Appreciating the Work of Our Teachers

Raising many children has taught me to appreciate just how individual each child really is. One can be good at reading and not be so adept at numbers. Another can be so good with sums and then find it hard to express thoughts on the things she had just read. You can't quite assume that one kid's personality will be just like another's, and this holds true also when it comes to their attitudes towards learning in general or the act of studying in particular.

I've been "homeschooling" my third child since June. I put that in quotes because it isn't a true homeschooling program but a school readiness program. I enrolled my child to learn under an educator friend, who helps me teach him by creating lesson plans for me to follow at home for four days a week and teaching him directly one-on-one for two sessions a week, so that—working together—we may be able to equip him with the things he needs for coping well in big school.

Once a month, his teacher and I have a meeting to talk about how best to get him to work, understand, follow, and move. And since this friend of mine has worked with my two older girls (also to prepare them for big school), she could form insights from an educator's point of view on how different each child really is in this respect—and of course, how best to address any concerns.

Creativity in teaching

Recently, we attended a guidance orientation at our children's school. The guidance counselors walked us through an aptitude test that was given to all the children about eight months ago (that is, in their previous school year). Results of the test were given to us and explained. Some of the parents were upset that the results were given a school year later. One dad wanted to receive the results right away so that something could be done ASAP if the results were "bad." Another parent asked if having bad results meant that their child was disadvantaged somehow and would have to live with struggling in school. What was being done for the children? she asked. Well, the counselors assured us that the test results were given to the teachers over the summer so that they could adjust their teaching techniques to suit the children.

A lot of people miss the point that that's the beauty of education. Teachers are trained to find ways to get the lesson across. Our educators are not robots that work on a formula; rather, they adjust their teaching to achieve their goal, which is to make the children learn. Some educators rely on tools such as the aptitude test I mentioned. But generally, they get to know the children and learn to have the "feel" of how the kids will best respond and understand.

I get to see this in my monthly parent-teacher conference: moms think of the task to complete, but the educator looks at how the child is approaching the task and whether they can do it by themselves or need help. So even if I wanted to help my son draw the shapes he needs to draw, I have to let him draw them on his own because that's what his teacher wants to see: not a perfect triangle, but his hold on the crayon, whether he can follow the instructions (slanting line to the left, sleeping line, go back up to the start), and his willingness to accomplish the task. If he is not willing to do it, teacher shifts her tactic so that we can get him to accomplish the work in the time that we have.

Thank you, Teacher!

October 5 happens to be World Teachers' Day, which was established by UNESCO in 1994. Since it falls on a Sunday this year, our children celebrate it in school today, October 6. I’m so happy with all the teachers that my children have had—even the ones who taught them online during the pandemic. They work so hard to teach even when the kids are in no mood; they don’t waste time to get the lesson through.

As a result, my children love going to school. And mind you, it isn’t because they’re perfect. Like I said, each child is different. My two girls in school are proof of it. They are polar opposites as students. According to the aptitude test they took, one will really thrive in school, and the other will struggle. But so far, both are thriving—why? Because their teachers know how to get them to do their tasks. And, when the tasks are poorly done, they find other ways to check if the student understands. At home, (and because we parents are also our children’s primary educators) I try to find ways to “diagnose” the problems we encounter. It’s during times like this that the insights of my friends who teach are truly valuable to me. As a plus, I also get to ask advice in terms of building good habits that hopefully turn into virtues—and not merely looking for ways to pull up number grades.

Teaching children is about helping them to grow up equipped with what they need in life: knowledge, diligence, and creativity to make them independent; and selflessness, integrity, and holiness to help them give back to the community when it is their turn to contribute with their own efforts.

"Teachers are trained to find ways to get the lesson across. Our educators are not robots that work on a formula; rather, they adjust their teaching to achieve their goal, which is to make the children learn."