ADSactly Reflections: Stories and Faces
Hello my dear readers, today I bring you an article to reflect on, full of experiences that I would like to share with you related to the work I do as a teacher in my primary school. Now that the school year is over, and I'm enjoying a well-deserved vacation, while I'm enjoying the usual coffee, sitting on an armchair in front of the window, I can see a clear sky, with bright sunshine as I think of my students and wonder if their day will be as beautiful as mine, or if it is perhaps cloudy and dark as it used to be for some.
Yes, I miss my students, with them I spent nine months, five hours a day, in which we share much more than knowledge or academic activities. To be a teacher is more than that, it is to be part of the lives of each of these young children and even leave a mark on their lives.
linkBeing a teacher goes beyond being a transmitter of knowledge, not only does it imply having the methodological and pedagogical tools or strategies for teaching, it also implies determining the social and psychological aspects or characteristics of the group in order to approach it in the best way, in order to sow in them values, diminish their weaknesses and strengthen their potentialities even more.
Nevertheless, there are realities in each one of them, circumstances that can affect their development, their school performance and their interpersonal relationships, each one of them has a history, a life, a different context that as part of the teaching work, it is important to know but unfortunately many times we cannot change.
As expressed by a teacher of Early Education Martti Siekkinen, from the University of Eastern Finland, the first years of elementary school, i.e. from 7 to 10 years, are a critical period during which the child has to have a secure relationship with his teacher. An empathetic attitude of the teacher not only protects the children's image of themselves as students, but also against social exclusion
Being a teacher has been a truly rewarding experience in my life, situations over the years that have taught me and made me mature as a person and professional. It is not easy because you are not only the "teacher", you also become for these children the friend, the mother, the aunt or simply their confidant and many times in the refuge of these little ones, even in their protection, against a home to which some do not want to return.Each of them with a different reality, some happy surrounded by love and support from their family, others with such a difficult life that as a teacher I have to breathe deeply, be strong, and open my arms to them.
[self-image]"Hanna" is always quiet, introverted, with some learning difficulties, with a lower academic level than her classmates, she is new in the group, when I asked her a little more about her, I understood the reason for her behaviour and her limitations, the lack of help at home, and a mother with a despot treatment that tends to embarrass her in front of her classmates has created in her a great insecurity and therefore a scarce relationship with her classmates.
"Sophia" cheerful extrovert, always beautiful with her long orange hair, a tiara of flowers on her head and a contagious smile on her face, arrives at her school giving gestures of affection to those around her, fortunately this girl has parents who fill her with love, and who have been there accompanying her in all the important moments of the school and surely they will do it all their life, her future certainly glimpses success, she transmits it.
"Michael", ouch! "My headache", hehehe most mischievous of all, full of energy to plentitude, somewhat rebellious, victim of a mother full of bitterness for the abandonment of her partner, filling the little one with hatred against his father, creating in him a great resentment, which can explain the behavior and the sometimes violent vocabulary of the child towards his companions.
The story of "Alice" is really sad, this little girl was a victim of sexual abuse by her uncle a few years ago, fortunately this brave little girl no longer kept that terrible secret and is now free, who have been his teachers and part of his family have supported him and his progress has been excellent, today she is one of my 25 children and I feel fortunate to have been his teacher.
And just like these stories there are many more, experiences, situations, different circumstances, some with an ideal or functional family life and environment to avoid falling into perfection, others unfortunately less fortunate. It is so much what we sometimes want to do for our students, it is so much impotence that you feel when you fight but you can not change their reality of life as we would like ... All that remains is to give them a little love, to fill them with affection to diminish a little their deficiencies, to flood them with flattery and to make them feel how valuable they are, to become their refuge when the storm is strong and unavoidable.
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Each one of them has a lot to give, they are not dolls or objects in which knowledge and information are deposited, and this is perhaps what some teachers have not yet understood. They all have different feelings, needs, it is up to the teacher to get to the deepest part of their feelings, because it is more that can be done when a heart is willing to receive.
It always comes to my mind a wonderful story that perhaps many know and that is part of the book "La culpa es de la Vaca", entitled: "Mrs. Thompson" curiously the favorite of my pupils, this narrates how a little boy managed to love so much his teacher for having become his shelter in his difficult moments, leaving a mark on him for the rest of his life, even occupying for him the place of his missing mother. A great lesson for those teachers who only limit themselves to instruct, to teach and sometimes even to judge and label these little ones, without investigating a little beyond what their eyes can see.
I'm glad I shared this publication.
Authored by @luces
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Excellent work you do, and sense and wise article, @luces. I have not been a teacher of children, but of young university students, but I fully understand what you expose, because even at the level of higher education much of that reality radiates. Indeed, these children need all the support and understanding, even more if it is about the serious Venezuelan situation. I congratulate you for your disposition and your heroic task. Greetings.
Thank you for your comment @josemalavem yes, it is a reality from which we are not exempt, we all live it, we suffer it, and we have no choice but to bear it, for now. Of course, to see children living in different circumstances is even more painful when their life should be full of colorful and wonderful moments. I am sure that the vast majority of teachers in this country do what they can to disguise that sadness in joy and color when they enter school.
