Student-teacher relationship:

Students’ perspective

K S SIVAKUMARAN

I would like to present the view of a student studying in a higher grade in a leading international school in Colombo South on the subject of student-teacher relationship as a representative thinking of most young people of today in our country. Without any interpolation or commentary I give here what he wrote in a composition.

When you look at the western world, teacher-student relationships are very different compared to that of the east. Teachers act as mentors, they not only teach you the subject, but also and more importantly teach you how to live. They act as friends; friends to whom we can go for wise advices. If you look at the Winston Churchill text (My Early Life) discipline was the key. The teachers drilled into the heads of their student that the only way for them to move on into and in society was discipline. So hard, that they taught themselves into behaving.

Nowadays, old remedies are present but not as effective as they were before. At present, guidance is the key. Teachers believe that from their stance they have no right to get involved in a students’ life but rather choose to guide them. When everything in the world can be guided, why not students’?

Unlike in the western world, teachers in Sri Lanka use the old method. They still believe that discipline should lead the way. To some extent they are right, but students have learnt about the western culture and know how to it works so off and on their first impulse is to protest. The strict discipline was easily effective then, but at present that plan tends to backfire.

So, I being a student, feel that in a teacher-student relationship the teacher should be able to guide with their qualities and morale and teach them to live life by themselves rather than take control of it as it creates many gaps in life.”

Admitting that the composition lacks cohesion and well-organized presentation with illustrations, the student concerned does not want any kind of basic discipline in a school system. However he points out the indifference of some teachers to guide the students to get on well in society besides teaching a subject.

The same student in a related subject wrote a dialogue that was interesting for us to note. This is his presentation:

Teacher: Nowadays coming to school is not only about learning. How many of you attest to this statement?

Student: Sir, I do. Nowadays schools have completely changed from what they used to be.

T: True. Would you like to dwell on that point? Explain to us why you think so.

S: You see. We now live in a time where loads of information can be accessed by something that is smaller than this book. Nowadays you can’t specifically focus on one subject and teach everything out of the syllabi. Everything is interconnected. It is always better to elaborate and think outside the box.

T: So you’re saying that I should increase your homework?

S: No, no, no. That’s not what I meant.

T: Then please share with us your wisdom.

S: Getting to it. As I said before, everything is interconnected. For example, let us take the subject of English. Gone are the days when Wordsworth ruled the roost. Now, everything has a deeper meaning. Be it your local advertising slogan or the title of the latest song. Everything has a meaning.

T: Your point is…?

S: See. Case and point. You want me to hurry up and get to the point that you don’t understand my minute arguments.

T: How so?

S: When you look at the modern times, the English language is like experience. I gathered it and then used it. Children of modern times are open to a vast amount of information and as they go through these gargantuan amounts of information they learn and pick up the language with an already large vocabulary bank.

What’s more they are able to merge various languages together to give amplified meanings to already mundane words. Adults might think that children who have headphones jammed into their ears are rotting their brain to brainless music, but this is not the case.

What ‘Daffodils’ might have been to them the latest rap is to us. The whole point of a language is to be able to understand what has been communicated.

T: So, according to you, I should be teaching you Romeo and Juliet in rap?

S: Not necessarily, but although that is a good proposition and completely plausible. You see there are many interesting and modern retelling of the story. There is a modern retelling of Twelfth Night which is extremely hilarious. We’ve learned to respect the classics but honestly we don’t really understand what the fuss is about, so deviation helps us understand it a little better.

T: So, you say that schools should become more of a trove of information?

S: Class hours don’t have to be about pouring formulas and notes into our heads, but rather provide a way so that we learn it ourselves. Deviation can also mean the scenic route. Schools should help children learn to understand. When they learn to understand on their own, they’ll be able to interpret any type of information.

T: Interesting. You made an extremely good suggestion. Maybe we can use this technique with the next batch. Until then, homework - grammar question Fromm page 49 to54. Everything should be completed and handed over at the end of the weekend.

Students: (Groan)

What the student did not understand or comprehend is that teachers are expected to follow syllabuses to prepare the students for public examinations conducted by the ‘western world’ itself.