HOW TO KEEP THEM PRESENT

BERNADETH J. ARCIGA

Every student that graduated is a lifetime accomplishment for a teacher. And every student that drops out is a lifetime failure for him or her.

For educators that have a strong emotional ground, it is good that they easily move on and move forward. However, most of the time, we are left thinking about what went wrong or what could we have done differently so as to avoid attrition in our class.

Bullying, harassment, domestic problems, financial difficulties and lack of motivation are just few of the many reasons why students lose their enthusiasm about education. Maybe we cannot do anything about some of the said reasons, but for most of them, we can definitely do things differently and get a good result.

Based on experience, following are some of the best way to keep students from dropping out from school.

* Start everyday with a prayer. Regardless of what your religion is, or what your students’religions are, we all have a “Highest Being” to whom we say our prayers to. We don’t have to specifically say His name, what matter is that we were able to unite the class in a prayer. There is nothing more effective than asking for guidance, blessing and wisdom that we need in dealing with everyday’s challenges and decision making.

*Establish trust. Make them feel that they can count on you. More than the fulfillment of gaining a person’s trust, you can easily determine a reason of destruction and hindrance and do something about it the soonest possible time, in a student’s learning process if they open up to you. If they trust you, they will believe any information that you are going to provide them.

*Motivate them. Tell them stories that will inspire them. Share some experience of hardships and challenging situations that you had been through in your school days that you successfully overcome and eventually paid off. If it is possible, make them watch motivational or inspirational videos or movie clips. There are a lot of them available in the web.

*Know them. Take note of their strengths and weaknesses in terms of learning. There are different types of learners. Know where they belong. This way you can make lesson plans based on their learning needs.

*Listen. Let them speak their mind. Be open to their opinions. Get their point of views. Consider their suggestions. It might trigger their critical thinking ability if they will voice out their side about a certain topic every once in a while. Answer their questions mindfully, not judgmentally or sarcastically. Laughing when they make mistake is not very helpful for their confidence.

*Ask probing questions. You can do to evaluate their understanding about a topic that was recently discussed. Also it will help you make sound decisions about issues concerning your students.

*Provide feedbacks. Be transparent about your students’performance as well as their behavior. It will help them a lot if they know what they need to improve.

*Be updated. Most of the students now a day are certified tech savvy. Don’t be left out. Know what interests them. This way, you can guide them with what they watch, hear or learn from the media that can strongly influence them.

*Make an interactive class. Engage them in group activities as well as individual activities. Let each of them experience how to lead by assigning a different leader every day. It will also let them experience how to be a regular team member. Individual activity will teach them how to be independent. Either way will teach them how to work efficiently whether as a team player or independently.

*Play games. Ice breakers are effective stress relievers. You can always include a fun game to your lesson plan that in a way is related to your topics. It won’t hurt to let them experience fun while learning. It will definitely excite them to go to school every day.

*Create a family like atmosphere within the classroom. Resolve conflicts and make them know each other by making different seat plan every day. Make sure that they get to sit next to all of their classmates before the school year ends.

*Set house rules. Set expectations. Make them understand that however comfortable the students are with their teacher, a certain level of respect for each other must be observed. House rules should be applicable to both student and teacher. Example of a house rules are penalties or punishments to those who dozed off, for late or for absences without valid reasons.

*Breath. Loosen up. Frown less. Smile more. It will give students the impression that the teacher can be approach easily, making establishing relationships almost effortless. There has been a study that concluded, leaders who are easier to get along with are more effective than those who are not.

*Take the extra mile. Be personal. Visit parents of problem students, try empathy, know where they are coming from. Both to students and parents. Find the best way to help. If it is financial difficulties that is preventing a student from going to school, try to search for scholarship programs or educational assistance program from government or non government organization that may help them surpass this barrier.

I remember once, my favorite teacher a long time ago told me, teaching is not just a profession, it is a vocation. It takes a lot of hard work, sacrifice, patience and understanding as well as a loving heart for you to be able to call yourself a successful teacher. Because being an educator comes with a great responsibility and a lot of expectation from your leaders, your critics, from parents and students, from your colleagues and from yourself.

We’re more than just teachers; we are leaders, influential people, mentors, life coaches and parents.

— oOo—

The author is Teacher III at Maimpis Integrated High School