Category: Caring Teacher

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I find courage and motivation to become a caring teacher from the testimonies and experiences of students (like Shimona!). These students directly influence my approach to teaching. If they testify to the fact that having fun while learning is a possibility, then I am convinced that affective teaching is the answer to the many questions that teachers have always had about pedagogical ineffectiveness. My question to all teachers is: ARE WE WILLING TO GIVE OURSELVES A CHANCE TO LEARN and CHANGE? The following is a testimony of a student posted on her blog. Thank you Shimona!

Friday, June 16, 2006

Morning Ekspress – ME move U!

Social Psyc class is so fun…
Not only do we have the funniest teacher in the department teaching it, there’s always room for lotsa self-reflection, and we even got to create our own product and ad for it yesterday as a part of learning about persuasion.

Storyboard for a Video Clip (Advertisement)

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Fatherhood is teaching me many things; things that are beneficial both at home and in the classroom. For example, when my son Michael (who is now 9 months ‘young’) was younger, I used to long for him to start crawling. I wanted him to start exploring things around him and be more mobile. After many months of struggle and hard work, he has finally started to crawl. This began just last week. But now that he crawls, I realize that there are many hazards that he is exposed to and I do not necessarily have the time to be with him ALL of the time to ensure his safety. Now that he has started crawling, I am tempted to tell him, “Michael, why don’t you slow down and try not to move around so much!!!???” But when I reflect on my thoughts, I realize the danger in restricting Michael from his new-found passion and joy – crawling.

Children like to explore and learn (very informally) from everything and everyone around them. We have no choice but to admit that this is the kind of learning that is most effective and natural to humans. However, as children grow, adults introduce many restrictions that eventually serve to discourage and de-motivate the tendency and longing (of the child) to explore and learn about things around them. The moment a child steps out of his/her home, more restrictions are imposed on him/her by the society, the school, the church, friends, etc. Soon, the child senses that there is no point in trying to feed his/her curious mind with food from his/her own learning experiences.

As a parent, I have decided that I will NOT restrict my son from obtaining a wealth of experiences from his surroundings. If I restrict him (especially during his childhood), where and when else will he get a chance to learn and grow from the experiences that he’s having now? I can’t control the society, the school, the church, his friends, etc., but I can control myself and allow him this great and important opportunity to interact freely with his surroundings to gain mastery over them. Michael will have to face many restrictions later on in his life. This can be both positive and negative. But until then, he will be allowed to be himself (a baby exploring and enjoying a ‘new’ world)!

In the classroom, caring teachers allow students to be themselves. Caring teachers are aware of the fact that too much of restrictions hamper learning significantly. When I was in the elementary school, my teachers dictated and imposed a variety of ‘acceptable behaviors’ as requirements to adhere. Basically, we were asked to sit quietly and do nothing apart from the things teachers told us to do. Sadly, most of the ‘acceptable behaviors’ were not acceptable to us, the students. They simply crushed us into dullness, injured our creativity, and shrunk our self-esteem. I bet all my classmates were silently crying and pleading for freedom to explore and learn for themselves. I did too. So many things remained a mystery to us because our teachers restricted us from exercising our natural inclination to search for knowledge through simple, yet concrete experiences in classroom.

Teachers wonder why students lack the zest to learn. But if they really examine their teaching approaches and reflect on their attitude toward teaching-learning processes in the classroom, they will realize that they are the number one cause for the inception and perpetuation of a dreadful phenomenon called ‘de-motivation in students’. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist and his complex action plans to solve this problem. All that teachers need to do is to let students be themselves.

Copyright June 2006 by Dr. Edward Roy Krishnan, www.affectiveteaching.com[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Teachers are the only ones who get paid for learning.

I learn from my students every single day. If a teacher does not learn from his/her students, then there is something wrong!

Teaching is an interactional process and it affects students and teachers alike. Everyone involved in the process of teaching and learning benefit equally.

Copyright June 2006 by Dr. Edward Roy Krishnan, www.affectiveteaching.com[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Have you ever imagined wanting to become a millionaire in a matter of a few weeks? I bet you did. All of us, at some point in life, fantasize becoming very wealthy in a short period of time. We might have different reasons for doing so, but the fact remains, all humans possess a natural tendency to obtain successes as quickly as they can. We simply can’t wait.

