Invest in Teachers The Art of Teaching

Posted by linedalile July 25, 2012 13 Comments

Let us redefine the word Teacher ! Teachin" is not a #ob$ it is an art! %n art hidden behind a load of res&onsibilities! 't lays the foundation of disco(erin" mysteries, sol(in" &roblems, and trainin" our minds to )uestion, e*&lore, and in(esti"ate! To a world where +nowled"e is a treasure, teachin" is a mirror that reflects future "enerations! ,ou can see that teachin" is not an easy tas+! 't is, in fact, a multi-tas+ where a teacher has to combine creati(ity, intelli"ence, and &assion when teachin" &roducti(ely, because after all, e(erythin" is a &roduct of teachin"! Teachers are the a"ents of the future fuelin" students with lifelon" &assion for learnin"! .ut it is a matter of how we define the word Teacher in today/s society! 0ome thin+ of a 50 year-old teachin" materials than no one can di"est, a 11 year-old teachin" students her a"e, or a "uy chan"in" the world one (ideo at a time! 2thers ima"ine the wisdom of Confucius, 0ocrates, and %nne 0ulli(an! %s ' come to define the word teacher , ' often loo+ u& how it/s &ercei(ed by societies, countries, and dictionaries! 3or centuries, we ha(e thou"ht of teachers as &ots of +nowled"e &ourin" information in the brains of students! To 4erriam 5ebster dictionary6 % teacher is one that teaches$ especially6 one whose occu&ation is to instruct! 'nterestin"ly, in the Chinese lan"ua"e, a teacher is called , or old master! .ut to a fallow mind, a teacher is a &lanter of seeds, a &recious thou"ht that flourishes our &ath! To a wanderer with lost ho&e, a teacher is "uide! To a creati(e mind, a teacher is a 4use, an ins&iration, an idea! Put sim&ly by the words of 7erlad 7row6 To a mind of flint, the teacher must be iron that strike sparks. %ll around the world, nations are tryin" to im&ro(e the &erformance of their education system and schools, but with creatin" more standardi8ed tests, the future doesn/t loo+ bri"ht! To boost the &erformance of our schools, we need to in(est in teachers! %ccordin" to an article written in 2009, Invest in teachers to raise achievement, Children in classes tau"ht by the best teachers learn four times faster than those in classes tau"ht by the &oorest ones! Professor :ylan 5illiam of the 'nstitute of ;ducation, London says Children in the most effecti(e classrooms will learn in si* months what students in an a(era"e classroom learn in a year, and students in the least effecti(e

