To teach is to learn twiceHuda Soherwardy Al Furat Model School, Jeddah My first day at school as a teacher was almost nerve-wracking. I was trembling and could hear my heart beating loudly. I had very little confidence in myself and I thought I would spoil the lesson. But, Alhamdulilah after a few days I gathered up my courage and delivered my lessons with confidence and ease. There was once a very naughty and talkative girl in my class, she was literally a rule-breaker. A teacher's shout would not affect her. Initially, I would do the same but then I learned her stubborn nature. I appreciated her little achievements and praised her small efforts due to which she started paying attention in my class. I teach so that I can play my part in creating innovative minds, and I may brighten up the future of young generation. There must be a change in the conventional method of teaching, which only marks right of what is written in the book and apart from it marks everything wrong. Teaching should not be done from the books, but from the mind of the students that is by adopting their views and ideas of their world. Teaching should be full of ideas instead of being stuffed with facts. A good teacher is one who sees from her students' eyes. I have a girl in my class who is very weak in studies. In every spelling assessment she scored zero, but with just a little more effort from our side she scored well recently. I lauded and encouraged her. She now strives to work hard and score more, and that gives me a great deal of satisfaction. Field trips are as important as reading a book. It teaches more than the class does making contact with the real and practical world. It is like reinforcement of ideas through visual learning. These trips generate creativity in kids and their new ideas should always be welcomed and complimented. If ideas are wrong tell them why it is not correct and tell them the right one. Just pointing out mistakes makes the child aggressive. Through my interaction with kids, it has given me an insight of their psychology. I have got to know how their brain works and how they perceive life. It has given me a sense of pride thinking that these kids will become future doctors, engineers, architects or something more. I would be glad that I played a little yet a very important part in their lives. As told to Nisma Rafiq/Saudi Gazette __