A beautiful post that has touched my deepest fiber. As a teacher, I can understand you very well. Students become our children, people we come to love despite differences. Although I am now a university professor, at the beginning of my career I had the opportunity to work with children and it really is an enriching, interesting and wonderful experience. I remember a boy who at first didn't like to talk to me and lost his shame; also a girl who didn't love her mother and fought with her, and by communicating with her on a daily basis, the girl began to get along with the mother. Like this experience, many others. Being a children's teacher can be a beautiful experience, but with a lot of responsibility, because even if we don't want it, we become an example, a reference; also almost in her parents and friends. Thank you for this post, @luces.
Definitely, what you say is very true, when you are a teacher of young children, in addition to being a beautiful and rewarding experience, it is also a great responsibility, we must form habits and reinforce the values they are expected to have learned at home, as teachers we become their example to follow, but also part of their family. The only thing I don't like is when they call me "Grandma" hahaha, that's not true, I love it. Thank you @nancybriti
I am so a teacher. We know that our pupils need us. Sometime they make noise to attract our attention. They want to get our care. And I agree they have nice face and keep their story behind their face or their eyes. But we always know about their feeling. So we can make them approach our heart and then they tell about their problem. Or they will tell many experience in their life, when they need our protection, attention or may be the want to be crying in our huge. And we can support them to get self confidence.
i also post about it If you have time you can visit my post. It is a honor for me and encourage me. Synergy of all sides in developing self-confidence in children
Everything about our pupils are very great, make us useful for them.
Thank you @luces
thank you @adsactly
Thank you steemit
In general, primary school teachers are very close to the children, we spend more time with them, we listen to them and share experiences, it is difficult not to get involved in their lives because many times the different situations they live have repercussions on their school performance. It is undoubtedly an advantage for the teacher, since children are more communicative, and when they are teenagers they are more reserved and independent. Thank you for your comment. @rokhani . I will stop by your article.
First of all, congratulations for the job you do, the most important one in any country, the least rewarded too, at least in Venezuela. Enjoy your more than deserved vacations.
Ironically, now that teachers get paid less, they have to work more. As you point out, teachers have to play the role of counselors, psychologist, psyquiatrists, social workers, parents, friends, and artists (to work on all the boards that must be put out in display so that people who care little about them can see that their children's school is running smoothly).
I can relate to your frsutration
We could all have done more, but when the system is designed to keep children ignorant and teachers busy worrying about food or medicine; when there is a legal aparatus working to modify all laws to favor an ideological agenda instead of the children the system is supposed to serve; when you have colleagues who kneel before any authority, even the most immoral ones, there is no much for us to do, exept keep our sanity and our love for the art of education.
If we did our job well, that seed of inquiry and intellectual curiosity will bear fruits sooner or later.
My friend,@hlezama each of your words is very precise. It is a sad reality that the teachers of this country live. Our salaries are shameful, without social security, we see how every day our students suffer for their needs, food, medicine, abandonment, however, the love for what we do makes us strong and motivates us to move forward. Many times I have been close to making the decision to leave my job, but for this I prepared myself in life and I don't want to do anything else. Unfortunately there are few teachers, many have emigrated, I refuse to be one more of those who make this difficult decision. Let's hope everything changes, because I miss my country even when I'm in it.Thank you for your comment.
That's probably the saddest state
Everything has changed so much we feel like strangers in our own land. If this is what tener patria means, I'd rather be an expatriate.
I have been thinking about how hard it will be to go back to an educational system where students actually study and teachers actually teach and where every actor involved is accountable. To end this age of laziness and ignorance will be teachers' greatest challenge.
Certainly, it is hard work, is to change that mentality of laziness, waiting to be given, is a change that unfortunately will not come only with a change of government, the damage has been profound, that is why the importance and responsibility of parents and teachers in training these young children in respect, honesty, in the value of earning things for themselves, they are the hope of this country
@luces, Good to know that you are a Teacher and in my opinion some lessons which shared by teachers to their students can impact their whole life. And teachers hold great responsibility because in a way they mould student's life.
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Oh how I wish more teachers were like you!
All that remains is to give them a little love, to fill them with affection to diminish a little their deficiencies, to flood them with flattery and to make them feel how valuable they are, to become their refuge when the storm is strong and unavoidable.
I know that story of Mrs. Thompson. I put it in the mailbox of a teacher who did irreparable harm to my son. She could/would only teach students who learned quickly and posed no challenges to her behaviorally. She was highly lauded as a teacher, but every year one or two boys would be harmed. It was awful to be the mother of one of these. She would not even smile at my son. She hated him, he knew it, and he floundered.
Thank you for doing this very valuable work with all your heart.
How beautiful, thank you for your compliments, the practice of teaching allows us to get closer to our students, to know their anxieties and needs. It is regrettable that there are teachers who are indifferent to these situations, like what you narrate in your experience, in short, in them there is no vocation or love for what they do.
It's easy to teach children with no differences. The challenge, and the greatest reward, is in teaching those who see things differently. What a gift is was for me when the difficult students, the ones many on the faculty sat around and complained about having to teach, were able to learn in my classroom. These students were so grateful.
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Happy faces🥰
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That's right....behind so many circumstances and situations that they may be living, their innocence prevails, a smile will always be present. Thank you for commenting.
Yes, as adults we can learn so much from little children 🙏
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That's right, they're wonderful, it's definitely mutual learning.
Absolutely 🙏
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Hi, @adsactly!
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