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Mothering the student...


In most of my classroom interactions with students, during the last 25 years, I have observed that when one ‘unlucky amongst them’  is   made to stand and speak on  a given topic , he/she is not very comfortable and  fumbles for words to complete a sentence !! Most classmates enjoy at the  scapegoat's cost not the least worried that the next day it could be their turn to face the music.. The unlucky student who was picked up from amongst the bunch of incorrigible jokers,  is then helped to frame a sentence by the big hearted mother  in the teacher , not knowing that this popularistic approach of spoon feeding  and not letting him  / her learn from  mistakes, is making  a parasite of the  student ! 

I have been trying my best to address this issue of ‘ popularistic approach of teachers mothering the student more than required ‘ during various Faculty Interaction programs'

I remember,  it was during a recent FDP attended, amongst others ,  by select faculty members of Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Management College, Meerut that I again touched upon this sensitive topic , addressing the audience as follows......

“One of the most powerful tools the trainers can use in  the class is‘silence’. It pushes ‘mothering’ out.

Let us examine this principle in detail.

A student steps forward to speak in front of the class. During his brief presentation there are gaps, ‘silences’ that are quite deafening & unnerving. He is  perhaps groping for the right word or grappling with a grammatical structure. But then he is ‘silent’. It is during these moments that the teacher in us usually steps forward & mothers the student by supplying ‘fillers’. The student all too readily picks up the ‘filler’ and goes on with the presentation. The teacher/parent in us is delighted & so is the child in the student. But the net result is that we have deprived the student of the opportunity of ‘thinking on his feet’.... Sounds familiar???

The same situation can be dealt with in a different way applying the homeopathic principle of ‘Let like be treated by like’. Here’s how it can be done. When the student is silent  during his presentation, his silence should be treated by SILENCE. The class should be encouraged to be silent. More importantly , we as facilitators should be silent. The student then learns a great lesson : SELF RELIANCE. This method of treatment works wonders.

When Rajesh, a student, was asked to speak, he hesitantly stepped forward. He was told that he, like his classmates, had to speak for 3 minutes. The topic: ‘Autobiography of a school bag’. Rajesh began, “ I am a school bag” and then was silent. He looked around & waited to be given ‘fillers’ . He was signalled that he continue. Silence! 10 seconds !!  20 seconds !!! He looked at his watch & said that was all. We insisted non-verbally that he stay there the full time allotted. Rajesh looked down, embarrased.  He knew there was no escape.  Someone shouted,” Come on , Rags, you can do it “.  Rajesh looked up and continued ,” My friends are my  books, my lunch box and my pencil box. We all love going to school. I am three years old now. I am tearing . Soon I will be thrown away and  a new bag will take my place “ ..... The class breaks into an applause! Rajesh smiles and rushes towards his seat .....
!!!


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