A Class in Asia - Part Two

In this post, there will be no difference to how a class learns in any country of the world. We are briefly going to examine how the general teacher fails. So, the class teacher explained to me that the object of today’s lesson would be to teach the time past the hour, “Five Past Two,” “Ten past Two,” etc. I asked if the children knew how to say “It’s 2 O’Clock”? Yes, I was told, she had done this with them in the previous lesson.

So, we entered the class, and as we did so I immediately scanned the children looking for some who would have trouble to learn in someway. There were three rows of girls, and then two rows of boys, but on the very back row there sat one girl who really looked uncomfortable sitting next to the boys. So, in recognizing one girl who looked bright on the second row, I moved this girl next to her and asked that they help each other. The girl was very, very happy. Then, I noticed a boy missing from a desk at the back, and could just make out a foot sticking out. If you have read about Thomas in “Memoirs of a Happy Teacher,” you would recognize the type of child -- the least to conform and the one most likely to just want to play like a child. I brought this boy out to the front and asked if he would help me. I gave him responsibility and I played along wth this.

Then, I drew a clock on the board at the hour hand, and asked various children what time it is. 30% of those I asked could tell me “It is 3 O‘Clock.” You see, this is the problem. The teacher has a lesson schedule to keep and assumes that once one lesson has finished that the children know this lesson according to their capability. The fact is that you cannot trust a student of any age to learn. The teacher has to constantly review previous lessons, and drill facts in to their students in a fun and meaningful way. So, I divided the class into groups of about five. One child was to hide their face, have a time in their mind and the other children would try to guess the time. When a child gave the right question, the child knowing the answer would spin around and try to touch them quickly. It was a simple game, but the children loved it and they were learning how to verbalize the time with confidence and know its meaning. You see, I always try to invent a physical activity to explain a point, so that every child in the class stands a better chance of learning it. Without this, the mind of children drift and each develops their competency, which is later taken by the teacher as evidence of their natural ability. The games were easy to invent and very meaningful to the whole class, but the most important thing I did was to place the girl who looked lost next to one who would help her, and give a new purpose to “little Thomas”!

You can find out about the book “Memoirs of a Happy Teacher” at www.andersenroy.com said by a number of teachers to be an important part of any teacher training program, because it gives hands-on experiences.