In 1998, my friend and I embarked on a mission (I would rather call it a ‘mission impossible’). We wanted to become millionaires by holding huge seminar on ‘personal-development’ and related topics. Our aim was to have at least 10,000 people per seminar session, and we planned on having a few such seminar. We were just completing our Bachelor’s degree at that time. We thought that the world would recognize us as experts and authorities in the field of ‘personal development’ and support us by getting excited about what we have to offer them. In short, we were overwhelmed by our intentions to make lots of money and were misguided into believing that this was a sure success plan.

The time came to implement our action plan. To our surprise, we failed miserably. We ended up conducting NO seminar at all. It finally dawned on us that wanting to become wealthy isn’t a matter of a few weeks effort and planning (especially to become wealthy from scratch, without having any money or properties passed down to us from our fathers and forefathers). From this experience, I learned a vital lesson, the hard way (we did lose lots of money because we had invested a lot in preparation for the seminars): Shortsightedness Cripples Our Vision and Obstructs the Attainment of True Success!

How does this experience relate to teaching? Well, most teachers get frustrated (rather quickly) with students (especially the ones who are not performing so well) and admit defeat prematurely. They lose motivation to provide contructive intervention to these students because in their minds, “It doesn’t matter anyway…it won’t make a difference if I do this or that to help to improve the student.” A sense of hopelessness is directly or indirectly communicated with students and this serves as a self-fulfilling prophecy. In the end, students who do poorly continue in that state because they are expected to do so.

Social psychology calls this the ‘stereotype threat’. When students become aware of a negative stereotype that teachers hold of themselves, they will be unfavorably/negatively affected by this thought. Their performance worsens. All doors for improvement are closed when a teacher communicates shortsighted viewpoints about students in the classroom.

Instead, a caring teacher focuses on the long term outcomes and gains of educational and psychological interventions administered in the classroom. He/she is farsighted and knows that students, when given the chance, support, and encouragement, can improve and excel in all areas of life. Some students take more time than others in the achievement of success. However, a good teacher is fully aware about the importance of communicating ‘farsighted-messages’ (messages of hope and limitless possibilities) with students. By doing so, a caring teacher taps into the hidden resources of students’ potential and maximize their abilities and accomplishments. Farsightedness is a mental attitude that effective teachers possess and it is reflected through their daily behavior, thoughts, and words toward students.

Teachers who look for quick-fixes and short-term gains in the classroom communicate a sense of hopelessness to students. However, teachers who look for possibilities and long-terms gains communicate a sense of hopefulness and accomplish a greater deal as educators! From my experience in teaching, I can testify to the fact that students love teachers who are farsighted, because these teachers are perceived to be understanding, practical, generous, and optimistic.

Copyright June 2006 by Dr. Edward Roy Krishnan, www.affectiveteaching.com[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I am sure that we have heard the story about Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody time and again, at different occasions. We laugh and enjoy the humorous word play presented ingeniously in the story everytime we hear it. Let me just refresh your minds of the same story at this juncture.

This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done, and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have.

I bet you laughed reading the story yet another time. However, the application of this story to the realities of the school system is startling. I would imagine that Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody represent different social catalysts responsible for the establishment and sustenance of the school system. Teachers, parents, school administrators, and the society, all know for fact that the most important job to be done is to empower and nurture individual students to discover and maximize their potential to become constructive contributors to life on earth. However, experiences like anger, guilt, regret, and blame constantly influence educational scenarios in many societies. In the case of Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody, at least they knew what their job was. Sadly, teachers, parents, administrators, and the society are not even aware of their job (in the first place) to be able to move on to the next level of action. As such, the school system has been “existent” for many decades, but have always failed to “live”.

The Existence of a school connotes a desire of its members to survive (in which case, the quality of the survival is not as important as the survival itself), while a school that is Living does not merely survive but also strives to make a genuine difference in all of its members! As far as I see it, the school and every member involved in the functioning therein are responsible for one thing and one thing alone…

To establish a caring and passionate ‘working-relationship’ with students so that the teaching-learning experiences at school become meaningful and personal – leading to increased assimilation of what is taught – useful for the present as well as the future. Of course this is not accomplished by some magic tricks. It takes a lot of time, effort, intelligent thinking and planning, and commitment to ensure this outcome.

Nevertheless, the possibility or impossibility of the above mentioned goals are significantly dependent on how well the four main catalysts of the school system work toward (collaboratively) making this a reality. Instead of ‘passing the baton without running the race,’ (or engaging in social loafing) – teachers, parents, school administrators, and the society might want to re-consider and accept the crucial responsibilities placed in their hands to effect positive changes in the lives of students who would someday, become the future. Let us not forget that we care for our students because someday soon, they too will CARE for us! (now you know why many parents end up in old-folk-homes instead of cherishing the remaining days of their lives with children and grandchildren???)

