Pedagogy. Week 5

Pedagogy is when we combine method and practice in our teaching. In my third post I discussed multiple intelligences, all students are so different that just teaching in one style and one method won't cut it. As teachers we need to provide for students with a range of needs, and we cannot achieve that by picking one style of teaching, and sticking to it forever. Teaching is no longer about students sitting silently while a teacher scratches on a blackboard all day. This doesn't work! Our students need to be engaged and excited about learning, but what are we as teachers doing about this? It's our responsibility to make learning fun, and desirable for students. Children should be encouraged so they flourish within our schools, not held back, or made to feel like they are failures.

Schools should be seen as places of learning, not just as places of teaching. But are we allowing this? Does the curriculum give children  enough time to investigate beyond what the teachers instructs? Do we teach them to learn or just to listen?


She walks to the school,
dragging her feet.
Her mum didn't hit her today,
that's better than any treat.

The teacher frowns as she enters,
of course she's late again.
It's not really her fault,
her father is dead.

Her mother is either working or drinking,
She says it's her and her brother's fault,
And this got her thinking.

She's trying her best,
at school and at home.
But no-one seems to notice,
she feels so alone.

In the beginning,
her teacher started to care,
but then the principal got angry,
because the classes academic results weren't there.

Now the teacher growls and frowns,
when her maths isn't perfect,
and she can't remember her vowels.

She likes it when she's allowed to draw,
But there isn't much time for that any more.

What do we value?
Our students or their minds?
What if their hearts are hurting?
Who's going to teach them to be kind?

When do teachers get time,
to value their students.
When principals are comparing,
marks not emotions.

Why are we all focusing,
on what students can't do,
when there's more important things,
like what they're going through.

The time is past,
where all students are safe in their homes.
Where parents are sober,
and children are never left alone.

Our children are adults,
because their parents force them to be.
They have more important things to worry about,
than the letters between a and z.

So maybe, just maybe,
we should change the way we teach.
To content mixed with love,
no child is beyond our reach.

Maybe if we excite out children,
and show them there's more,
more to life than just the booze,
that their parents live for.

I know it's not always like this,
but it's getting more common.
We need to inspire not yell,
if we want to ignite passion in them.

So when we are teaching,
maybe we need to see,
beyond the curriculum,
and the principals needs.

If we don't take care of our students,
then who will they be?
Not just when they're finished year twelve,
but when it's their time to lead?