The relational aspect of teaching
A lot of teachers endeavor every day to improve their teaching. They strive to be more effective in their craft by getting ahead in terms of the subject matter. They study the curriculum and learn how to deliver the material expected of them. They adopt teaching strategies or methods that would make the teaching and learning process more successful.
On top of all these, teachers also try to be skillful in the relational aspect of teaching. Yes, teaching is not only about teaching the subject, conveying information or transferring knowledge. The positive relations teachers endeavor to establish with their students provide engagement and meaning. The power of touch, smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring have the potential to turn a life around. Teaching hence, is not only about having control over what you teach but more essentially how you teach it. As the famous Aristotle puts it, “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.”
By focusing not only on what to teach but how to teach it, we can help cultivate children’s spirit to learn, nurture their sense of wonder and curiosity about the world, inspire them to ask questions and enthrall them to seek further. Through it, we can also fuel their willingness to care for the human condition, give them a zest for learning and most importantly help them find the joy in learning.
Classroom management and interactions will affect students’ engagement with the lessons. This is teaching with intention (purpose) and intensity (passion). It is useless to argue and pointless to deny that the curriculum is essential for it is the heartbeat of teaching. It is so much necessary raw material. But warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child. This is fostered in classroom management which is the central nervous system of the classroom. Without the heart, there is no life; but without the nervous system, there is no function. It is a mutually serving arrangement.
It may not be what you signed up for, but it’s reality that today’s children implicitly expect to have positive interaction with their teachers. Teachers play an important role in nourishing a student’s sense of engagement and meaning. Teaching therefor, to be effective at all needs to be accompanied by a sense of nurturing on the part of the teacher. Julius D. Felix Jr.