Copyright June 2006 by Dr. Edward Roy Krishnan, www.affectiveteaching.com

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Thought for the Day: A Direct Quote from MeaningfulLearning

Everyone can learn anything as long as it is meaningful. Learning can be made meaningful. Support and encouraging words will make any learning a challenging and creative experience. The freedom of choice is of all importance but the choice of words is a freedom we can all share. Our kind words can contribute in making learning meaningful.

I have discovered in my own teaching that learning is most effective when it is experiential in nature! When concepts, ideals, and principles are taught in a way that students can relate to them in a personal manner, learning increases exponentially. This implies that teachers who stimulate both the intellectual as well as the emotional faculties of students do a better job in assisting them to assimilate and internalize learning materials. This is accomplished by utilizing teaching strategies that allow students become active participants and contributors (in the learning process) rather than remaining passive and fed with information all through the teaching-learning process.

The Engines for Education Team advocates this very idea most aptly in the following manner…

There is really only one way to learn how to do something and that is to do it. If you want to learn to throw a football, drive a car, build a mousetrap, design a building, cook a stir-fry, or be a management consultant, you must have a go at doing it. Throughout history, youths have been apprenticed to masters in order to learn a trade. We understand that learning a skill means eventually trying your hand at the skill. When there is no real harm in simply trying we allow novices to “give it a shot.”

Parents usually teach children in this way. They don’t give a series of lectures to their children to prepare them to walk, talk, climb, run, play a game, or learn how to behave. They just let their children do these things. We hand a child a ball to teach him to throw. If he throws poorly, he simply tries again. Parents tolerate sitting in the passenger seat while their teenager tries out the driver’s seat for the first time. It’s nerve-wracking, but parents put up with it, because they know there’s no better way.

When it comes to school, however, instead of allowing students to learn by doing, we create courses of instruction that tell students about the theory of the task without concentrating on the doing of the task. It’s not easy to see how to apply apprenticeship to mass education. So in its place, we lecture.

Copyright June 2006 by Dr. Edward Roy Krishnan, www.affectiveteaching.com

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Class: PSYC 315 Psychology of the Exceptional Child

This is the last journal entry (April 21, 2006) of Ms. Sara Saunders in the above mentioned class. She has transfered to a university in the US after successfully completing her first year of college education in Thailand. The following jounal entry is published with Sara’s permission.

In Sara’s own words

Journal [ last one! 🙁 ]

Dr. Roy, thank you for this class. I really appreciate your teaching, especially how you make students feel like they have something meaningful to contribute. Some teachers tend to give the impression that they are the bottomless well of knowledge while we are ignorant children. Thanks for making this class more inspiring. Try some fieldtrips next year! God bless!

Copyright June 2006 by Dr. Edward Roy Krishnan, www.affectiveteaching.com[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]For class notes, please go to this link

Social Psychology deals with attitudinal, behavioral, and cognitive changes that take place due to relationships forged between an individual and his/her social surrounding. It attempts to study the power of THE PERSON as well as the power of THE SITUATION, and how these two interact. The interaction between an individual and his/her social and physical environments results in complex behavioral and thinking patterns. By studying these complexities in behavior and thinking, Social Psychology attempts to uncover the answers for many social-psychological questions, and eventually facilitate meaningful living and relationships among[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]With changes and advancements all around us in a highly global world, it is important to have the school play a leading role in shaping the thoughts and aspiration of young people. The collapse in family structures and the significant neglect of children in many societies have predisposed an added role on teachers.

Teachers do not merely instruct students. In fact, classroom instruction is only a small portion of a teacher’s responsibility. More than ever, teachers are required to be caring toward their students. This ‘care’ entails a relationship that carries both the teacher and his/her students to a platform of interaction that makes success and growth possible on a progressive manner.

Students do not become successful and functional members of the society by default. There are different things that teachers do in the classroom to help inculcate the desire to become successful (in students). ‘Care’ is fundamental to all teaching-learning processes and the relationships therein. ‘Care’ should color every responsibility that a teacher holds and performs in the classroom.

Every successful individual that we encounter today bears witness to the fact that at least one teacher was caring toward him/her and made a world of difference in his/her life. Every potential that students possess come alive and shines brightly for the benefit of others because of the existence of special kind of teachers who look for the best in their students.

