The Perks of Being a Pedagogue

“No more pencils, no more books, no more teachers’ dirty looks, when the teacher rings the bell, drop your books and run like hell” – Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower 

When I was in high school, this quote summed up my life. I basically went to school to spend time with my friends and hoped that I would learn something in the process. As a teacher of tomorrow, I do not want my learners to ever feel like they need to “run like hell” once the bell rings. That is why effective pedagogy is needed.

Learners of today are really not stimulated by the same teaching methods of five years ago. Most learners are not even stimulated by the same teaching methods of yesterday. Educators need to bring something new to the classroom every day.

As educators we have the ability to touch so many young learners’ lives. We need to create positive relationships between us and the learners. Have them feel safe. Not just with regards to academics, but we can help with behavioural and social elements too. At one point in time, a school has between +/- 500 to +/- 1 500 learners, depending on whether the school is a private, X-model C or a public school. That is 500 – 1 500 learners’ lives that you, as a pedagogue, can change. This fact is both scary and amazing.

This means engaging with these learners actively. Making sure that you, as the educator, focus on the learner’s ability to learn before you focus on what they learn. Have learners tell you how they learn best. Have them give you feedback as you give them feedback on their work. This will show them that they do have a voice in the classroom. Involve the parents. This will strengthen the link between the learners’ home and school relationship. This will also be beneficial when making sure your lesson is in line with the context of the learners.

Effective pedagogy also depends on the classroom resources. The educator’s ability to capture learners’ attention with the use of multimedia, books, posters and even just your voice. These classroom resources we use can be the difference between a learner not understanding and a learner fully grasping the concept. 

There is a saying that goes, “If a flower does not bloom or loses its petals, do not change the flower but the environment.” You can touch a child’s life so much more when you make the child know his/her well-being and ability to learn means a lot to you. And it should.