An0nimus:


I don't see anything wrong in asking for help.

Would you have fired this teacher if you were his employer?

theoptimist298:


Well i think its heartwarming to know that she's actually committed to the well being of the kids she's entrusted with. That's rare.

However he found himself/herself in the teaching profession, people like the Op should be encouraged, so no I definitely won't sack the Op but encourage him/her to get the training required to handle children.

There are 2 issues here.

1) The Op him/herself. Like I said his/her enthusiasm should be commended, we need more people teaching who really care about their students to go above and beyond as he/she has displayed by asking the question .The only issue I have with the Op is that I felt he/she should have used more initiative and serched for a dedicated teacher forum.

2.) The second issue is with the educational institutions we have in Nigeria that employ teachers (no matter how enthusiastic they are as individuals) who are not trained to handle children The fact that you have a degree in physics, mathematics or economics does not mean you are qualified to teach. Handling young children requires specialized training. In any sane society you have to do a conversion course if you decide you want to go into teaching despite having a degree in whatever subject. There is a reason why you have a B.Ed degree as opposed to a B.Sc ir a B.A and similarly why we have teacher training institutes. It's not the OP's fault that he/she is employed to a role he isn't trained for and once again I applaud his dedication and devotion. The education of children is a very important in national development, you get it wrong or leave in the hands of unqualified and you end up with most of the posters on Nairaland. I keep saying Nairaland because nowhere else is the evidence of a generation of substandard education more evident. The other day a teacher beat a young child because he peed or defacared on her or something and i asked what is this kind of woman doing in the care of kids. It is no different from the situation described by the OP except that in the OP's case we have a teacher who actually cares about his/her pupil. What is clear to me in both cases is that neither has or displayed knowledge or training in child pyschology. Children are very fragile, get it wrong and you mess up their lives. Let me state again, this is not the OP's fault, it's the responsibility of the institutions to make sure the teachers are trained.


For instance, You must have qualified teacher status (QTS) to take up a teaching post in England. Despite the fact that England is part of Great britain and the EU. A qualified teacher from Ireland or scotland (both part of great Britain) or another EU can't just come and teach in England, and these are people who have actually undergone teacher training in their host countries, talk less of people who haven't. We cant get to the promised land if we don't do things right.

This is not directed at the OP, this is directed at the system.

lookandlaff:



I admire her willingness to help her pupil and she should be commended for that. However, You should be worried that these are the kind of teachers we have teaching your children. She may be a graduate but she is obviously not a trained teacher, if she is she wasn't trained properly. Child pyschology is part of teacher training and even more worrisome is that she resorts to seeking advice from Nairaland majority of whom are idiots when the web is full of professional discussion forums dedicated to teaching, where teachers from all over the world share their experiences and get advice from professionals and colleagues.

I was following the thread up to the point of your comment and because of your comment, I am running out of the thread. Majority of the people who commented have been positive so what exactly is your point? People like you are a killjoy who'll never see a positive in anything. Now that you have called our attention to the op, what? Madam perfect!

Inform the parent, counsel the student, encourage him/her to read as often as possible, ensure him or her participate in school activities, identify d student area of interest encourage him/her on d area of interest in studying and gradually encourage d student on d other areas he is not doing well. Respect his area of interest and encourage him on reading even if it's a page of story book daily, u can't underestimate d power of reading.

I will recommend this Indian movie for you "LIKE STAR ON EARTH" Just teach him with love

placeofallure:


I was following the thread up to the point of your comment and because of your comment, I am running out of the thread. Majority of the people who commented have been positive so what exactly is your point? People like you are a killjoy who'll never see a positive in anything. Now that you have called our attention to the op, what? Madam perfect!

If you are happy to have your child in the hands of a teacher who asks random unqualified people for advice then good luck to you and your child. Nigerians don't like being told the truth, you prefer to say "it is well" and continue with the mediocrity the pervades the land. Positivity does not result in excellence, doing the right thing and professionalism does. If you want advice on a specialized subject, google is your friend, find a specialisrt forum and ask trained people. Nairaland is no better than a beer parlour, I wouldn't want the teacher of my child getting teaching advice from a beer parlour.

