The teacher is the boss

This piece is all about the authority of the teacher in relation to his/ her students.???????????????

Bossy boots??????????????

Teachers need to show who the boss is. Why? Well, there should always be a sense?of perceived distance between the educator and the learners to keep decorum. It can?help to keep order, to crack the whip if necessary and this does require leading by example.?If you are friends with the students, then they may take advantage of this and not stick to instructions. As they say, if you give them an inch, they take a mile. It is thus healthy to keep to this beneficial relationship at arm’s length. This does not mean that you should not be friendly or divulge personal information. It takes discipline and professionalism. For example,?ice-breakers could involve discussions about family life, habits or hobbies, which may well include more personal info. Though, when you get to grammar or other types of activities, you are more regimented and keep to a rigid structure; which can also help the student to focus, and, therefore, get used?to more abstract and unfamiliar concepts. If you need to correct ?them, or remind them to stick to English and not their first language, for example, then this is more effective when you are the one clearly calling the shots and not at the same level as them like a friend would be.?????????????? ?

Follow the leader?????????????

As the course leader, you are responsible for everything, your energy indirectly drives the momentum of the course. Depending on the set up, you may be the one who decides upon the syllabus and which activities or which book is used. The buck stops with you. From time to time, you may be asked to make adjustments. This may simply be to add more work-related activities, for example. Usually, requests or?comments are fair and thought through, though there are exceptions to the rule of course. One example?came in the form of a statement which would never be adopted by any teacher unless the course called for presentations to be practiced in every lesson. In lesson 9 of 11 business English lessons a long time after the mid-term evaluation, for example, this came out of nowhere: ‘Couldn’t we have practiced presentations in every?lesson?’ To which point the second student looked just as bewildered as the teacher and disagreed with this idea as he'd done. In any case, any requests of this nature, however ludicrous should come at a much earlier point, i.e. in the first lesson when giving presentations is first mentioned to the class.??????

Anarchy in the classroom?????????????

When you begin a lesson and the class are chatting away you may wish to try a humorous but an effective play on the well-known ‘Order! Order!’ exclamation that can be found in the UK houses of parliament. Most people seem familiar with this?and understand that this is a snipe at those who are creating a seemingly chaotic environment, which, to the teacher, translates as: ‘not in my world. Shut your trap and let’s have some order’. ?A far more polite way to get the message across, wouldn’t you say? It can be that some students are too talkative or waste time asking questions about unrelated topics. The best thing to do is to be humorous yet firm, nip this in the bud or, in some cases, just by making it clear that you have a lot to cover and that you don’t stand for any nonsense, there won’t be any misunderstandings and this problem will dissipate altogether. It goes without saying that on occasion there is the odd individual who is more of a handful and may require a superhuman amount of effort in keeping them happy or making sure they do not disrupt the lesson. The best thing to do is find out what is going on, try and be a good listener, don’t be judgmental, let them?have their say if it is relevant to the lesson. Otherwise, you may have to read them the riot act. Maybe with?humour if the situation calls for it. ????????????

One man/ woman business????????????

As a humble company owner, you are your own boss. You can decide whether you take on assignments or not.?You build up your client base. You decide when you go on holiday and for how long. You have to find your way through trial and error and learn what floats your boat?and what you detest. This helps you to make the right choices going forward. Thankfully, you don’t need to answer to anyone as such. The catch is, once you take on a course, you have to abide by the rules of the language centre,?for example, so, as long as you finish what you have started and the final evaluation is good enough, then you are doing something right. Don’t expect high rates of pay across the board or even regular work from some clients. You?have to piece things together yourself, Through determination, drive and perseverance, as well as discipline, being well structured and trustworthy, you can continue to be the boss in the classroom.