Teaching can sometimes be a stressful profession. You have to be organized, a good communicator, and able to deal with various types of students. Different students have different needs and personalities. Some students are easy to teach while others require special attention in fulfilling their tasks. With this in mind, it’s important to be prepared for all types of students so that you can teach as effectively as possible.
Some students have the bad habit of wasting class time by asking multiple questions. In many cases, these issues have already been answered, or they’re not related to the topic you are currently teaching. This can be distracting for other students and yourself. As a teacher, you have to manage class time properly so that you cover all of the points in a particular class. At the same time, you don’t want to embarrass the student who asks too many questions. Telling them you will address questions after the class, or explaining that their questions are not relevant in a diplomatic way is the most effective method to deal with such problem.
We’re all familiar with young students who think the best way to spend class time is to draw and scribble in their copy books. This is a sign that this type of student is bored and not stimulated with the class you are giving. To address this, you need to review your teaching style so that it is more interesting and grabs the attention of all your students. Asking them to put away their pens, pencils or copybooks while you are teaching, may be a solution to this problem.
Some children are almost impossible to control. No matter what you try to do to rectify this issue, nothing works. Remember, you are in the classroom to teach so don’t leave yourself in a vulnerable position by punishing this type of student. Instead, report the problem to your school’s principal or administrator. They should be able to support you when you’re dealing with a difficult student, and it may be necessary to get the child’s parents involved.
Gaining the trust of your students is important. You want them to know you’re in control, but you also wish to foster a learning environment. Students will cooperate and trust you more if you are honest with them. There may be times when you are asked questions you don’t know the answer to. Honesty is the best policy in this situation. Tell the student asking the question that you don’t currently know the answer, but you will find out for them. Make sure you follow up on any questions you don’t know the answer to.
Certain young and old students think they know it all. They may have been taught the topic you are teaching by some other teacher. They may also have read about the current topic you are teaching. Students like to develop their own understanding about the topic. It may be a correct or incorrect understanding. These students often start asking awkward questions or doubt the things you are saying. This situation needs to be dealt with in a diplomatic way. You have to explain to the student that this is the way you teach a particular topic. If you don’t address this problem, it can affect the rest of the class, and they may lose confidence in your teaching abilities.
The chances are that some students tend to become the “teacher’s pet”. These students want all of your attention when you are teaching. However, you have to be able to give the same attention to all students and not just one or two. This can be difficult to do without hurting the feelings of students who want all of your attention. One way to address this problem is to make them feel important by getting them involved in certain class activities or by helping you with certain classroom chores. Once they believe they are doing something special in the classroom, it will be easier to concentrate on teaching the whole class.
Schools like the Bilingual School of Paris have various types of students. This bilingual school in Paris France and others try to address all of the problems student have in the classroom. Teachers have to master a range of communications skills and deal with different types of personalities. Some can cause problems intentionally or not realise it. Part of a teacher’s job is to cater for these students without alienating them or upsetting them.