Hello there,
kudos on seeking help with respect to how to enhance this child's development.

There are so many possibilities to what could be different about this child and his learning behaviour, but one thing you should keep in mind is that this child is is UNIQUE just like other kids and should not be compared to others (take him as he is and compare his progress to his initial baseline)

You need to understand why the child is behaving in this manner, and the best person who can help you is the child and his parents, so kindly engage the child in a short friendly discussion and find out why he forgets easily, does not want to answer questions in class, how you can help etc. Also ensure that you have a chat with his parents.

Sometimes some children tend to be more excited about school and what is expected of them when teachers can link the importance of good learning habits to their personal interests.

For example, if the child is a soccer fan, emphasize the important of confidence, hard work, and communication skills in the life of a footballer; or in a Mathematics class for example you could ask a question like "Peter(assuming that is the child's name), if Ronaldo (child's favourite player) scored three goals this season and two goals last season, how many goals has he scored in total for both seasons?"- he would be more interested in answering that compared to " what is three plus two?"

As I said earlier, it is very important that you get to know each student personally as it will give you a better understanding of their learning needs, attitudes, strengths, and weaknesses as well as personal interests and goals. Have a one on one meeting with this child (document findings from the meeting); ask him general questions about his life, what he likes doing during his free time, his career goals (do not think he is too young for that), his best subjects (ask why), his worst subjects (ask why again), what he feels are his best and worst traits, how he plans on working on his weaknesses (you must empower him to want to change); also tell him that you want to help him become better so you are

With regards his confidence- compliment him (and others as well) for all efforts; when he is wrong say something like " that was a good attempt Peter, how about if you did it this way, what do you think the answer will be?"; that way he does not feel embarrassed but rather thinks of other ways to get the answer right. Also, give him leadership roles during class activities so that he can develop his confidence more for example "Peter, why don't you stand at the head of the line and lead your friends out" or "Peter, could you please. At the end of the day, call him and ask him how he felt when he was given such opportunities, and build the progress based on that.

You could also help him develop more confidence and interest in class by engaging him in some out of class activities; for example if he mentioned to you that he loves musical instruments, you could get him to draw his two favourite instruments, and you paste the pictures up on the class noticeboard.

With regards his slowness in writing, individuals have different learning styles; some are visual learners (learning by observing); others are auditory learners (learn more by listening); others learn more by reading and writing; yet still others are kinesthetic learners (learn more by engaging in practicals/ touching)--- try to incorporate a bit of all this in your lessons as you gradually work with him to increase his writing speed.

It could also be that he uses tablets a lot at home hence is not used to writing so you need to help him develop this skill.

Another thing to check is his eyesight; be sure that he does not have any visual impairment hence can not see the board clearly to write.

If you have a counselling or learning needs department in your school, you should invite an individual from either to sit and observe this child during lessons; it could be that he requires some specialised attention to cater to his unique learning needs; also, read more about brain development for children around that age- it could be that he is either a late bloomer or there might be some disfunction ( the earlier these things are caught, the more effective the interventions).

It might even be that he is a gifted child (highly intelligent) who is just so bored with class that he lacks interest- you can only know by finding out one-on-one.

Invite his parents in for a discussion (you do not have to wait for open day) and present all the data collected about their child; please do not be negative; start with the positive things and later address your concerns; ask them about his behaviour at home and what they think about what you have told them; let them know the plans you have in place to help their son, and ask them if they have any suggestions to help; give them take home tasks as well (for example buying their son stick-ons so he can write out things he needs to remember, or them checking to ensure that he has done all assignments and has them packed (parental involvement is an important contribution factor to positive academic outcomes of children)

