17 October 2006
“Every child is unique. You cannot understand them if you have no heart to appreciate. And, the uniqueness of children would look beautiful when you focus yourself to see their positive aspects and not their weakness”, said Rev. Father Rolf Reichenbach, S.S.C.C., to me, when I begun my first year as an educator.
Speaking about education, actually it is not just transferring the knowledge and getting the output of test mark writing. Why? Because the teacher is no internet through which a student can access unlimited knowledge. The teacher has to be a motivator so that students may feel ‘thirsty’ of knowledge and try to delve the knowledge which is never used up.
Interaction in education involves relation between two hearts, between teacher and each student’s personality. Why? Each student is a unique person who has unique need. In this case, he needs unique handling also.
I remember Rev. Father Rolf as a true teacher. Although he has passed away, but the values of his teachings still grow in my heart. For me, he was a professional teacher because, firstly, he was very humble. Therefore, he opened himself for his students’ input. Secondly, he wanted to admit that his students had amazing potential. And also he always tried to motivate each student to grow based on their talent. Thirdly, he was smart and intelligent but he did not like to be praised by others. Therefore, he gave chance to students to talk in front of the classroom, to search for information and to express their best ability. Fourthly he listened to others and trusted the students. He never passed on judgment, but opened the chance to students to improve. Fifthly, he had empathy on students’ difficulties. He had the ability to make students feel confident and loved, so that students felt comfortable and received. Sixthly, he could explain the difficult material in a simple way which was familiar to students. He never said that the student was stupid. But, he said, “You need a longer time and great effort. For many things, do not be afraid! You can do it”. He was consistent with what he said. His teaching was not so much coming from his lips, than from his life example. I remember him as true teacher because he educated with heart.
Writer: Anastasia Filika (SHS Teacher)