Good classroom teaching as alternative to coaching
Sunday, 24 October 2010
Chowdhury Md. Usman Ahmmady
AFTER getting a job in a school at Tejgoa in Dhaka, Mr. Rahman, MA in English, found himself in tight financial straits as he had to support his family with a poor salary. A person from the common middle class of this kind cannot survive on 8,000 taka in this expensive city. So his plans to get other sources of income had to be immediately implemented. First and foremost act for him was to develop his private coaching. With this, his dedication for good teaching has been sold and turned to business.
Marks are all that matters. Poor marks and low grades are causes for low self-esteem and isolation of the students. And students are victimized by the coaching business due to the exam-oriented education system. They are hooked as they are the consumers of coaching.
In a coaching business, one has to spend a large amount of time and money. The extreme avarice for money is clearly manifested as well. Thus, the ultimate education is determined by the size of the wallet.
Almost all guardians yield to this kind of coaching business lest their children should fail in the concerned subjects. While marks in the exams are at stake, how can they go for demanding good teaching?
Admitting this point, the state minister for primary and mass education Motahar Hossain said, "We will take immediate action to stop coaching centres to restore a congenial atmosphere in the educational institutions."
The education minister, Nurul Islam Nahid also lamented on the skilled teachers' coaching business and vowed to take firm actions to stop boosting private tuition and coaching, which fleeces guardians and downgrades classroom teaching.
Good teaching can be ensured by the quality teaching. The good teacher must be a leader who can inspire and influence students through skilled instructional power but never in a forceful manner. This qualified teacher knows his subject well and is kind and respectful toward his students. Discussing a complicated topic, he comes down to the level of his students and explains solutions with practical and comprehensible exemplars.
This kind of teacher empowers students and gets them to do things they did not think before that they were capable of doing. A good teacher finds his students surpass him.
Furthermore, research shows that every day experience of a teacher contributes to good teaching. So to achieve this one needs a few years. And finally quality teaching can be ensured by pedagogy training with all current theories and practical knowledge on the methods of instruction in any classroom situation.
At present in Bangladesh the total number of teachers including private and public institutions is 871,000. Most of the teachers are from private educational institutions. For example, in the secondary level, there are 238,000 teachers in number, out of which 7,000 teachers are from public institutions.
The present government is also well-aware of the necessity of high-quality teaching. In this regard, the apex teachers' training institution, The National Academy for Educational Management (NAEM) under the ministry of education is catering to high quality training to enhance the quality of teaching and learning especially in science, mathematics, and English. But a large number of teachers from private institutions are deprived of taking training from this renowned training institution.
Though the Government through many projects show their keenness on teacher training programmes, their endeavors are not enough to mitigate the present demand.
According to recent research, 54 percent of teachers are ignorant about the methods of instruction. Out of all trained teachers, 80 percent do not apply the classroom strategies properly. Moreover, most of them come to the class without their lesson plans.
The revered educator Professor Moniruzzaman said that teachers are the most significant keys to ensure improved teaching and learning in the classroom, so they have to be careful about their professional practice. And they should be given the credit as they are also indirectly responsible for the advancement of the society.
Teaching is the most dignified profession, but due to the poor salary structure and low-social status, brilliant people are not coming easily to this noble profession. Moreover, inadequate, or delayed salaries often force teachers to seek supplementary income source. Like Mr. Rahman, the demands of life force the teacher into the compromises of second income in coaching.
Nobody knows of any other job that can be compared with teaching. The precondition of good teaching is being scrupulous and honest. So the practice of coaching business should be considered seriously as it potentially hampers proper development of students. And the Education Ministry should work hard to create efficient manpower in the education sector ensuring good teaching in all educational institutions.
AFTER getting a job in a school at Tejgoa in Dhaka, Mr. Rahman, MA in English, found himself in tight financial straits as he had to support his family with a poor salary. A person from the common middle class of this kind cannot survive on 8,000 taka in this expensive city. So his plans to get other sources of income had to be immediately implemented. First and foremost act for him was to develop his private coaching. With this, his dedication for good teaching has been sold and turned to business.
Marks are all that matters. Poor marks and low grades are causes for low self-esteem and isolation of the students. And students are victimized by the coaching business due to the exam-oriented education system. They are hooked as they are the consumers of coaching.
In a coaching business, one has to spend a large amount of time and money. The extreme avarice for money is clearly manifested as well. Thus, the ultimate education is determined by the size of the wallet.
Almost all guardians yield to this kind of coaching business lest their children should fail in the concerned subjects. While marks in the exams are at stake, how can they go for demanding good teaching?
Admitting this point, the state minister for primary and mass education Motahar Hossain said, "We will take immediate action to stop coaching centres to restore a congenial atmosphere in the educational institutions."
The education minister, Nurul Islam Nahid also lamented on the skilled teachers' coaching business and vowed to take firm actions to stop boosting private tuition and coaching, which fleeces guardians and downgrades classroom teaching.
Good teaching can be ensured by the quality teaching. The good teacher must be a leader who can inspire and influence students through skilled instructional power but never in a forceful manner. This qualified teacher knows his subject well and is kind and respectful toward his students. Discussing a complicated topic, he comes down to the level of his students and explains solutions with practical and comprehensible exemplars.
This kind of teacher empowers students and gets them to do things they did not think before that they were capable of doing. A good teacher finds his students surpass him.
Furthermore, research shows that every day experience of a teacher contributes to good teaching. So to achieve this one needs a few years. And finally quality teaching can be ensured by pedagogy training with all current theories and practical knowledge on the methods of instruction in any classroom situation.
At present in Bangladesh the total number of teachers including private and public institutions is 871,000. Most of the teachers are from private educational institutions. For example, in the secondary level, there are 238,000 teachers in number, out of which 7,000 teachers are from public institutions.
The present government is also well-aware of the necessity of high-quality teaching. In this regard, the apex teachers' training institution, The National Academy for Educational Management (NAEM) under the ministry of education is catering to high quality training to enhance the quality of teaching and learning especially in science, mathematics, and English. But a large number of teachers from private institutions are deprived of taking training from this renowned training institution.
Though the Government through many projects show their keenness on teacher training programmes, their endeavors are not enough to mitigate the present demand.
According to recent research, 54 percent of teachers are ignorant about the methods of instruction. Out of all trained teachers, 80 percent do not apply the classroom strategies properly. Moreover, most of them come to the class without their lesson plans.
The revered educator Professor Moniruzzaman said that teachers are the most significant keys to ensure improved teaching and learning in the classroom, so they have to be careful about their professional practice. And they should be given the credit as they are also indirectly responsible for the advancement of the society.
Teaching is the most dignified profession, but due to the poor salary structure and low-social status, brilliant people are not coming easily to this noble profession. Moreover, inadequate, or delayed salaries often force teachers to seek supplementary income source. Like Mr. Rahman, the demands of life force the teacher into the compromises of second income in coaching.
Nobody knows of any other job that can be compared with teaching. The precondition of good teaching is being scrupulous and honest. So the practice of coaching business should be considered seriously as it potentially hampers proper development of students. And the Education Ministry should work hard to create efficient manpower in the education sector ensuring good teaching in all educational institutions.