How not to get complained from the students

By Chan Tyta

A career of teaching is such a hard job that demands a teacher to be well-prepared for the sessions s/he is in charge. This requires them to get high responsibility, patience, and attention.

Lesson plan is the most important thing in teacher. If a teacher doesn’t know how to write it down means they don’t know each step to jump to. A good teacher is the one who gets trained in pedagogy and has years of teaching experiences.

However, not all of them are good, but it depends on individuals. Some teachers weren’t trained at a particular place on how to become a good teacher, but he himself has a gift – natural talent – which he is able to satisfy his students and make them fond of learning with him.

A Khmer saying,’ the older ginger, the stronger it is’ is completely wrong in terms of teaching career because ‘A teacher cannot truly teach if they don’t learn themselves’. More advanced technologies are coming if they don’t spend their own time doing a research or updating themselves, they feel they know nothing on that. So how will they face such critical-thinking questions from the students in the classroom?

In order to avoid or get rid of the mentioned problems above, some ideas proposed:

• Be Well-prepared

Before going straight to the class, a teacher has to write a good lesson plan, which shows him where to start and stop or what he has to do first, second…. Besides, he needs to get some handouts to support the lesson or extra activity for the students to practice.

Never use bright color markers or pens to write on the whiteboard because the students find it hard to read over what the teacher writes. The appropriate one is black and blue.

• Be Flexible

Be yourself like water. It is the most important part which is NOT included in the lesson plan. A teacher must be able to read the students’ minds because he will know what the students need and like to do. Not all the steps you set in the lesson plan you have to follow in order to finish the assigned lesson. But you have to be flexible – changing and going straight to the reserved activities – to bring the students to reach your lesson objective.

• Be Patient

Never show your bad mood you bring from outside to the students in the class. Do not react against the students rapidly after you are asked or attacked.

Just remember ‘Sweet but strict’ and give them good advices or explain to them in a normal way.

• Keep Encouraging

Always give the students admiration by saying something good to encourage them to work harder. For example, Very good, good, well done, good job, excellence and so on. Never bring them down by criticizing, blaming or scolding them when they have mistakes.

It is optional that a teacher should give a little present – pens, notebook… - to student after a test or exam.

• Sense of humor

This is a very hard point that not all the teachers have it. It is better that a teacher has sense of humor. It helps teachers a lot to make the classroom atmosphere fresh and happy before the lesson starts or after a tough discussion in the class.

Just remember that you teach the students NOT the book.