Example- "good afternoon Mr.& Mrs. Peter, thank you for taking time out to have a discussion about your son; he is a very brilliant boy who has a bright future ahead of him; I want to ensure that at this early age, he develops a strong foundation to learning so that in the future he will not have many challenges; I have realised that his timid nature prevents him from answering questions even when he knows the answer; I asked him why and........; how would you describe his behaviour at home? I have put in measure during lessons to engage him more in discussions so as to build his confidence, it would be great if you could also encourage him at home by giving him little responsibilities and commending him for it; also he tends to be forgetful so it would be great if you could double check his assignments and ensure that he has packed those for school....... in order to ensure that I keep you abreast of his progress with regards these areas, I will send you weekly reports of how he is doing; I would also be glad if you could provide me some feedback of how he is doing at home.....

tired of typing, but I hope you catch my drift.

Treat him as you would your own son- with love, patience, kindness, and wisdom. All the best.

macklef:
Remind me of one of the best movies i have watched.
It involves too much of patience and compassion,
Op i see u have the compassion but to know the patience involved, u really
Have to watch the movie.

Ps: u might shed a tear watching this but uld deffinately have a big smile at the end

this movie is the best I ve ever watched,I cried and cried like baby the first,second and third time I watched it.ishian kabastine..

kennysteve77:
I have a little challenge! I am a teacher in a private school @Ajah-Lekki and I have this pupil (grade 2) that is timid, slow and forgetful. That is, he doesn't respond to questions on time even though he knows the answer, secondly he always forgets his books and other stuff @ school, he is slow in writing his notes and most times he ends up with an incomplete note because the board is rubbed off. Please what can I do to boost his confidence and make him more active and fast with his notes and also to correct his forgetfulness. Thanks in anticipation for timely response...

Well nothing spoil. You should understand the importance of individual differences. I recommend you watch the film 'like stars on earth'.
You should be patient and supportive with him.Develop a rapport with him. Give him motivation as encourage him with pen,book etc anytime he answers a question correctly and organize extra lessons for him like during break. If break is 35 minutes. 15 minutes session will do. Give him assignments that are within his level and you may consider changing your style of teaching to accommodate all your students.
Let him sit in front of the class.
He will improve. Try to find out what he's good at.It could be drawing, singing, sports and encourage him in it. Education is meant to be practical and to solve real life problems not just book book.
No wonder a Ayodele a 5.0 CGPA graduate is depending on charity to survive.What does it tell you?

KANU Nwankwo ,Bill Gates, Seun Osewa the list is endless didn't complete their education yet anytime their name is mentioned, people acknowledge them.

For being timid, do your pupils laugh when someone gives a wrong answer? You need to correct it. If they know then they should all be at home. There's always a new knowledge everyday.
The concepts we hold today can change tomorrow. Are you too strict with them?
Shouting at them? Oya change o.

Identify his temperament by googling on temperaments you will see more practical ways to solve this issue cos there's nothing new under the sun.

Firstly, welldone Op for being observant. You are dealing with an introverted kid. Google on how to teach introverted children and you are good. You will discover a new and exciting side of human psychology.

macklef:
Remind me of one of the best movies i have watched.
It involves too much of patience and compassion,
Op i see u have the compassion but to know the patience involved, u really
Have to watch the movie.

Ps: u might shed a tear watching this but uld deffinately have a big smile at the end

I shed rivers if tears when I watched that movie... But I quickly had to rub it off my face b4 anyone sees me# since I b man

The primary thing u need to focus on is being patient with him... Asin if ure not patient eh... That kid could frustrate ur efforts.

That being said, praise him for whatever task he performs.. No matter how insignificant the task might look... Ask him questions in class... Attach a little responsibility to him like collecting his fellow pupils notes and bringing em to u.... There are so many ways u can engage this pupil to make e him get that sense of responsibility and relevance. This will at the long run boost his confidence

macklef:
Remind me of one of the best movies i have watched.
It involves too much of patience and compassion,
Op i see u have the compassion but to know the patience involved, u really
Have to watch the movie.

