Teacher’s Handbook: A Common Sense Approach to Effective Teaching

By V. P. Sarin

This book has a simple purpose− to set you thinking about your duty to yourself and the society. It seeks to realize this purpose by helping you take charge of your teaching career. It is based on the premise that all teachers can improve even very good ones. The book aims to stimulate discussion among teachers about ways to enhance the effectiveness of the teaching-learning process. It seeks to reacquaint the teachers with the fundamental psychological factors that often impede learning. Notwithstanding your age or career stage, Teacher's Handbook lets you take responsibility for your teaching and your career. It intends to create a success-consciousness within you, which empowers you to control your career rather than letting your career control you. It motivates you to exploit your latent talents in the teaching-learning process. And it helps you explore some practical strategies that will help you release the negative, stay positive, and enrich your teaching in the process. Try This Hands-On Guide to Quench Your Quest for Holistic Education

• Language: English
• Publisher: MegageM Sapience
• Release date: Mar 10, 2019
• ISBN: 9781386731696

Book preview

Preface

Ateacher may posses all the requisite qualifications, conventional pedagogic skills and perfect accreditation to teach, but in reality, may not be one whose credentials make a difference to students’ learning. In other words, a highly qualified teacher may or may not be highly effective in the classroom. That is why the emphasis has been gradually shifting from highly-qualified teachers to highly-effective teachers.

We believe that teaching is an art that can be improved. And all teachers can improve even very good ones. Teachers can take advantage of smart strategies to enhance their effectiveness quotient provided they are willing and ready to review their mental processes from time to time. Focusing on this simple idea is a sure path to perpetually enrich the teaching-learning process and a winning way to overcome the monotony of the teaching profession.

In the 21st century, teachers have to anticipate, innovate and excel in their careers to effectively deal with career plateauing. The digital revolution, particularly the internet has indelibly changed the face of academia and all its stakeholders. The future belongs to those who recognize the realities of the 21st century academia and learn to exploit the change, and capitalize on the opportunities that accompany it.

This book is meant for educators who want to effectively deal with their career dilemmas. And it is also intended to help all educators to enhance their pedagogic effectiveness. However, this is not a book on teaching in the classic textbook sense. The genesis of the book lies in the repeated requests I got from my educator friends insisting me to bring out  a concise, hands-on book based on the work ‘Vision Revision’ so as to succinctly reacquaint teachers with simple ideas to enrich their teaching.

This book has a simple purpose –  to set you thinking about your duty to yourself and the society. It seeks to realize this purpose by helping you to take charge of your teaching career. It is based on the premise that thinking about your teaching is the key to contented success. It will provide you enough inputs to supplement your teaching in a holistic way, so that you can smartly keep tabs on the future to facilitate your professional and personal progress. I hope this book will serve its intended purpose by making you aware of your duty to yourself and the humanity.

Notwithstanding your age or career stage, it lets you take responsibility for your future. It guides you to create a success-consciousness within you, which empowers you to control your career rather than letting your career control you. It is intended to inspire you to exploit your latent talents in the teaching-learning process, which is definitely a worthy goal. It helps you explore some practical strategies that will help you release the negative, stay positive, and enrich your teaching in the process.

This book is divided into eight parts. The mandate I have followed is to keep this book simple, practical and just relevant to your professional issues even at the expense of making it a little uninteresting as well as consciously reiterating a few known points to draw on the power of your sub-conscious with the intention of realizing the context-relevant objectives. The objective is not to aim at an interesting read, but to take care of your career interests. The objective is to ensure that it empowers you to manage your teaching career successfully, and you are amply motivated to enjoy your teaching job. The credit for many features aimed at enhancing the psychological impact of the material, many times even at the expense of syntax, goes to many kind pedagogues who have tested this material and offered invaluable feedback and suggestions to make this work more practical and inspiring. Constructive suggestions to further improve the book are most welcome.

Here is a chance for transformation! Rediscover your true potential. And very soon, there will be a new you.

Success awaits you.

V. P. Sarin

1. Introduction

There are very few points where humans see things the same way. The importance of education in our life is one such point. We may have different views on the curriculum, pedagogic methodologies, or even the adequacy of our education system. We may even differ on the objectives of education. But we all agree on the decisive role played by the education in shaping the lives of children. Also, there is absolutely no argument that the well-being of the academia is a prerequisite for the better future of humanity, yet we pay little attention to its welfare.

The academic world is passing through exciting times. The emergence of knowledge economy has ushered in great opportunities for educators. But rapidly changing times also present many challenges. Some of these are serious enough to shake the foundations of our education system if we continue to ignore the crying symptoms. As a matter of fact, they are already getting in the way of many important objectives of the education.

