Let students have a voice, and let it be heard<\/p>\n
Simon Marcus Gower, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Sometimes it is possible to ask teachers what they consider to
\nbe a well organized and disciplined class and get answers that
\nare, in essence, really quite disturbing. Often for teachers an
\norganized and disciplined class emerges as a mundane and
\npractically oppressive place in which students are required to be
\nlittle more than passive observers of what the teacher wants them
\nto see and perhaps occasionally do.<\/p>\n
Often, it seems that students are not expected to speak up in
\nclass. But worse still there is even a tendency for it to be seen
\nas unacceptable and even disturbing for a student to speak. For
\nsome teachers the only acceptable voice to be heard in class is
\nthat of the teacher. The students are only required to speak when
\ncalled upon or deemed appropriate by the teacher.<\/p>\n
In this kind of setting clearly the teacher is at the center
\nof all attention. The notion of a well organized and disciplined
\nclassroom is, then, entirely orientated around the teacher's
\nposition and imposition of control. However, it has to be
\nquestioned what precisely the teacher is in control of. If the
\nteacher is simply a dictatorial controller of a group or \"crowd\"
\nof people then a certain amount of success might be seen to be
\nachieved.<\/p>\n
However a teacher is, or at least ought, not be just a crowd
\ncontroller. A teacher should be the creator of opportunities for
\nlearning to happen within the classroom. In this way the teacher
\nis the instigator and facilitator of learning for the students.
\nThe teacher should be the stimulator of action and involvement
\nfrom the students.<\/p>\n
Quite consistently, though, it is possible to see that
\nteachers are not acting as the instigator, facilitator and
\nstimulator of learning in the classroom. Instead, regrettably,
\noften teachers may act as the regulator of students' behavior in
\na manner that is, ultimately, oppressive and confining of the
\nstudents' ability to both participate and, importantly,
\nunderstand and learn about what is going on in the classroom.<\/p>\n
Of course, there are situations that can be highly demanding
\nof the teacher's attention and potentially set up a condition in
\nwhich the teacher considers it necessary to become a \"crowd
\ncontroller\". Large classroom sizes would be one such situation in
\nwhich a teacher would likely consider it necessary to hold a
\nposition of practically dictatorial control.<\/p>\n
However, even in seemingly untoward conditions such as having
\nlarge numbers of students within one classroom, just a little
\ninitiative and imagination can go a long way. The teacher, quite
\nsimply, does not have to be permanently and endlessly the center
\nof all attention and activity. Indeed activity is a key word
\nhere, because students will quite naturally need and benefit from
\nhaving activity in the classroom.<\/p>\n
The teacher can create opportunities for the students to have
\nactivities together. By breaking up the class into groups, that
\nwill work together, creates a different format for the classroom.
\nStudents given a focus for their attention and a challenge to
\ntheir intellect are no longer merely passive viewers in the
\nclassroom. They have become active participants in the learning
\nprocess and instantly they can become motivated and diligent
\nplayers in the classroom environment.<\/p>\n
A large classroom broken down into smaller groups can become
\nmore manageable and livelier for both the students and the
\nteacher. But the classroom divided into smaller groups becomes an
\nenvironment in which the teacher gets greater opportunities to
\ninteract with the students and effectively get to be closer to
\nthem.<\/p>\n
Students in a classroom should be able to participate in an
\nopen and discursive way. They should be encouraged to exercise
\ntheir minds and powers of critical thought. Naturally enough a
\nkey way in which they will be able to exercise their powers of
\ncritical thought is by actually being required, and getting the
\nopportunity, to voice a response to what they are receiving. They
\nshould not just to be passive receivers but should be active
\nrespondents in the classroom.<\/p>\n
It can be an extremely sad and frustrating experience to
\nencounter students that are simply not capable of being active
\nrespondents to the learning in the classroom. Too often students
\nare simply neither requested nor expected to have a responsive or
\ncritical thought when they are attending school.<\/p>\n
Similarly, though, it is possible to encounter teachers that
\ndo not have room within their minds for responsive and critical
\nstudents.<\/p>\n
The teacher in the classroom should be able to create an
\nenvironment which combines well disciplined organization with
\nsufficient scope for the students to exercise their natural
\ncuriosity which, if appropriately stimulated, will grow into
\ntheir powers of both critical and original thought.<\/p>\n
It was a chairman of the Japanese electronics giant Sony, Akio
\nMorita, that memorably said that \"curiosity is the key to
\ncreativity\". This is something that is worthy of teachers'
\nconsideration. Those words \"curiosity\" and \"creativity\" should be
\nkeywords and guiding words for teachers. Over zealous conformity
\nand confining of students will stifle curiosity and limit
\ncreativity.<\/p>\n
By giving students a voice and involvement in the classroom,
\ncontrol is not being lost but is being shared in a democratic and
\nproductive way. As teachers in Indonesia have to come to terms
\nwith the new national competency-based curriculum it will become
\nincreasingly important that they find ways of truly including and
\nstimulating their students.<\/p>\n
The writer is Executive Principal of the High\/Scope Indonesia
\nSchool. The opinions expressed above are personal.<\/p>",
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