Teaching is considered to be the most noble profession of this world.Teachers are the most honoured persons all over the world .But,this honor doesn't come all along the profession tag. As a teacher,you have to acquire it.When you are a teacher,you have to act 100 of roles .A teacher is not only an academic instructor but also a mentor,a facilitator,a motivator,a life coach and many more roles,s/he plays.
In this blog,I'm going to depict an unusual situation that may occur in the classroom(may occur anytime) and try to explain how I would handle that as a teacher.
The scenario-
A student receives a phone call during class and excuses herself to the
hallway. When she comes back she is clearly upset. She returns to her
seat but is quietly sobbing.
Life is not all about happiness.There are ups and downs in life.You can face any unwanted situations anytime.If the mentioned situation ,I face in my classroom,the first thing I would do-I would try to understand how deep the problem might be seeing his/her face.Because face is the best mirror of mind.After that,I would get my other students engaged in any type of reading or classwork for some moments and take that student outside of the room for a light conversation.Because if she is in the classroom,that would affect the other students too.
When I would take that student outside,I would ask if everything is fine or not.I would explain why I feel so .Because many people don't like others to interfere in their lives whether it's teacher or other person. So,it's a bigger concern too,I should keep in mind.If the student wills to share,then it's perfect to move forward,if not,I would ask if s/he needs a leave from that class.Because if s/he can't concentrate on studies,it is better not to be present .As it would affect other students too.And sometimes people need a break from everything when something bad happens. If s/he leaves,I would contact later after class to know the update.If the problem is not so serious,S/he agrees not to leave the class,I would try to listen what happened(if s/he wants to share) and try to console for that moment and make her/him a little bit normal with giving the general motivation .Besides,I would ask her/him to act as normal as s/he can do in class and ask her to give me some moments after the class,if there's no problem with that.I have to do all these things quickly because my other students are inside the classroom and if I'm late they would be diverted from their class.
After the class,I would take her/him to my office and try to listen attentively.Because sometimes,students don't have people to share and they got more stressed and depressed.So,I would try to listen and do my best to figure out what that student needs actually.
If the problem is severe,I would try to make her/him introduce with resources from where s/he can take help.I would try to consult personally as far as I can.If s/he needs authoritative help,help from the department or University,I would do my best to help with that.
As a teacher in such a situation,I should keep in mind a few things
1)I can't ignore a student sitting quite after such an event.
2)I can't let my other students affected with that,
3)As a guide and facilitator,I should ensure that particular student's mental ability to take part in class.
4)Make her familiar to resources and consultancy (if needed),so that s/he can come out of that.
5)Try to approach that student as per needed .
My main objective should always be keep a healthy environment in class and ensure every student's learning progress.
I depicted a totally imaginary situation above.If that happens really,there are some more issues,that I have to face.The first thing is-why does a student share his/her problems with me,if s/he doesn't feel free.And obviously all on a sudden ,I can't jump in his/her life as a reliable person with whom they can share.So the bottom line is-you have to do this practice from the first day of your class.make them familiar with you,let them know about you,try to hear from them about themselves & their interests.
Thus,try to make them understand your diverse roles and let them know in which spheres they can approach you.As a teacher,you should be a place of hope and faith to them and make this place smoothly.So that they can approach you in such difficulties.With all these things,you should also keep in mind about that shadow line that should be drawn between you and your students to maintain a healthy teacher-student relationship.If you don't do that,some students may wrong about you and their boundaries and do something that makes you feel offended.That's why it's a very important and sensitive part of your roles.Make them feel comfortable with you but not that much which crosses limits and make them take you for granted.
Summary of this whole writing is-a teacher should always be ready for any situation.
Being a teacher,your first and foremost duty is to understand the students and ensure their learning development.
Hi Jennifer,
Thanks for your suggestion. It is a great way to reach them without involving other students.
Yes, I would try to create such a friendly environment from the first day of my class, so that students feel free to come to me .
Hi Will,
Thanks for your comment.
What I thought about such a situation, I would handle with is quite unpredictable. But the thing I can do certainly is making space for them from the very first day of classes. My first day of class would be an introductory one where I would create room for them to know about me and for me to know my students. I would try to assure them about their rights as a student and how I deal with those. I would let them know my believes and to what extent I can help them. My first priority would obviously be my students. So, I would try to help them as far I can bu…
You offer a very caring approach to this situation, and I appreciate that. This is always my instinct, too. I have found, though, that some students do really want to be left alone and not share. For this reason, I wonder if going in the hallway would call too much attention the student. Another idea might be to slip them a little piece of paper asking if they are okay or need to leave and letting them know you are happy to talk later. Also, like Will said, there are a lot of expectations you can set up from the beginning to also create a comfortable space for students to deal with issues like this one.
Nilima,
I think your approach works well, especially when you talk about whether or not a student wants to talk about it right then and there (especially if you're not able to take a moment with the student outside the class).
I'm curious how you would be able to create class expectations that deal with this sort of situation: Explaining how students can leave class if something is going on, but they need to contact you outside of class to discuss why they left (without having to go into all the particulars).
Our students are going to through life, and as you said, life isn't always neat and happy. Therefore, we need to be compassionate as instructors while also ensuring…