AAMIR KHAN Has Done It Again!

Even if you are not a Bollywood fan, you should watch these two films if you are a teacher - Taare Zameen Par and 3 Idiots. The two films revolve around teaching methods which I think could be used in our everyday classroom. Although the target audience in each film are different, the message is the same - imparting knowledge to the learner. In Taare Zameen Par, Aamir explores the life of a dyslexic student, and the methods which are best suited for this kind of disability. In reality, it is hard for us teachers to know if our students are dyslexic. We actually have to be aware of the repeated signs or common mistakes usually made by a dyslexic. Now those who are teaching the back classes should see whether the errors made by their students are the same with what were portrayed in this film.

Whereas in 3 Idiots, Aamir showcases about the difference of 'training' and 'educating'. The setting is an engineering college, and Aamir is a student who disapproves the methods used in the education system. He even points out that 'cramming bookish definition' into your memory is not the best way to learn. I like the part where he describes a book as 'Instruments that record, analyse, summarise, organize, debate and explain information which are illustrative, non-illustrative, hardbound, paperback, jacketed, non-jacketed with a forward, introduction, table of contents, index that are intended for the enlightenment, understanding, enrichment, enhancement and education of the human brain through the sensory root of vision... sometimes touch' which left the lecturer in a state of shock.

So, please take some of your time to watch these masterpiece. I know you will like them very much!

Here are the trailers for Taare Zameen Par and 3 Idiots.

81 kilograms

Does Your Personality Determine What Type of Teacher You Are?

My friend pointed out a very good website about teacher training. Not a very experienced teacher myself, I find that his ideas quite educating. I always starts as the Lawmaker myself; stating a few rules and types of punishments at the start of the year; usually in the very first class. But as the year goes by, I tend to take a more lenient approach, because I easily feel sorry for them every time I punish them. As a result, I lost control of several students in the class, even though most of the others still follow me obediently. However, to my defense, the other teachers also tend to ignore the very same students in their lessons, which clearly indicates that the students are indeed problematic and my approach is not to be blamed. Nevertheless, I feel sorry for them; I try to make them reason why they come to school but to no avail. I never ignore them completely; I give them the same task as others, but they never complete it. Now, it's too late to become the Lawmaker again, because they already know that I can actually smile, and I have to find other ways to gain control over them again. Finding about why they behave that way maybe the solution, but I hardly have time to actually go to their house or talk to their parents about their behaviour. Yes, there is a programme in my school where the teachers get to meet the parents to discuss their recent examination results, but it is hardly effective when you get to meet 35 parents at the same day or time.

Any suggestions?

Teachers and Child Psychology

Salam. I had never done this before, so go easy on me. This is my first time writing something on the Internet. I am actually a little old for this kind of thing, but, I am a little childish on the inside. I like playing games; any kind of board games will be just like putting a fish into the water as I will master it quite naturally. Personally, I think that you should be a little childish if you are a teacher like me. You'll have to master the knowledge and the technical know-how of tackling your students, and nothing is better than being at their level to know how they feel, what they want. It is funny that you think you know what your students want but you actually didn't. Yes, it is true that you are not supposed to succumb to everything your students want, but still you have to show that you understand them by leveling yourself once or twice and heed to their demands (as long as it does not degrade you as a teacher). I had once postponed my lesson because everybody was not in the right mood for the lesson, so I took them to the language lab to play Scrabble.