Teaching.

We spoke about the failings of economics in class today.

An opinion that was voiced was that economics is too positive. We do not have very much normative views on economics.

Positive views of economics concerns itself with what is. It is usually empirically verifiable and generally regarded as economic knowledge or truths. Concerning itself with what is, it is easier to deal with. What is unemployment? What is inflation? What is the absolute poverty line?

Normative views of economics concerns itself with what ought to be. It is value laden, judgment based on what is right or what should be right and wrong. It makes a decision or a stand, it is about people. Do you understand that an unemployed person is not a statistic? Should we not only resort to unemployment under dire circumstances?

Economics succeeded so well because we focused on the positive branch of economics. We do not manage normative values. One reason for that is that positive economics is far easier to deal with than normative. There is less room for discussion, no values to be discussed.

Yet is that what economics is about? Is it all about the numbers? The rationality of people, the desire to do better? Is it all about what that we want, the best for ourselves without regard to other things in life like values, desires and well being? Do we consider relationships as the fundamental building block of life?

I think there is a deeper struggle at hand. Underlying all these is the struggle, what can we teach? Can we teach values? Is there a right and wrong? Are values lost in today's world? Are there values? Is everything in life about knowledge?

Teachers teach students not to pass exams, or even to have an education, but we teach the students to become adults. Teaching is not just in the classroom; teaching is about life impartation. It begins when we are old and we start to think. It continues when we speak our thoughts. It is shown by the lives we live. It ends when we say, it is finished. Teaching is about life impartation. We need to teach our kids to live lives worth living.

Everyone is a teacher. The difference is, teaching can also be a profession. Ask yourself, what do you want to teach? How to make the right decision? Or mere head knowledge.

Teaching

Today was a lesson in teaching.

Some sound advice came in and got me thinking. One of the other teachers said, "Sometimes, we teachers need to love more and teach less".

I think I agree with her. With some students, the issue is really they need attention. What happened was today one of my students had a bad day. I do not condone the students activities; to the fairsians who read this, please remember that this is NOT what you should be doing.

Shortly after, the student started to give me an attitude. To be fair, the student was obedient enough to sit down when told to do so. But when i tried to talk to the student, it started to get ugly and the student became all hard and aggressive. I decided to be patient and just leave it.

The issue here is really as teachers, sometimes we need to love them for who they are, and listen to their hearts. The student's cry was really, no adult understands me. No adult bothers about me, all they care is scold and scold and see my bad points. And sometimes we as teachers fail to see their good points and encourage them. This was for me a lesson, as I was reminded to love them first.

Later, at tennis with Evan, she said one of her senior teachers said" Some of these kids do not have any idea where they are going. Your job is not to teach them, but to help them find and get to their destination"

Too true. I assumed the students wanted to pass their exams and yes it is good for them, but some of them do not want to bother with the exams, because they have no goals nor direction. (At 16, what goals and direction would you have? And if you did have them, are they still the same today? If they were, i'd suggest a careful study of them to bring them back to reality. at 16, i'd say most if not all of us were too young for proper planning).

So our duty becomes (this is more so for the normal classes; express classes generally will head for JC/Poly) to help them find meaning and direction in life. Not merely to pass the exam, though that objective must be emphasized as a MEANS to and END, not an end in itself.

Why do students in 3a-e study? because they want to go to JC or poly, because they have a end view, though it may not be complete at least it helps them press on this sem. But there are some who do not have the next stage thought out, whether poly, ITE, private school, Shatec (all these are good, none better than the other), and these will find that they are studying for the sake of studying which is meaningless. And of course a chore that sucks. So we need to help them find their end, their purpose. To do so, we need to connect with the students.

Finally, the teacher who spoke to me reminded me of this "after a while, you will ask yourself, and God, where are the changes, why are the students the same or worse, getting bad? Then we need to remember the call of God, gird ourselves, and take one step at a time."

Miracles may happen, but God mostly works in steps. Are we patient enough to obey for EVERY little step?