Teaching: Part II

Teaching, as other professions have ups and downs in the course of doing 'what's right'.

Teaching for almost a year now, I can't help but to think about the wonderful consequences if we were to just give a child a smack across the face if they become severely intolerable and their parents, after you call them, tell you "his/her class is not over yet. Let him/her sit at the chair quietly till the time comes. We are shopping now."

What will you do?

Or get a more challenging class like mine on Sunday evenings where my 2 ever-smart and over witty students start chattering about 1001 things adults will talk about. You'd get a smacking class, with a lot of laughter, awe and wonder at how young 7 and 9 year old children could tell you things you only discovered in University. Gosh, I feel so inadequately educated when I am with them.

Or try this....

Have a student talking to you and other children about RELIGION.

I know, in Malaysia it is very tacky to talk about one's religion. But there's a 6 year old arabian student (who surprisingly spoke quite good, albeit the Terminator 'twang' English) who asked one of my students if she was a Muslim. When the other student said she was not, this little girl said, "bad things will happen to you... You'll see"

Okay, get that?

6 years old talking like an adult and telling you about religion? And worse still, she talked to the 9 year old who had a habit of being extremely sarcastic. Being a teacher there, I didn't know what to say. Should I tell her to shut up? Or agree with her? Or just act like I didn't hear anything?

I didn't do any of those 3. Decided to interrogate her about her 'idea' about how she knew that. At first, she kept on saying, 'you'll know in the future'. Hello? 6 years old talking like that? What's up with our generation of kids, or what's wrong with this generation of kids? She kept on repeating till another student probed, "what'll happen next?" and the little girl said, "You'll die in hell".

Gosh.... What was I supposed to say now? I took the third. Silence. But my rebellious student, she replied, "So I am a Hindu and I am definitely dying in Hell". *Note her sarcasm, being only 9 years old*

What will you do if you are in my position?

I have no idea what religion is 'superior' than another. I am not a judge in such a thing, and this entire thing falls into the GREY area of life that nobody has an answer and everybody wants to have a say and agree that their religion is the best. And when kids are involved in such debates at the table I am teaching, what do I do? Do i just keep quiet and let them argue, talk sense into them or just let them keep their ideas and break up the fight, only to let the animosity grow?

I don't know...

Till now, I really want to know what is the best way to solve this problem. But I guess nobody will be able to tell me the best. After all, with different actions, different reactions will unfold.

But I am thankful that I passed that dreaded hour, told the parents of the children what happened and hoped that their parents will know what's right to tell their children.....


Now, whoever said teaching children is as easy as child's play? Teaching Algebra to university students sound more like an easy job!