classrooms will ta+e two years to learn it! % bad teacher can lea(e a student li+e a wrin+led &a&er! %s we in(esti"ate the secrets behind hi"h-achie(in" countries that were measured on international le(el usin" P'0% <Pro"ram for 'nternational 0tudent=, we constantly find that they all focused on de(elo&in" teachers before they enter the &rofession to ensure academic success to all students! Let/s e*amine teacher/s de(elo&ment in two hi"h-achie(in" countries! 1) Finland 3or the &ast decades, 3inland made the headlines as a result of &erformin" at the to& of international test, P'0%! 5ithout any sur&rise, the 3innish dedicate their success to teachers whose &rofession is considered as a hi"hly noble &rofession and com&ared to doctors, lawyers and en"ineers ! Selection: 3inland has set (ery hi"h-standards that one should meet to become a teacher! %ccordin" to The selection of teachers in Finland is as strict as that for doctors leaving schools in a very healthy state, written in 2011! Last year, from 1,25> a&&lications to enter school teacher trainin" at the ?ni(ersity of @elsin+i, around 3A2 were selected for final e*ams and inter(iews, with only 123 acce&ted B an e*tremely &ic+y a&&licant success rate of 9!>C! Teachers in e(ery &rimary or secondary school face fi(e years before they are released into their classrooms to teach B three years for their de"ree, and then a com&ulsory two-year 4asters! Then there/s an o&tional two-year doctorate on to& of that! Dinder"arten teachers face a three-year bachelor de"ree before they are )ualified! The fact that reforms in the 19>0s transferred teacher trainin" to uni(ersities says it all!Freedom: Ee"ardless of what school you "o to in 3inland, you/ll be offered the same e)ual academic o&&ortunities! This consistency is a result of stron" curriculum and "ood teachers that belie(e education is a human ri"ht and should be "i(en e)ually to all students!% &o&ular motto in 3inland is We trust our teachers! 5hile teachers ha(e s&ecific curricula to follow and com&ulsory sub#ects to teach, they are also "i(en freedom to desi"n their own lesson &lans and inter&ret sub#ects as they see fit ma+in" sure they maintain learn-throu"h &lay childhood &hiloso&hy! The country/s liberal a&&roach to curriculum &ro(es that teachers are e*&erts in their fields! The curriculum ma+es sure freedom and fle*ibility is "i(en to e(ery teacher and student in e(ery classroom as it ensures that the +nowled"e "ained is a&&lied, not only remembered! 2n e*ams, students are e*&ected not #ust to "i(e the correct answer but also to e*&lain why! Little homewor+, and hardly any standardi8ed tests, lea(es 3inland on to&!2) hina 'n @on" Don", teachers are encoura"ed to Teach less, learn more ! % sim&le motto will shift the focus from )uantity to )uality in education! The idea is to transform learnin" from readin" hea(y te*tboo+s to learnin" by doin"! 3ewer lectures and more ideas comin" to life flic+er e*citement in students! This method aims to en"a"e the mind of students and chan"e the &ers&ecti(e on why we teach and how we teach! 't intends to +ee& natural learnin" in the :F% of our students! 5e all learn without necessarily bein" tau"ht! 't is only when we nurture students/ talents and interests in a welcomin" en(ironment and fle*ible teachin" methods that we &re&are them for lifelon" learnin"! Pro(idin" )uestions, doesn/t mean "i(in" answers! Teach less, learn more allows students to e*&lore &otential answers and builds the s+ills of lifelon" learnin", wonderment, curiosity and &roblem sol(in"! Teacher!s develo"ment: The undersecretary for education in @on" Don", Denneth Chen says The culture of learnin" must start with the teachin" force ! % hi"hly de(elo&ed &ractice called lesson study, was ori"inated in Ja&an but it/s now a wides&read &rofessional de(elo&ment &ractice! 'n lesson study, a "rou& of teachers obser(e each other/s teachin" methods inside the

classroom and collaborate to"ether to refine teachin" &ractices and de(elo& lesson &lans! Teachers &lan an actual lesson and obser(e how it wor+s! %fterwards, teachers demonstrate strate"ies based on the results they recei(ed after discussions! They &oint out lesson/s stren"ths and wea+nesses and &ro&ose su""estions for im&ro(ements! ,ou can see there are countless teachers/ de(elo&ment &ractices, but it is when we in(est in teachers, when we "i(e them freedom, we can see results in "enerations to come! %s '"nacio ;strada once said, 'f a child can/t learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn! Teachin" methods should en"a"e the minds of students and show them that wonderment is a "ene, rather than "i(in" them re&etiti(e tests, formulas and model answers! Teachin" is a &rofession that should ne(er be restricted by rules! The methods and the &rofessional de(elo&ment will ne(er be constant, chan"e is the new constant! 5e must dri(e to in(est in teachers, the world ma+ers of the future! 't is a noble &rofession that re)uires &rofound dedication! 't shouldn/t be stuffin" facts, but rather s&ar+lin" ideas! Teachers are not candles consumin" themsel(es to li"ht the way for others$ they are flames of &assion leadin" the way to disco(ery! Perha&s the silent solution of our bro+en, sin+in" li+e-titanic education system is sim&ly to in(est in teachers! %fter all, The art of teachin" is the art of assistin" disco(ery! B 4ar+ Gan 5hat/s your definition of Teacher H