Consultative teaching

V looked completely different from how I remember her. Calm, composed, graceful. These were the words I would have used to describe her last year. But this Monday, as I was peeping out from one of the classrooms into the corridor, I was caught by the image of a frazzled looking teacher yelling at her kids to get into a straight line. She looked like she was at the end of her tether. And it worried me. Because in my earlier interactions with her, she had appeared to be one of those teachers who could handle anything that came her way.

Luckily I got to spend time in her classroom that afternoon and the whole of the next day. Where I saw more chaos ensuing, of course. They were wrapping up their expeditions and preparing for the culmination which included a presentation to their parents about the activities they had undertaken and learnings they’d accomplished as part of the expedition.

The class included a lot of controlling on the part of the teacher. A lot of yelling and telling children what to do or not do. I was a little taken aback by how harsh the teacher sounded.

Then there was a point in class when the teacher had a one on one ‘tussle’ with a student.

I would have done things differently. But what I would have perhaps done is skirted around the issue and let the child be and not bother them at all. That would have reduced the stress of confrontation on the student’s part, but more so on my part and I am afraid to death of confrontations. And in that way, I may have done something that in retrospect benefited me more than my students.

When I heard V say such things to this child, with the whole class listening and aware of what was happening, I immediately realised something. As a child, I have never been spoken to like that. I have never been told in a firm, bold voice from an adult figure I looked up to, to pick myself up, to get myself together and to go ahead with the task. I had never been told that if I want to sit and cry in a corner, then she has a box of tissues she can hand over and that she can cry all afternoon, but that does not mean I am exempted from doing my work and from taking responsibility for my actions and myself.

These may seem like big words to throw at a ten year old. But I can’t help but wonder how different a person I could have grown up to be had I been handed over such an understanding of life.

What I saw unfolding in this classroom wasn’t merely a carrying out of learning tasks. I saw the teacher take complete charge of the child, and push her when she needed it. I felt then that the teacher had managed to penetrate the child’s consciousness and impact her future 10, 20 years down the line. It felt like a classic case of parenting, one that parents often try to avoid.

I wish I can be as brave for my students when they need it.

It wasn’t just V’s firmness that I found stunning. In between her stern words, she was communicating with her students. And by communicating, I mean she was talking to them and listening to their responses. Even while drafting a note, an email to parents, she was consulting them continuously. And in this moment, she was treating them as her equal, and sharing her responsibilities with them. Not only were the children already learning to make decisions, in being taken seriously by the adult around them, they will perhaps start taking themselves seriously as well. I think that is a great way for a 10 year old to approach himself.

What I sensed in the classroom dynamics was a full trust on the part of the students towards their teacher. And a lot of this was a result of the trust that the teacher had put on her. The trust had come with responsibility, because the students know that since they are being trusted, they are more accountable for their actions. And being fifth graders, in spite of the restlessness that characterises children of this age universally, I saw conscious effort on the part of the children to help the teacher with her classroom management.

The implicit signals that the teacher gives to her class sets the tone for the class and the atmosphere of the classroom, the characteristics of the community. In my observations, I’ve found this to be of utmost importance. At no point did the children feel threatened, as if the teacher was on the other side, approaching them like an enemy. What I got was the sense that both teachers and students are working together and trying to understand each other’s points of view.

I found out later that V has been with the same class since they were in four. Having taught them for two years must certainly make the relationship different, deeper even. And that is perhaps why the classroom dynamics in her class felt very similar to the dynamics of a family. The teacher was clearly a mother figure. I guess these relationships, forged within two formative years of a child’s life, are relationships that will last.