school, he told his teacher, “Teacher, you smell just like my mum used to with that perfume on you”. Mrs Thompson wept bitterly with compassion.

Years later, Theodore began to correspond almost every year with his teacher with the words, “You were my best Teacher”. At his marriage, he asked if she could take the place of his mother in Church, as he had no Mother. His Teacher came dressed with the same bracelet and perfume. Theodore, now a highly learned man, was shocked to hear his teacher tell him on his wedding, “My greatest teacher was you. You taught me compassion.”

Are you a teacher? Are you compassionate enough to feel the pain of others in your heart?

Teachers are educators, mentors, and leaders. They guide the younger generations through their life, giving them what they need to become successful, and encouraging them to strive to their full potential. But the most important thing teachers can offer is compassion. While the role of a teacher may have been viewed as one requiring cold professionalism, it is now safe to say that the relationship has evolved far beyond that. A teacher can be a dear friend to a student: a sympathetic ear that listens to the younger generations' problems, a kind yet firm hand to steer them clear from trouble, and an abundance of life experience and knowledge that helps to direct and keep them on the path to achievement.

It is simple human qualities that teachers must posses that make them so unique. Patience. Understanding. Kindness. Teachers have to focus
on every individual students. Creativity, communication, and compassion
must not become obsolete.

Asking the student how they spend weekend. Making sure they understood the homework. Notice their new haircut or new bag. A teacher who cares will notice the different social groups, the achievers vs. the stragglers, and which students need just a bit more help than they’re letting on. The effects of indifference and apathy may not appear immediately, but the signs will show over time. Bullying, eating disorders, and depression can continue if no one takes the time to notice and put a stop to it.

As teachers, we must not lost our humanity. Keep in contact with our students, get to know them, make the lessons and classes feel more personal. The curriculum have to be developed with students’ best interests in mind, and any effort we make to help them relate will only improve the quality of their learning. Students will be the most engaged when they feel as though we care about them. When a teacher makes the effort to make a student feel appreciated, they will only flourish. If a teacher can do this, they have successfully earned the title - "A Compassionate Teacher".

Remember, years down the road, they probably won’t remember what we have taught them. They’ll only remember how we made them feel.

Positive Teaching

It's been a long time since I have written any entry. Well, something happened 2 years ago and it took me that long to realize so many things, why it happened.
I have learned to forgive, and I thought I was forgiving enough. I have learned about humility (still working on it though), and I thought I was humble enough. More important, I have learned to look at things in another perspective.
Wisdom and knowledge is not perfect without love. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. Love never comes to an end, and knowledge have no more value.
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. So therefore, as a new man , I have to put off my old self.
Now I 'm no longer wants to prove myself (performance orientated). No longer I 'm teaching in a kindergarten, though I miss teaching whenever I look at all the worksheets I have done or saved. I 'm with the Children Church now, but this is more challenging, because we meet the children only once a week and sometimes the irregular ones, we only see them once or twice a month.
I used to think that teaching is imparting knowledge, from a teacher to the students, but now I see it differently. I get to learn at the same time, as I am just a tool to impart His knowledge. I used to dread whenever I think of the troublesome children, but now I will pray for them before meeting. I don't have so much trouble and hard feelings now, as I used to have.
Just recently, I have a six years old girl, who used to cry whenever she don't get things the way she wanted. Earlier this year she have changed, but lately she went back to the old attitude of crying to get her way. I was a bit impatient and told her that she has to wait for her turn and if she cries anymore, she will be the last. She have a 2 and 1/2 years old sister with her in her class, but her sister never acted that way. We kept reminding her this. As I was sharing to my daughter about this, the Lord put it in me that why don't I congratulate her whenever she's not crying, every half an hour or so, even though its not lesson time or even when she's playing. Then I started to realize positive teaching.
I grew up with negative teaching method. If we don't act this way, then so and so punishment will be imposed. It works fine as that time we were not do daring. But this type of teaching cannot be used with the current generation children. We, as teachers or parents have to be creative enough to impart knowledge and at the same time allow the children to know and understand the consequences of certain actions. Learning is an on-going process, as well as teaching. Therefore as parents, we must realize that we have to teach too, not just the teacher. If parents and educators (in whatever form) would mutually co-operate with one another, children would be more happier and more disciplined.