THOUGHTS | LUMEN
11
“
The mediocre teacher tells , the good teacher explains , the superior
teacher demonstrates , the great teacher inspires
“
The series of Camp TABA ( Together and by Association ) conducted in Term 1 of 2011 was a fine display of teaching with heart . Started in 2010 , Camp TABA provides Secondary 3 students an opportunity to build bonds in their new classes after having forged strong ones for two years in Lower Secondary while at the same time , the teachers are allowed to bond with the students in an out-of-school setting . As Mr Lim Eng Kong form tutor of 326 observes of his boys , ‘ They had an opportunity to work together and interact ,’ and candidly adds , ‘ and also to withstand each other ’ s smelly feet at night .’ This is with reference to the close and basic sleeping arrangements they had .
Teachers get to know the boys as unique individuals in a less imposing environment and understand them better and perhaps just as importantly ; it helps the boys to understand their teachers better through the various games played and the sharing sessions held . Moreover , it shows the boys that the teachers care not just about their academic results but also for the boys themselves . More pointedly , bridging that perennial teacher-student divide through the camp has allowed for a closer rapport between the boys and their teachers and has provided a motivational baseline for both parties to move forward together , as willing partners in the students ’ education .
As the students learn about being a community within their own class and how that extends to the entire level and in turn the whole of SJI , they are also made aware that their existence is not merely to look out for one another within the SJI fraternity but that it goes beyond that .
From the launch of Project Scubilion during Camp TABA , it is hoped they heed the call as a community to serve others in our society .
Thus teaching from the heart should neither be a method enforced nor an idea overtly pushed . It is a habit inculcated and a spirit cultivated . Undoubtedly , the demands of the vocation are rigorous and unforgiving and teachers are but humans , but let us never forget that the students are human too . So yes , as teachers we take the road less travelled . And indeed , it is a long road and it is an arduous journey . But it should be a road on which we walk side by side with our students and it should be a journey we undertake together with the boys . Then it will become a road most willingly and happily travelled and a journey we care to continue .
Facing page : Students form Class 334 gently carrying one of their classmates over the ' electric fence '
This page ( top ): Looking through the web that represents the interconnectedness of a community
This page ( right ): ' What I want in a just world ' presentation