Abstract
Teaching refers to the process of passing knowledge from one individual to another. It is very important for young individuals to be exposed to the right values in society so that they may grow up to become good responsible adults. All members of society have a role to play in ensuring that our future generation takes the right direction by always upholding morality.
Teaching can be very interesting and successful if it is participatory that is, where both teachers and all other involved parties collaborate in doing so using appropriate and successful teaching methods. There are many different styles of teaching described by different scholars but the workability of any of them greatly depends on the teacher and the learner as well. The scope of this work is based on Latin American community.
Introduction
Teaching entails imparting knowledge to individuals who have little or completely no idea of what is being taught. A teacher is one who leads the teaching session giving clear directions to the learner. An individual can either be a teacher by calling or profession. A called teacher can transfer knowledge to learners without necessarily having been trained on how to do it or even with less training.
Such a teacher has less hard time in dealing with learners because to him or her, knowledge and teaching methods are inborn and can easily be delivered without much struggle. A professional teacher has to acquire knowledge from a higher learning institution for a given period. He or she has to undergo serious training and testing as regards to the subject matter in order to be in a position to transfer knowledge.
For a professional teacher, teaching might be difficult unlike a called teacher. This is because for a called teacher, he/she has to apply the skills acquired from the learning institution unlike the one who is a teacher by calling.
Teaching is a process meaning that it is not a one- day event. This would imply that both the teacher and the learner should dedicate their time to sessions in order to yield fruits. This teaching process should also be interactive where the learners are free to interact with the teacher without any restrictions. The same would apply to the relationship between teachers and learners.
Review of Literature
Many scholars have done a lot of research in the field of teaching. Some of their works are published while others are yet to be published. Some of the findings of various scholars are analyzed in this section. Wilkinson talks about seven laws that should be observed by the learner. According to this scholar, any teacher who hopes to have a successful teaching session should consider the seven principles (36).
He takes the first principle as the leaner’s law. In this law, he says that the teacher should be in a position to mould learners to become whatever the teacher wishes them to become. This would entail understanding his/her responsibility and accountability to God.
The same understanding could be transmitted to learners. In the second principle, which is the law of expectation, he argues that the teacher should always be motivated in order to enjoy teaching and should not set too low or too high expectations because this can easily impair desired results to both the teacher and the learner. According to the scholar, application law is also one of the important aspects of teaching.
The application law is the third. It states that teaching should bring change to the life of learners in order to make them enjoy positive outcomes in life. In this law, Wikinson says that information should be accompanied by an application so that it can be beneficial to learners. He takes the fourth principle as the principle of retention. Here, retention should be emphasized as it enhances long-term memory.
According to him, this can be done by repeating the concept to instill it into the minds of learners within a given timeframe. In the fifth law, he talks about the needs law where learners should be motivated to come into terms with whatever is being taught. Motivation therefore becomes an important aspect teaching process. It is noted that motivation benefits both the learner and the teacher.
He takes the sixth law as the law to equip. In this law, he notes that it is the responsibility of the teacher to equip learners, by frequently evaluating what the learner has acquired at the end of each session in order to motivate slow learners.
Finally, in the seventh revival law, he says that the teacher should be in a position to show learners how to walk with God closely. In this way, learners would be in a continuous process of relying on the power of the Holy Spirit for guidance.
The second scholar, referred to as Yount William, describes a teacher in four main parts. In the first part, he describes the teacher as being a person who is dynamic and mature (78). He focuses on personal characteristics of a teacher. As earlier noted, he describes a teacher as being a dynamic synergist and mature in thinking.
Furthermore, the teacher should be non-emotional action oriented and should strive to be an exemplary teacher. Through this, the teacher stands out to be a person that can be emulated. In the second part he takes the teacher as being an instructor who is clear motivator and dramatic individual. Being an instructor, the scholar focuses on instructional activities that the teacher applies in teaching.
William in part three takes a teacher as a manager who is creative and an evaluator in class. In the fourth part, he describes the teacher as being a minister of the word of God in evangelism, in either a church, college or any other Christian setting.
The third scholar is Lefever Marlene who explains the four basic learning styles. He claims that the styles are acquired through hereditary or from immediate surrounding environment (48). These would include innovativeness, dynamism, analytic and use of common sense. All these combine to form a learning process with two different ways of approach.
Discussion
America is well known for its prosperity in all sectors of development. America also does well in the area of education and offers one of the best services to the learners.
This is greatly contributed by the developed economy that offers good environment and teaching resources for effective learning process, although discipline wise American children are known to be up to standard, a factor that is greatly contributed by the law that governs the country.
Teaching gives direction to what the learner wishes to become in future. It acts as the rule towards getting to the desired goal in one’s life. The learner should be subjected to teaching at a tender age in case good results are to be realized. Just as a tree is supposed to be trimmed when young, learners are in a better position to understand and internalize new concepts and become whatever they desired to be in life.
Before they grow up, they should be taken through comprehensive learning processes so that they cannot be corrupted by the earthly possessions. This would mean that they should be shown what is moral in society. Disciplining learners is one of the best ways of ensuring that they uphold good morals.
Teaching is a noble task that requires total dedication, sacrifice and patience on the side of both the teacher and the learner. It needs a friendly environment where the teacher and the learner can easily interact in the learning process. Teaching those that are not like ourselves calls for the teacher to first appreciate the conditions and life styles of such people. It would also involve showing them love.
To some extent, it would require relying on the power of the Holy Spirit in explaining to such people why change is inevitable. Without this, many would not be interested in learning new techniques in life. The power of God gives strength to overcome even what seems difficult to achieve.
Showing true love to the learner would create a very productive environment for the learning process, as it would help the teacher to comprehend and appreciate the weaknesses of the learner, as well as his strength. This would help the teacher understand how and which style to apply in the teaching process in order to help the learner.
The teacher is expected to be very creative and be in a position to apply common reasoning where necessary in the teaching session (Hansen 78). For example, the teacher should be able to use locally and readily available materials in demonstrations for quick learning.
This would make teaching enjoyable. At other times, the teacher may not have to apply allowed teaching styles if he/she realizes that it is not working out. This implies that the teacher should be very sensitive, observant and flexible. This calls for adoption of new styles that learners can understand better.
Conclusion
A teacher is a normal human being who has feelings, emotions and feelings. He sets the learning stage for learners by giving out instructions. He is a communicator, a mentor, a motivator, an instructor, a minister, a manager, a performer among a host of other duties.
As a teacher, one has a noble responsibility to impart not just academic knowledge but also the morals and the right standards expected of them in the society. As a teacher, one should be in a position to teach even those who have different cultural backgrounds.
Works Cited
Hansen, David. Ethical Visions of Education. New York: Teachers College Press, 2007.
Lefever, Marlene. Learning Styles: Creative Teaching Methods. New York: Kingsway Publications, 1998.
Wilkinson, Bruce. The Seven Laws of the Learner: “how to teach almost anything to practically anyone.” New York: Multnomah Books, 1983.
Yount, William. Called to Teach: an Introduction to the Ministry of Teaching. Tennessee: B & H Publishing Group, 1999.