1. “Why did I feel so stupid when I was supposed to feel smart?”
I remember during my practice teaching stint in the
Philippines, one of the requirements was to make at least ten student
incentives in form of badges, ribbons, tokens, and even stickers. Those
incentives were given to students as a physical proof of recognition for doing
a good job on a specific task. However, recognizing student’s good and bad
performance must be done in a proper way as it may not serve its genuine
purpose. In a classroom, feedbacks to students’ insights or outputs are
naturally instantaneous; hence, a teacher, sometimes, has no ample time to
think of the most appropriate words and action to use.
An appraisal may accidentally turn as an embarrassing thing for a student. Hence,
teachers must be very sensitive on this kind of matter. As emphasized by Manen
in his article, “practical understanding on this kind of situations lies in the very
heart of teaching – “pedagogical sensitivity” (p. 4). In
my opinion, although giving recognition is stronger when done publicly as it boosts self-esteem and confidence, it is better to recognize and communicate
a student’s achievement or poor performance to the student and to his or her
parents privately. This is the style used by my microbiology instructor in college: during exam results day, she would privately hand back our test papers
privately. Most of the time she would inform me that I got the highest score
through a whisper. It was one her ways for me "not to feel stupid even when I was supposed to feel smart" and so those who performed unsatisfactorily not to feel so down.... and for me, it was always a story not of humiliation but of
gratification.
2. “There are some forty students in this class and you can't walk away
from it, or turn your back and take a break. You must get on with what you are
doing”
This statement was taken from one of the mini stories of the
author. Max says that whenever he enters his classroom, he “purposefully adopts an attitude of tolerant forbearance” towards his students. To have self-control
is very vital because in a classroom full of students with varying
interests and needs, stress is inevitable which may result to impulsive
and careless class bearing. The statement actually displays how huge and scary the responsibility of teaching is. The phrase “you…can’t take a break”
suggests that there are lots of things that are instantly happening in a classroom and
that these incidents require constant and immediate action. However, I believe that for a
teacher to develop the attitude of forbearance and alertness, he or she must “take
a break”, have a time for self, and be able to maintain his or her physical and psychological composure.
3. “My practical knowledge “is” my felt sense of the classroom, my feeling
who I am as a teacher, my felt understanding of my students…”
Practical knowledge is acquired through experience. This
statement fascinates me for it emphasizes that practical knowledge may even resides
on the things that surround us. In an ecosystem, for a certain animal species
to survive, it must adapt to its environment… its climate and resources.
Likewise, in teaching, a teacher must feel confident and safe with his or her
environment, which may include the classroom, school facilities and resources,
students, and colleagues. The classroom and the school are where one develop
practical knowledge and pedagogical sensitivity. The feeling of uneasiness
with the learning space or ambiance could adversely affect one's “tact” in
teaching. The more confident you are with your environment and the people and
resources around it, the more alert, functional, and efficient you are as well.
Therefore, it is important for educators to both establish good physical environment
and maintain a positive relationship with the students, parents,
co-teachers, and the community.
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