Ps: u might shed a tear watching this but uld deffinately have a big smile at the end

you are on point. Op wit all the information you provide it is clear that you have a dyslexic student in your fold, such a gift. Now you have to really take time to study dyslexic, google it, watch videos of othes that suffer same condition. Let me explain a bit, now dyslexia how a perfect brain that calculate and function rather strangely from other normal brain. They have so much creativity box in them but have challenge concentrating. Some a slow with speech, some how problem with reading. A dyslexia would find it easy reading arabic because it is fashioned backward. Ma'am the topic is beyond the scope of this forum but believe me. You have something beautifully rare before you. Great minds of this world suffer similar difficulty. I pray you have the will to forge till when you finally understand his condition, also don't leave the parent out of it am sure they don't even no what is happen in the brain of their child. I hear of a company at ikeja that deal with special people like your student. I can't seem to find their number but when i do i did send it over but believe me research intensively and intently on dyslexia

kennysteve77:
I have a little challenge! I am a teacher in a private school @Ajah-Lekki and I have this pupil (grade 2) that is timid, slow and forgetful. That is, he doesn't respond to questions on time even though he knows the answer, secondly he always forgets his books and other stuff @ school, he is slow in writing his notes and most times he ends up with an incomplete note because the board is rubbed off. Please what can I do to boost his confidence and make him more active and fast with his notes and also to correct his forgetfulness. Thanks in anticipation for timely response...

you are on point. Op wit all the
information you provide it is clear
that you have a dyslexic student in
your fold, such a gift. Now you have
to really take time to study dyslexic,
google it, watch videos of othes that suffer same condition. Let me explain
a bit, now dyslexia how a perfect
brain that calculate and function
rather strangely from other normal
brain. They have so much creativity
box in them but have challenge concentrating. Some a slow with
speech, some how problem with
reading. A dyslexia would find it easy
reading arabic because it is fashioned
backward. Ma'am the topic is beyond
the scope of this forum but believe me. You have something beautifully
rare before you. Great minds of this
world suffer similar difficulty. I pray
you have the will to forge till when
you finally understand his condition,
also don't leave the parent out of it am sure they don't even no what is
happen in the brain of their child. I
hear of a company at ikeja that deal
with special people like your student.
I can't seem to find their number but
when i do i did send it over but believe me research intensively and
intently on dyslexia

This topic was well attended to on this Facebook page (Concerned Educators &/Parents), yesterday : https://mobile./1614336445514221?view=permalink&id=1703432103271321.

kennysteve77:
I have a little challenge! I am a teacher in a private school @Ajah-Lekki and I have this pupil (grade 2) that is timid, slow and forgetful. That is, he doesn't respond to questions on time even though he knows the answer, secondly he always forgets his books and other stuff @ school, he is slow in writing his notes and most times he ends up with an incomplete note because the board is rubbed off. Please what can I do to boost his confidence and make him more active and fast with his notes and also to correct his forgetfulness. Thanks in anticipation for timely response...

These are my suggestions:

- get him involved in the class. This can be achieved by asking him questions more than his peers. Take note, even when he fails the question, don't shut him down, instead statements like, "that is a nice one, but could have been better put like..."

- He should be made to get involved in debate. This will greatly help with the issue of being timid.

- His parents should be counseled. They might be doing one or two things at home that is affecting his self esteem.

- Lastly, is the use of gifts to serve as an incentive to make him want to participate more in class.

God bless your concerned soul.

lookandlaff:



I admire her willingness to help her pupil and she should be commended for that. However, You should be worried that these are the kind of teachers we have teaching your children. She may be a graduate but she is obviously not a trained teacher, if she is she wasn't trained properly. Child pyschology is part of teacher training and even more worrisome is that she resorts to seeking advice from Nairaland majority of whom are idiots when the web is full of professional discussion forums dedicated to teaching, where teachers from all over the world share their experiences and get advice from professionals and colleagues.

