Can parents inspire teachers to change? Well unknowingly I have done it with teachers and schools acknowledging it with appreciation make me feel great! 🙂

No, it was not any known intention to change any teacher but persistently following something because it is the right thing to do, has changed a few teachers’ mindset or attitude towards a lot of matters. But our expectation from them is too high. We want them to be more informed than us to be able to teach our kids, yet we do not ourselves probably indulge in academics to keep abreast with the changes. Many teachers may not have the tools or gadgets that we take for advantage for reasons as simple as affluence or availability. Yet we expect teachers to be aware of everything! I guess if we expect anything from them at least they should be given a few basic gadgets like Tablets or laptops as perks or mandatory benefits from the schools and colleges the moment they are appointed.

Teachers are just like you or me. They too went through the similar schools like you did and have the same mind set unless they were born differently to keep asking and seeking.

So this post is to emphasize on the events or examples just to inspire you to inspire the teachers.

Event 1: My habit of asking where the Math concept is used in our lives practically.

When my sons started doing Math concepts, I would always ask them what the need to learn it was. Where do you use this concept in daily life? So when Prime numbers were taught. I asked him out of habit as to where do we use Prime numbers in our lives. He had no answer. So I asked him to ask his teacher the following day about where in real life Prime numbers are used. The teacher was clueless. So I told him the need for unique numbers to safeguard passwords with the help of Prime numbers in the Banking sector and anything where high security data security is a priority.

A few days later the class was learning LCM.This time my son asked me as to where they are used in real life. So I told him what and where in real life LCM is used. He asked his class teacher the next day and explained to her the LCM usage in real life with the example. A few days later, they started with HCF. This time the class teacher told the entire class as to the places in real life where HCF is used! So persistent questioning also makes a person start a task.

Event 2: Words for the day.

I have the habit of asking my kids one new word every day though not regular like a calender. I would randomly pick any good word which must become part of their vocabulary and explain them the meaning, spelling and the usage to them. Then I try to use it that day as much possible in the conversation or ask them the word we have learnt to reinforce them.

In my kids school they have a similar routine where every day 3 Hindi and 2 English words are written in their diaries as part of spelling exercise. Of-course they are mostly part of their readers. So in the continuance of our habit of learning one new word, now we have started with 3 other words. So I would discuss the meanings and usage too along with the spellings. Since a few words were difficult which I too would not know about, I wrote the meaning next to the words in their diaries on top. So randomly if we were in literarian mood I would pick those difficult words quickly and ask them. So one day my son in class 4 came to me and hugged me. He was very pleased that the teacher has praised his mother for starting the new habit in the class, where now she does not give them words but also explains the meaning and their usage too. So now  they learn 3 new words thoroughly every day.

Event 3:  My son’s notebooks and text book in one of the 6 schools he has been to would tear off within weeks.

In one the school earlier, the notebooks were supposed to be covered by brown paper with a label sticker for the name and class details. But in no time the brown cover would part with the notebook and meet it’s sad end in the garbage bin. I was fed up of the  buying, covering and throwing of the brown cover paper and that led to the thought about the need. Why do we really need to cover the notebooks at all! Why cannot the notebooks have an area where name can be written instead if the nonsensical brown paper. So I did a short research and wrote an article which was published in a few sites. That school did not change it’s rule but a few other schools did take notice of the article and gave up the rule of covering notebooks with brown cover paper. Also we changed school so…

To summarize, I will only hope that before expecting too much from the teachers, do help them by first thinking of the solutions, providing them with a bit of information and tips. Help them improve, to help them improve your children.