The Driver’s Seat

When I was growing up I was taught to be submissive. To listen more and speak less. So how do I train a child who is just not like me and doesn’t share my values and ideologies. Just like Rabindranath Tagore says “Don’t limit a child to your own learning for he was born in another time. How can you effectively help this generation truly born in another time”?

Today’s children know their rights. They seem to have an opinion about everything. When I was growing up I was taught to be submissive. To listen more and speak less. So how do I train a child who is just not like me and doesn’t share my values and ideologies. Just like Rabindranath Tagore says “Don’t limit a child to your own learning for he was born in another time. How can you effectively help this generation truly born in another time”?

The answer is in implementing a student-centred approach in your classroom. This means taking a step back and letting the learners own the learning process. It means holding back and drawing it out from them. Easier said than done. Having a student-centred class rooms requires skills and strategies

First it starts with a change of perspective. It is about the teacher wanting to share ownership with students. Knowing that your students are not blank slates but are a mixture of talent, creativity and knowledge.

It might mean a reorganisation of the class so that students are stilling and working in groups.

It might mean a re-inventing of your teaching style so that you use more participatory teaching approaches.

Whatever you do it about students taking the lead and taking ownership.