Many of our schools follow a predictive routine: teachers instruct, assign work, check for mistakes and leave. Consequently, students, learn to be obedient yet uninterested. The connection between the teacher and the learner remains superficial, leaving little room to spark love for real learning to happen. What we are teaching them cannot be called knowledge in terms of enlightenment or betterment of lives; it is just compliance to rules and obedience in general. Little curious minds often lose their spark and eureka moments and are just left to wonder will this work satisfy my teacher? They forget to explore, solve or think independently. This is especially true in rural or public schools where resources are limited and teachers are overburdened.
So, what should be done to bring a shift?
I believe it all starts with us as teachers taking baby steps towards our students, as we should:
- Learn to listen to them first.
- Ask what their goals are.
- Give them chance to voice out their opinions.
- Recognize their efforts and not just results.
All this reminds me of a quote that:
“Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.”
Thus, we do not need adequate resources to build independent learners, but a shift in mindset i.e. less control, more trust and less checking work, more understanding their thoughts and feelings.
What small changes have you done or seen in your surroundings which made students more confident in their own learning? I would love to know.