What we need in a world filled with ‘high-risk’ students is CARING TEACHERS whose life examples and choices of behavior in the classroom would motivate, empower and change the attitude and behavior of students for the better. When this happens, we can expect a collective success at school and in the nation as a whole.

The book “How to Become a Caring Teacher: A Daily Guide for Highly Affective Teaching” presents this attitudinal and pedagogical approach to teaching. The author is convinced that this is the type of teaching that works most effectively in the 21st century and onward. When a teacher is caring toward his/her students, every other success experienced in the classroom becomes meaningful and lead to future achievement.
The book presents the following characteristics of a caring teacher in a practical and illustrative manner, made possible by the author’s actual experiences in the classroom:

1. Caring teachers are caring individuals who develop relationships with their students.
2. Caring teachers hold positive and high expectations that not only structure and guide behavior, but also challenge students to perform beyond what they believe they can do. Caring teachers are concerned about building students’ competence level by being a bridge between tasks and the students themselves.
3. Caring teachers place a lot of responsibility on students when it comes to learning and encourage them to participate actively in all sorts of things that go on in the classroom. In other words, caring teachers treat students as responsible and respectable people.
4. Most important of all, caring teachers believe in their students to accomplish become resourceful members of the society.

Copyright June 2006 by Dr. Edward Roy Krishnan, www.affectiveteaching.com[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Every human born into this world posseses unique temperaments that distinguishes him/herself from other humans. These temperaments interact with the environment throughout the developmental stages of an individual to form and establish relatively stable personality patterns. These patterns of personal profile further entail preferences that determine people’s life-styles (behavioral and cognitive priorities).

Consider the following…

We all come in different SHAPES and SIZES.
We all have STRENGTHS and weaknesses.
What’s right for one person may not be right for another.
There are things that are important to me, that you don’t care about at all!
And sometimes your behavior doesn’t make any sense to me.
But I want for us to understand each other, and communicate well,
because we live together in the same world.
I know I can’t expect you to want the same things that I want.
We are not the same person, so we will not always see things the same way.
I have my own Thoughts and my own Ideas,
that may or may not fit into your vision of who I should be.

A caring teacher knows and attests to the following fact about every student in his/her classroom…

Each child is unique and has unique needs that they express in unique ways. Each child will become an original adult with their own STRENGTHS and weaknesses. Sometimes we know what’s best for our kids and sometimes we just think we do! We can’t expect our kids to want the same things we want, or to behave the same way that we behave. By learning more about our children’s personalities, we can HELP them develop their strengths, overcome their weaknesses, and become independent, happy adults.

There are basically 16 personality types that teachers commonly deal with in the classroom. They are:

* ISTJ – The Duty Fulfillers
* ESTJ – The Guardians
* ISFJ – The Nurturers
* ESFJ – The Caregivers
* ISTP – The Mechanics
* ESTP – The Doers
* ESFP – The Performers
* ISFP – The Artists
* ENTJ – The Executives
* INTJ – The Scientists
* ENTP – The Visionaries
* INTP – The Thinkers
* ENFJ – The Givers
* INFJ – The Protectors
* ENFP – The Inspirers
* INFP – The Idealists

With such a variety of personality types, it is impossible to treat each student as a part of a ‘whole’ that fits into a single mold. The classroom should be a place where students get an opportunity to explore and expand their personality traits and enhance their potential. The final aim of all educational endeavor is the development of the ‘whole’ person (which entails an individual’s personality – overall structure of his/her existence). If students are not provided with this opportunity, their development will be ‘skewed’ toward intellectual growth without much progress in all other important areas of living and functioning. Is this kind of development worth working for? Definitely NOT!

Click on any of the 16-personality-types link above and see for yourself the many positive traits an individual of a particular personality profile possesses. This is a clear indication that students come into the classroom with immense potential and great personal resources. These must be harnessed to maximinze the present and future functionality of students. Failure to do so will prove to be a significant waste of human resources on the part of a teacher.

A caring teacher takes the time and makes the effort to KNOW his/her students (as accurately and comprehensively as possible) before providing educational or psychological intervention. Having a proper knowledge about A STUDENT (“who he/she really is?”) is the pre-requisite for dealing effectively and meaningfully with him/her. When this takes place, students will benefit both academically and socio-emotionally in the classroom.

Ask yourself the following question today, “How much do I really know my students to be able to deal with them in a personal and genuine manner?” When you can answer this question without much difficulty, you are on your way to becoming a caring teacher at heart and in practice!

Copyright May 2006 by Dr. Edward Roy Krishnan, www.affectiveteaching.com

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