See life? You listed all the negatives yet gave no support to this woman who is giving herself to help someone else. No good sayer. Since you have seen that she is not well trained yet has the good heart to be a productive teacher, why don't you capitalise on those points to show her the right path to her career? Try to see the glass half full my dear rather than seeing it half empty.
If I were Bubu I would give her scholarship to study more so as to give the best she can.

kennysteve77:
I have a little challenge! I am a teacher in a private school @Ajah-Lekki and I have this pupil (grade 2) that is timid, slow and forgetful. That is, he doesn't respond to questions on time even though he knows the answer, secondly he always forgets his books and other stuff @ school, he is slow in writing his notes and most times he ends up with an incomplete note because the board is rubbed off. Please what can I do to boost his confidence and make him more active and fast with his notes and also to correct his forgetfulness. Thanks in anticipation for timely response...

So, you have no idea what to do to bring out the best in your student but brought your insecurities to nairaland which is full of razzies.

What are your qualifications?

lookandlaff:



I admire her willingness to help her pupil and she should be commended for that. However, You should be worried that these are the kind of teachers we have teaching your children. She may be a graduate but she is obviously not a trained teacher, if she is she wasn't trained properly. Child pyschology is part of teacher training and even more worrisome is that she resorts to seeking advice from Nairaland majority of whom are idiots when the web is full of professional discussion forums dedicated to teaching, where teachers from all over the world share their experiences and get advice from professionals and colleagues.

Even a simple google search would suffice.

Needless to say, the op is a typical nairaland imposter who thrives on dumb gossip.

S/he is simply passing off information passed to them from other sources, as their own.

However, none of this makes those who engage in such, less s.tupid.

kennysteve77:
Amazingly, I found a facebook group of Parents, Educators and Consultants where I posted this same issue. I've gotten numerous wonderful contributions from professionals. You may want to check the submissions on www./SchoolFinders

Nairaland and facebook are the only resources available to you professionally?


Amazing liar.

Asiri1991:
Not until he has improved. He may feel intimidated before others.

I disagree..... It going to be a cheap competition to start with....even if he performs woefully just tell the class he scored the highest mark and let them cheer him up....... Make sure you observe what happens after then.

@Macklef, kudos!! Like stars on Earth is a must watch for everyone especially our gud teachers. Highly emotional and informative movie.

kennysteve77:
I have a little challenge! I am a teacher in a private school @Ajah-Lekki and I have this pupil (grade 2) that is timid, slow and forgetful. That is, he doesn't respond to questions on time even though he knows the answer, secondly he always forgets his books and other stuff @ school, he is slow in writing his notes and most times he ends up with an incomplete note because the board is rubbed off. Please what can I do to boost his confidence and make him more active and fast with his notes and also to correct his forgetfulness. Thanks in anticipation for timely response...

In questioning, you pose,you pause and you probe.

airmirthd1:





I disagree..... It going to be a cheap competition to start with....even if he performs woefully just tell the class he scored the highest mark and let them cheer him up....... Make sure you observe what happens after then.

Ma'am in handling cases like this.... One must be very careful otherwise there will be a negative implication on the other kids. If a kid gets a question wrong and you tell the class he got the highest.. ... that child knows and he will probably take it as mockery killing the confidence you are tryna build. The other students won't hesitate to think such a teacher as bn partial, inefficient and weak.

lookandlaff:



I admire her willingness to help her pupil and she should be commended for that. However, You should be worried that these are the kind of teachers we have teaching your children. She may be a graduate but she is obviously not a trained teacher, if she is she wasn't trained properly. Child pyschology is part of teacher training and even more worrisome is that she resorts to seeking advice from Nairaland majority of whom are idiots when the web is full of professional discussion forums dedicated to teaching, where teachers from all over the world share their experiences and get advice from professionals and colleagues.

Hey, no knowledge is lost and no1 is a reservoir of knowledge. Those Professors you see do not even know it all. Even after spending years studying education in school... You still realize you just don't know it all. That is why we attend seminars, lectures and co. Bringing it here doesn't mean here is her last resort. In fact I find it cool learning from others here. The articles on Google which you are tryna refer her to weren't written by angels and in most cases You end up with stuffs only practicable outside Nigeria.

