I dislike misusing my BLOG for personal gripes, however, the cyclists abusing the road and giving us all a bad name deserved a mention last year and this year I would like to mention the “teachers”.
We have three boys, filled with enthusiasm and excitement … until they go to school.
What is the cause … I have been asking myself for some time, especially as I went to the same school many, many moons ago and have been involved in adult learning/mentoring for a long time. Looking at my school report I notice a mirror image of one of my boys … yes I was also told that I am not going to make it in life, that I was a disaster as I failed to remember the to-me-irrelevant historical dates and the spelling words we had to learn a-la-parrot-style every week.
So what is my issue with teachers? The "Pygmalion Effect" is possibly an explanation to the behaviour shown by many kids, as they are strongly driven by the attitude of their teachers, i.e. if labelled as incompetent, they will never be able to show their true potential.
Personally I have had many debates with experts in the education field, arguing that pedagogic principles are outdated and that teachers should consider adult learning principles, taking the different learner styles in cognisance, with our children as well. The "Hawthorne Effect", for example, has proven extremely productive with my boys at home, together with motivation and constant confirmation of his potential.
It is time that teachers stop trying to fit each kid into a common mould, that they stop telling the kids how miserable they are, that they stop looking for problems with the kids … the latter keeps all the psychologists happy, however, it seriously influences the kids, their motivation and most importantly their self esteem.
Instead teachers should see each kid as an individual with its own strengths, interests and potential, they should motivate and encourage the kids and they should perhaps start looking for problems with themselves. Perhaps it is the way the kids are taught, perhaps it is the content taught to the kids and/or perhaps it is the enthusiasm, or lack thereof, of teachers that make many turn to a dream world, switching off to the outside world and subsequently failing tests and being labelled as class jokers and failures.
I hope that some of the teachers in the school I thankfully survived will take note of this post and give the topic some thought, because many kids are being destroyed, rather than shaped for their future. Yes, I was labelled as a failure and my primary school report would bring fear to any humanoid in this galaxy, however, I encountered competent, caring and motivated teachers in high school and competent and caring mentors after leaving the school, which have made me grow to what I am today.
I am not perfect and my spelling is still atrocious, however, I have discovered that spell checkers can assist me and allow me to focus on far more important issues. “I have a dream” … that teachers will one day analyse themselves first, that they will see the potential in every kid and allow each kid to grow into a unique star, not a member of a robot society.
Please note that this post is not directed at all the teachers, only the "few" that are making a negative difference to the future of our nation. There are many, many passionate, motviated and competent teachers/mentors (my wife is one of them) who are making a positive difference and will hopefully influence and swing the other minority.
ex-DSJ scholar who actually made it in life.