• Search for:
    The teacher is to teach arithmetic to John: he should know arithmetic, and he should know John. A great triangular enterprise indeed! The thoughtful and committed teacher will make a sincere attempt to know how his children perceive the world, what they like to do and enjoy, what they hate, how their immature minds think creatively, how they master a particular task, why they remember or forget, what attracts and holds their attention, how they can be stimulated, persuaded, induced and so on.

    Child is curious and inquisitive. It shows fear and timidity at times, and at other times is bold and enterprising, self assertive, combative and even conceited.

     
    The shy and timid child will require gentle push, the pert and forward checks and rebukes. The sluggish must be gradually bustled a little, the hyperactive provided with meaningful occupation and keep him quietly busy, the talkative must be taught to talk at the appropriate time, and the silent tempted into speech. The child who is clumsy with fingers should be heard sympathetically, and if necessary, must be helped and shown the way to perfection.

    It is not an easy task for children who are too young to know the limits of exaggeration and falsehood. The gifted child must be allowed the advantage of his quickness, provided that this does not lead to mental and physical exhaustion.

    To hurry a slow child, when he is young is fatal. He is probably slow in some ways and quick in others, and mind it, praise judiciously bestowed upon his success on one side will lead him to persevere on others.Many progressive writers on childhood lay stress upon the importance of the formative years in the process of education. They firmly believe that inborn tendencies, good and bad alike, are so deep rooted in the formative years that they can hardly be altered afterwards. Early habits die hard. The obvious duty of those who are the custodians of young kids is to encourage the good tendencies and habits and to check those negative traits, which may hamper their personality.

    Fear should be eliminated from young minds. Because, fear from the external factors, may result in unhealthy self-repressions later. This is worth pondering over. A child should never be repressed save for some good reason. Experience, coupled with intelligence and sympathy, will bring the power to secure orderliness and discipline without undue repression.

    In all living beings, growth is not uniform; all the individuals of a particular species do not advance precisely at the same rate, nor grow at the same speed through out. This irregularity applies to mental as well as to physical growth. Accordingly, the teacher must not be surprised to find his pupils of the same age and from similar surroundings differing very greatly, some being advanced and others slow. Also he will find that a pupil who has made a rapid stride for some period of time will suddenly appear to come to a standstill. The teacher should be prepared to allow for these peculiarities, to take advantage of a spurt by his pupil, and to be patient and cautious when progress to be slow. All this is not a Einstein formula but a simple common sense; However, a fresher in teaching or a new recruit to teaching profession will always be at sea to distinguish between the real and the assumed slowness, and between the slacking and the retardation, which the pupil cannot help.
    A child Is a vision
    Comprehending Visions.    		 – Marion M. Van Laningham
    Men are generally more careful of the breed
    of their horses and dogs
    than of their children.    		 – William Penn