I often wonder about the real objectives of the education. Whenever I stray beyond the stereotyped, conventional objectives of the education, I get confused and feel there is something seriously amiss. I realize how right Mark Twain was when he said, I never let my schooling interfere with my education. I have reasons to believe that he was referring to schooling that teaches us how to make a living and the education that teaches us how to live. But then, we lesser mortals cannot be as discerning as Mark Twain. That is why we rarely strive to assimilate education over

and above schooling. Perhaps it is difficult, considering that the schooling per se has become so onerous. Moreover, we have made the schooling a primary and must-have activity, whereas the real education gets a secondary treatment in our society. The real education ought to equip children for the struggles of life, strengthen their personality and develop their true potential rather than emphasizing a lot on the academic achievements.

And when I limit my mental excursions within the domain of well accepted objectives of education, I again get uncomfortable with the outcome of the present-day teaching, especially when viewed against ethical, societal and humanitarian standards. The ongoing decline in these basic norms becomes more painful considering the advances in other core areas of education, like subjects knowledge, teaching techniques and the technology. Besides, the unreasonable upsurge in the materialistic tendencies of the educated people is also a cause of concern, particularly considering the preventive, corrective and supportive role played by the well-intentioned educators. Materialistic outlook as such may not be wrong. But it cannot be right when it is at the expense of other core values. And it definitely becomes deplorable when the definition of success is equated with the materialistic success.

We often wonder whether the academic success has any correlation with the success in life. I do not know. And nor do you. It is very difficult to establish the correct correlation and causation between the academic success and the success in real life. However, there is enough evidence to show that the conventional education per se is not sufficient to ensure lifetime success. But then, the academic grooming and the real life success should not be externalities in a worthy education system.

Over a period, our education system has creatively evolved, incorporating many positive features. But still, it accords undue preference to functional literacy (i.e., ability to read, write and regurgitate) over critical literacy that encourages originality, analytical skills and creativity. It emphasizes a lot on ‘teaching and preaching’ rather than effectively fostering life skills, thinking skills and constructiveness. It still follows a ‘teach-it-all’ approach in preference to a ‘learn-it-all’ approach. Teachers are still more of masters and less of facilitators. And teaching is primarily aimed at ‘employability factors’ instead of more important human and social aspects. Further, the rigid framework of our education system curbs the originality and creativity. All these factors lead to somewhat stuffy ambiance in the teaching institutions, which stifle the educators and educatees alike. That is why most of us feel our education system is in dire need of overall restructuring.

But then, instead of blaming the education system for the deficient education, we should ask ourselves, what we have done on our part. We need to sincerely consider what we can do individually to deal with the declining standards. Besides, it will be a while before the academic authorities realize the need of an overall overhaul of the present education system and come out with a holistic solution and even longer before, they act on it. Meanwhile, the only recourse is with the educators. While the requisite systemic changes cannot be accomplished at the individual level, our view is that educators can still take steps to stem the rot by taking on the pressing problems personally.

2. Challenges for Teachers

We know that engaged employees are contented and productive. They are invariably an asset to the organization. And a slew of research studies further validate that engaged employees perform better and thus positively contribute to the organizations’ success.

But in the academic world, stakes are much higher than just financial gains. Here the definition of the success is definitely different and the potential risks of compromising the effectiveness of educators are scary. So here, we need to move a step ahead from the educators’ engagement to the educators’ effectiveness in order to encourage educators to deliver their best possible performance by making optimum use of their skills, talents and conduct. Engaged and effective educators are more perceptive, punctilious, persevering and productive. As they take pride in their work of imparting quality education and inculcating right values, they can give wholehearted attention to the overall development of students, which is the key to a brighter tomorrow.

Educators spend more than one third of their life in the academic world. And they spend most of their waking hours in teaching and related activities. Teaching can be a humdrum and wearisome activity for some, especially when their career progress is not in harmony with their professional aspirations. Our personal desire to have a successful career is the dominant driving force to maintain momentum and enthusiasm in our work life. Lack of enthusiasm, career weariness and unfulfilled career aspirations are spokes of a vicious cycle, which is more or less like an Exercycle that never moves ahead. Luckily, most educators are aware of this career trap. They avoid these impediments as well as a blind pursuit of financial success. While educators know the importance of financial success, yet they are not acquisitive by nature. They are conscious of the meaning they find in their work. And they know the importance of their work, as well as the challenges of academia.

Challenges for Teachers

The pressing problems troubling the world of education are declining ethics and ethos, somewhat humdrum teaching methods, some misfit teachers and ever-changing lifestyles in consequence of newer technologies. In addition, career consciousness is very low amongst educators. Perhaps, this is also a part of the cause. Educators can collectively make a big difference to these serious challenges provided they are willing and able. They have the opportunity, the makings and the wherewithal to subdue these problems.

Declining Ethics and Ethos

Children’s growing indifference towards moral and social values is a serious issue. Most of us believe that the ethics are equally, if not more, important than the academic knowledge. We all know that one of the principal objectives of education is to help the children build a strong character and develop a