THE REAL VALUE IN GETTING TO KNOW YOUR STUDENTS
BY : RAFEEF KADHUM
I
asked my students whether introducing robots instead of humans as teachers was a good idea . “ Robots would never make a mistake , but Miss , a robot doesn ’ t ask us how we are , they wouldn ’ t know what we are going through .” They argued that they needed humans and not robots because they needed a teacher to express empathy and emotion . What mattered most was not subject knowledge or exams , but a human response .
‘ Who are my learners and what do they know ?’ These were the first questions I was taught to ask during my training at London ’ s Institute of Education . Thirteen years and dozens of different classes later , I continue to ask myself the same thing . My experience teaching in London schools had moved far away from this when I left in 2015 . I had recently rejoined the same school I started at seven years previously and things had changed dramatically since that time .
I could no longer decide what I was teaching my students or how . We all taught exactly the same thing in every lesson . I felt disappointed , exhausted and resentful . I had become a robot .
Despite this , the approach at my previous school wasn ’ t ineffective . Results were always above the national average and students received an outstanding education from committed professionals . But how engaged were they beyond the
26 Term 2 Jan - Mar 2022
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