Letters from the Classroom

  Greetings earthlings . If you're reading this then you have a reason to be grateful, not just for life, but sight and the internet lol, (ok my jokes aren't funny) . Sooo with the ice broken, I'd get straight into it.  We've all had bad experiences with teachers, lecturers, educators, in and out of the classroom right?!?! Well I too! I have had my share of those, but thank God for the power of forgiveness because I would have still been "toting feelings" to this day.
I have had one in particular that is still stained in my memory. Oh it was horrid! I attended Primary School in the era of corporal punishment, or as we say in our vernacular "licks" , but my experience boarder-lined abuse lol. I can laugh about it now because I chose to let it go. As I recall, I was in first standard. Our class teacher, Mrs. Ramdass (alias) had asked each student to come to her desk in an orderly fashion to be helped individually with Mathematics. For as long as I've known myself, I've been horrible with numbers (I'm better now). Anyways, on that particular day I had a migraine, and for those of you who can identify with migraines you know oh so well that they aren't too amiable. Pupil after pupil went to Mrs. Ramdass, as I awaited my turn to be called to her desk. Now, picture this. You're in front of a class of 20-25 other pupils, overtaken by fear of the unknown, you can literally sense the teacher's frustration and anger. In addition to that you are being asked to process arithmetic accompanied by the joys of a migraine... HELLOOOO mission impossible!!!!  Now there I was as blanked out as can be. I remember her explaining the math problem to me and I said to her with the frustration of being in pain, "Miss I don't understand, could you explain it again?" Well excuse me for asking her to do her job!!! She then closed the text book in such rage, and with the said text book struck me in my head and shouted, "Ah lil sum like dat yuh cyah understand, how yuh dottish sooo?, just go back and sit down!!''. Yes, True Story!! That day the loosely used local term "pick up ah book!!" had a new meaning to me lol. That's Abuse ent !! :p (Yes, I  have forgiven, didn't say I've forgotten.)

Reflecting on this experience has changed the way I felt about educators for quite some time, as I saw no positive outcome from this situation. Now, as a prospective teacher myself, I reflect on the experience and I am actually thankful because now I know what NOT to do in my classroom which is indeed a positive thing . Yes, it's important to note that we are all human beings and we do have our off days, but as "PROFESSIONALS" we must learn to work under the most unfavourable conditions while being totally student-centered. 

One's mindset as a teacher is an integral part of the teacher-student experience. One must understand that what he or she does can both positively and negatively impact the child's learning experience throughout life. For me, if I become frustrated in a situation, I'd give the class a break,  especially knowing that I may need it more than the students lol :). Secondly during the break, clear my thoughts and remind myself of my objectives as an educator. It's also important to note that each child learns differently and that there isn't a fixed method of teaching for every pupil. For example, one child may need visuals, another objects, others need to be motivated. The core to educating is first as Socrates stated is to "Know Thyself" then understand pupils and the methods they easily comprehend. When this is done it makes the teaching experience all the more easier for both the educator and the one being educated .