Swissheart:
Ma'am in handling cases like this.... One must be very careful otherwise there will be a negative implication on the other kids. If a kid gets a question wrong and you tell the class he got the highest.. ... that child knows and he will probably take it as mockery killing the confidence you are tryna build. The other students won't hesitate to think such a teacher as bn partial, inefficient and weak.

Only if you get my point..... But you don't understand...

The only post on NL I took time to read every single thing.

Don't scold or reprimand him when he's clammed up.
Protect him from other kids trying to taunt him.
Get the parents to work extra at home with his studies.
They should invest in educational toys more than anything else.
He should be rewarded often when he participates or does his tasks.
Finally, call the parents aside and warn them never to shout him down. Destroys self confidence at a tender age.

Children learn at different paces. He just needs extra care and attention so he doesn't hate the conceptbof learning school work.

Swissheart:
I understand how you feel l and I must say you are a great teacher. I have handled some kids like that in the past though at secondary level. Firstly you have to introduce motivation for any normal good performance which ordinarily you wouldn't appreciate. Like whenever he packs his things home well...... .. Praise him in the presence of his mates " Class clap for Daniel, he copied all his notes and arranged it properly in his bag...... Weldone my boy". He will always love to impress you and gradually you will get the best outta him.
Challenge him to work......... Mofe if you copy this note I am about to write in time.... I'll give you erm erm erm something blah blah.
Talk to his parents..... They should involve him at home, they get him educative toys, charts and boards. A private teacher won't be a bad idea

Finally Love him, pamper him and dont get tired of trying. Pls pray for him too.

Wow wow. just negodu

kennysteve77:
I have a little challenge! I am a teacher in a private school @Ajah-Lekki and I have this pupil (grade 2) that is timid, slow and forgetful. That is, he doesn't respond to questions on time even though he knows the answer, secondly he always forgets his books and other stuff @ school, he is slow in writing his notes and most times he ends up with an incomplete note because the board is rubbed off. Please what can I do to boost his confidence and make him more active and fast with his notes and also to correct his forgetfulness. Thanks in anticipation for timely response...

He lacks motivation and his bored,you have to find his interest and him the educational application of it, if his interest is not in class,that means it is something, findout where his mind,his imagination goes too,to do that you have to befriend him,draw him closer ,and he'll open up to you in time.

-find a way to relate with him

-try and understand him,not so you can change but so you can direct him,his mind,interest,attention and probably talent is going on checked,he probably is use to getting ignored.

-as IQ exist there is also EQ "emotional intelligence", chances are his low on EQ, EQ is an individuals ability to recognise and understand emotions, and to respond appropriately human response is governed by pure emotion.
He cant find the relationship between what your teaching,his environment and himself,that relationship does not exist,so his interest wont be there. If you can find how to create that relationship, you will have him in total.

-praise the little things he does that go unchecked,if his still a kid,he would respond well to praise and emotional reward.


In a nutshell take him under your wings ,he will respond in time.

macklef:
Remind me of one of the best movies i have watched.
It involves too much of patience and compassion,
Op i see u have the compassion but to know the patience involved, u really
Have to watch the movie.

Ps: u might shed a tear watching this but uld deffinately have a big smile at the end

bros, I watched this movie last year, and as I am, I hardly cry for a movie! But this one? Mehn, no mattar how I hold it, tears still dropped. My sister couldn't watch to the end, was crying all day.

lookandlaff:



I admire her willingness to help her pupil and she should be commended for that. However, You should be worried that these are the kind of teachers we have teaching your children. She may be a graduate but she is obviously not a trained teacher, if she is she wasn't trained properly. Child pyschology is part of teacher training and even more worrisome is that she resorts to seeking advice from Nairaland majority of whom are idiots when the web is full of professional discussion forums dedicated to teaching, where teachers from all over the world share their experiences and get advice from professionals and colleagues.

My thoughts exactly.