10 LUMEN | THOUGHTS
Teaching with Heart
By Chong Chow Wee
Teachers take the road less travelled . It is a long road and it is an arduous journey . Gone are the days when imparting knowledge and wisdom were the sole maxims of the profession .
These days , it is also about the proper formation of young adults ; the development of well-rounded individuals and the moulding of young minds in preparation for future challenges . While these may be grand ideals and should rightfully act as compass points for all who walk this road , they serve merely to guide one towards an ultimate goal . The journey to take to the promised land is still , entirely up to the individual .
The problem is , of course , that teachers do not work with inanimate objects ; despite the fact that the students do at times resemble the aforementioned . But by and large , teachers have to work with young adults who are at times impossibly frustrating and at times shockingly receptive . In a class of 30 to 35 – all varied
individuals , each and every one of them unique ; how then does one develop this menagerie of capricious characters into well-rounded individuals , mould their young minds for the future or guide them in the proper formation of character ? I daresay that the answer lies in but a word : heart .
American author William Arthur Ward captures this idea of ‘ heart ’ aptly : “ The mediocre teacher tells , the good teacher explains , the superior teacher demonstrates , the great teacher inspires ”. Simply put , that exemplifies the need to not just teach with heart , but to touch the hearts of those you teach .
In order to reach out effectively to the students , a teacher must first be able to connect with them . It does not imply that a teacher must be a friend of the student ; it merely means that the teacher must genuinely care for them and here in SJI , we are indeed fortunate to have such a dedicated group of teachers . Within these hallowed halls of education based on a set of inspiring Lasallian values , teachers do so much more than just teach . Every day , in so many ways , the teachers constantly try to inspire the best in the boys . Whether in their daily classroom interactions with the students or their guidance in cocurricular matters or even exchanges outside the classroom , teachers often go above and beyond in order to let the students know that they do care .