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| [red onion cut open*] |
I suddenly realized that I am in the middle of my fourth decade of
teaching. Not only that, in some four years, I will retire (please note: not get
to or will have to) from teaching (but not translating). Clearly, I
am a much different teacher today than I was twenty years ago or even ten years
ago. As I thought about that evolution. I realized that I had
finally reached the third layer of teaching, the emotional connection, which only could follow after attaining thorough knowledge and skillful communication, at least in my case.
To explain, the first step in becoming an effective teacher is
exceptional knowledge of the subject matter, which creates both teacher
self-confidence and student belief in the teacher. It would seem obvious
that teachers master the subject matter but it actually takes years
to attain the complete control of all the details required to properly teach
the material. “Student” level is not enough to effectively teach anything. It
is necessary to know the material backwards and forwards, at 4:00 AM in the
morning. That assurance provides the teacher with the backbone to stand in
front of a sea of faces and explain a matter as “the expert”. Students quickly
identify any lack of certainty. They recognize on
whom they can depend for reliable information, which creates their trust in
the teacher.
Freed from the stress of subject matter management, teaching becomes the
art of classroom management and communication with students. Effective teachers
learn what techniques aid students in learning and which actually harm. For
example, if a teacher hands out written material that mirror the spoken words, the
students will probably not listen. In terms of preparing material, outstanding
teachers know now to break down complicated processes into short simple steps,
a vital skill for reaching those students that struggle with the material. On a
one-to-one basis, student-teacher communication involves openness and patience
mixed with wisdom in cultivating and maintaining the learning relationship even
when rejecting the substance of the student message. Clearly, teachers being
human beings, educators have their own individual style, which must be
authentic, as well as strengths and weaknesses. Fine-tuning the techniques
takes years and is always a work in progress.
In my opinion, the next, maybe last, stage goes beyond subject matter teaching and expands to educating, even mentoring in some cases, which involves significant self-confidence and emotional intelligence on the part of the teacher. Students of all ages are people that are developing, often without guidance. They are searching for a way to cope with the challenges of the present and a direction for the future. On the other hand, teachers are also human, also coping with numerous demands not only from the students but also from their own situations, including a decreasing amount of energy as they age. It is clearly impossible for a teacher to take on students as their own children. That is not a practical or even desirable role. Yet, a teacher can influence students by providing words of encouragement and support, suggesting solutions and approaches and merely just listening. For example, a teacher can go the extra mile if a student is going through a crisis or requires extra help. Sometimes, a teacher’s faith in the ability of the student to learn a given skill is far more effective than a grade. Teachers can identify students lacking self-confidence and encourage them. This task require significant time and energy, which is generally only available once the teacher masters the other aspects of the profession.
To avoid any misinterpretation, even with my long experience, my
teaching is far from perfect. Teaching is an art, not a science, and is never
fully mastered as each class and each day are unique. Moreover, experience and
skill do not necessarily have a causal relationship, i.e., there are amazing
newbie teachers and awful experienced teachers. Yet, while the material of
teaching any material is clearly finite, we teachers are dynamic, changing with
the circumstances and age. In the twilight of my teaching career, I am still
evolving and discovering new ways to help students, which helps me maintain my
enthusiasm for the actual teaching part of the profession. Teaching is truly a
bit like an onion not only it can be both taste sweet and cause tears but also because it demands time and effort to master its many layers
even if they are not obvious at the beginning.
* Picture captions help the blind fully access the Internet.
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