day 9: classroom teaching and learning process

It's always great for me to see my students' eyes gleaming with spirit of learning and exploring the lesson enthusiastically. Either in Language class when the students try to make sense the art of other language or in Math class when the students deal with calculations and logic, when the students may learn skills and knowledge that may be useful for them. And yes, sometimes it happens and it is called smooth time or enjoyable time with the students.

But sometimes it doesn't! Working together as a team in classroom is a dynamic process. As a student teacher sometimes I am too concerned about lesson plan, and that makes me reminded of the instruction from my lecturer,"you are teaching the students (with a plan) and not teaching lesson plans (with student in class)." And for me personally, it's still in process because many times I plan the lesson simply in ideal condition; tend to ignore and even avoid the unexpected possibility in class and sometimes missing a little but very important matter in the classroom for example the procedures of doing games or activity for learning, etc.

And I find that the more I try to know the students (especially call them by name), those whom I work with, the more opportunities for me to explore the potency or the tendency of the classroom process and therefore it will be very helpful to manage and even to be firm to myself in helping the students learn what they really need to learn. And from this I can find the difference between what my lecturer said as 'teaching lesson plans' and 'teaching the students (with a plan)'. 'Teaching lesson plan' tends to control over the class that is to force the class to be as what the teacher wants and being inflexible, while 'teaching students with a plan' is being flexible, treat the students as persons while considering their feelings, needs, potency by knowing the students. By that, the relationship grows; the interaction is becoming a meaningful communication involving persons who learn. And by treating the students with care, acknowledging their feeling and firmly encouraging the values, then however hard the process of teaching and learning in classroom might be, the teacher would not be alone because he/she has students who trust him/her and they're trusting each other! And I know that everything good comes only from Him Who is Good One. Lord, have mercy!