Understanding teacher-student relationship

K S Sivakumaran

some teachers are extremely friendly with the students but some can be the strictest people on earth

establishing trust and friendship between students and the teacher

Understanding present day school children is a special subject for educationists and sociologists. It is a psychological problem too. Teachers were different some decades ago and teachers now have to try hard to understand the present day students. There is indiscipline in thought and action among most students especially those attending International Schools. How do we understand what the attitudes of students towards their teachers? We could do that by testing their minds through an assignment.

Here are two views by two students. I just reproduce without any comment. This view is by a girl in Grade 10 preparing for the Edexel examination.

“The younger generation today is very much different from the teenagers in the 70s and 80s. Teenagers now become mentally matured at a younger age, they develop the ability to think and look at things with a whole new perspective; they analyze matters differently and tend to do more wrong than good. At least that’s what adults think, but this is not entirely true for the entire for the younger crowd.

Some modern day teachers refuse to change with time; they hang on to the principles quite rightly and are angered by students breaking these principles. This is once again due to the lack of proper understanding. The teacher fails to move on with time, the student fails to understand that the teacher does not look at his actions with the same eye as his peers. This should be avoided.

Sri Lanka being an Eastern country is influenced by the western tends. true students tend to be attracted to the western trend but if proper guidance is laid and they are made to realize the importance of Sri Lanka’s unique culture they may realize their faults. A greater weight lies on the teachers’ soldiers, to understand and guide a student in a proper road is not an easy task.

Teachers should understand the modern day world, accept a few changes, and give you the pride and caste themselves to a lower level to the students’ state of mind. They should communicate freely with students and gain their trust. Sharing your school life with them is a plus point. Students then tend to realize the value of education. This should be done in a tactful way so as to get even the worst students’ attention during lessons. Establishing trust and friendship between students and the teachers’ self is a huge step in advancing to a successful student-teacher relationship.

During leisure time discuss about current problems in Sri Lanka and allow the students to come up with their opinions. This way the teacher is able to understand a bit about student IQ level.

Such tactics should be crafted out skillfully by a teacher to maintain a strong relationship with the student.”

Next view is also by a girl in the same grade.

“A teacher- student relationship is something most people have experienced in life. It is the relationship between two or more people where one is knowledgeable and the other is seeking for this knowledge.

A teacher can also be called guardian as he or she may look after the welfare of the student by enriching him or her with valuable knowledge called education.

A student is the pupil who a teacher may refer to as his or her own child, whom he or she would teach. Teachers come in various forms. Some teachers are extremely friendly with the students but some can be the strictest people on earth. Either way the two communicate in a way where both benefit, mainly students benefit.

In the past student-teacher relationship are much more like the ones we see nowadays. Some teaches first go easy on the pupil, but if he or she gets a feeling that the student is playing with him then they would blast. But others remain calm and help the pupil out.

Nowadays we find students back talking to teachers and we do not find much consideration from both sides. Not saying all the students and teachers are not nice, there are teacher-student relationship which nourish and flourish because the agree ability from both sides where the student learns a lot from their teachers and teachers also learn small things like the latest trends and technology.

Some schools in Sri Lanka still have the cane, where the students are smacked on their backs. This should utterly be removed from every school as it is the violation of children’s rights and the student would start developing grudge against the teacher. At some cases the student is sometimes accused of something that they have not done and face serious circumstances. Well the teachers should be more careful when accusing as the teacher-student bond would be broken.

But in some cases the teachers are really considerate, helpful and understanding. These kind of teacher -student relationships last for long as they both accept each other and bond grows into much complex parent-child form. Some teachers help a student when they are in trouble if they know that they are not wrong and some students help teachers like carrying some of their things when walking across the roads or climbing stairs etc.

These relationships last longer as they are good natured and once the student is all grown up, even then he or she would take about his or her teacher to their kids or even visit the teacher at times and teachers would be proud of the best students and boss about them wherever they go.

A teacher- student relationship is one relationship which differs from person to person and the current teacher-student relationship in the world and even in Sri Lanka is perfectly Fine.”

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