Discerning And Developing An In (1).docx

Dr. Kalavalli Chandramohan Senior Lecturer Open University Colombo Discerning and developing an in-depth Understanding of the students Introduction Today in the modern world, students face challenges in engaging them in learning activities and succeeding in them. So, their learning activities are affected to the great extent. Since there are many reasons for it, it is seen that the main factor of this is misunderstanding of the proper relationship of the teacher and student or unlearning situation. Then, why is there a necessity that a teacher should understand or know a student. This article reviews the benefits of understanding or knowing the student. What is the attitude of the present day students? We could get to know through various news bulletins that in America for many years many students kill their colleagues and teachers by shooting them. It is unfortunate that in the particular country that has been changed as a trend of new culture. There are many reasons such as family dysfunctions, lack of supervision in the family, younger age, school bulling notoriety, injustice collectors, mental illness and violent video games, to shoot their colleagues. In the same way many students commit suicide by engaging them in playing ‘Blue Whale’ games on the internet. We could come to know from the news of the ‘Novaya Gazeta’ newspaper that in Russia from 2015 November to 2016 April, more than 130 young bloods committed suicide by engaging in these kinds of Blue Whale games on internet. In India, on 30th July 2017, the student named Mangprith Singh, aged fourteen committed suicide by falling from the seventh floor of a building, located at Antheri in Mumbai. But the Mumbai police has reported that there were noevidence that the child had played the game. In the same mannaer from Kalangnar Nagar of Mottamalai near to Thruparamkunram in Mathurai district of Tamilnadu, Vignesh aged nineteen, the son of Jeyamani committed suicide hang himself at home. During the investigation it could be found that he had drawn the picture of the blue whale in his left hand and pointed out about that game in his letter. In India the student who had been forced to learn Hindi language has stab him in the classroom.

Today, there are many students lose their valuable life by involving them in some unaccepted worse social media like Facebook, internet and Instogram and making some miss behaviors. In the recent time, a school student and a father had misconduct among them by introducing through face book. At peak of it they had to meet. Later only, they realized that they are the daughter and father of the same family. Later, because of the same father committed suicide. Students are making suicide in Sri Lanka and in India when they are unable to get through the Grade Ten or Grade Twelve examination. Recently, in Sri Lanka a student who failed in the Grade five scholarship exams committed suicide by jumping into the well because of his mother’s stringency. What is the mental situation of the child having tender age and stage, who committed suicide. Is the Grade five exams important to him than his soul? What are the complexities faced by the students? There was a research done having 300 students as samples at the GCE (O/L) to find out the causes for these problems. The following findings were identified as the problems the students face. The problems there are, 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Environment Family Classroom Teaching methods Peers Anxiety Social Media Modern Technologies

1. Society and Community problems When we talk about the problems related to the society or community the students face, the problems are which are available in their society or community. As an example the complexity that the students face is the Grade five scholarship exams

in Sri Lanka. The parents encourage the students for admitting their children in famous schools and to enjoy many benefits from the government without any problems. So, the students are pushed to be affected by heavy stress and desire as they have been engaged by their parents apart from their learning capacity. Not only, pointing out their weaknesses comparing to other students make them to grow negative impacts in their mind. The activities done by the parents, knowingly or unknowingly affects the students to a large scale. That is the valid reason they fail in the exam. The parents face untold suffering in meeting the defeat. In the particular situation they feel that they have bowed their heads in front of others rather than considering their children’s future. The situation to bow their heads in front of others heavily affects them. The effect of it is harshly shown toward the students. These kinds of actions of the parents lead the students not only mentally but physically too to be affected. The effect of that they decide to commit suicide.

In Sri Lanka, Sinhala students learn Tamil as their second language and face problems in taking that knowledge among Tamils. In Sri Lanka, except the Northern and Eastern provinces, Tamils living all in the other provinces are able to understand Sinhala. So, Sinhalese lose the opportunity to speak in Tamil. While the Sri Lankan government has made Tamil Language compulsory to Sinhalese and spent a lot of money, this cause a damage to learn Tamil. This is a problem that is encountered by the students socially. 2. Family related problems As this research was done aiming the estate schools, the problem faced by the students identified as the huge was family related. The parents of the estate students work as laborers in the tea and rubber estates, after coming from India to Sri Lanka in the eighties. Most of them in this century as well are without the proper education. Their life is settled in the way of going to coolie work in the morning and in the evening to the Toddy shop. The slavery life of them to the alcohol creates unrest in the family.

Some of the parents in the estate they go for work as women House keepers to Middle- East countries. As a reason of it the children of them face difficulties as they live under the guardianship of their relatives or father. The lacking love of the family members, not enough safeguarding, improper warmth, mal-nutrition and no one to help in the educational activities make them to be affected mentally. In this juncture the wife lives in other countries and the father lives in the society involves in misconduct activities and it leads the children to face depression and anxiety problems. Sometimes students go for the frustrated situation as they are not allowed to go for playing and only requested to go on with their education. Number of students reported that they are depressed when they are forced to involve in education by their parents. 3. Classroom related problems The students are in a position not to involve in learning activities effectively as they are suffered by poverty. No opportunity to learn by modern technologies, the improper syllabus not cater the age and the internalizing capacity, involving them more time in the extra classes in the school and home works, facing much depression and frustration with the exam oriented education systems, unable to engage in learning activities with interest and curiosity, lack of time to engage in sports and recreation activities, the negative attitudes towards teachers, the criticism of teachers about the students’ problems, the approaches of teachers in handling students when they are encountered with problems and difficulties; have been identified .

The problems related to teaching like non relevant teaching methods, chalk and board method, exclusion in implementing activity and play way methods, noninnovative teaching method, believing the traditional methods, only in class teaching learning processes, no direct experience to subject matters and paying attention on gifted students and ignoring slow learners; have been identified.

4. Peer groups related problems It could be found out in the research that the students above the poverty line going for tuition classes affected well the students under the poverty line. That leads them to frustration. At the same time the rich facilitated students when they show the expensive mobile phones, lap tops and cameras, and talk about face book, instogram, viber, whats up social media the ill-facilitated students are pushed to inferiority complex. Further some students learn by internet and it creates problems to other students and leads to drawback in learning. For example, those who have internet facilities at home they use them and learn. Other students they write them pen and present them. Teacher also uses internet related works in the schools. So, the students who are not practiced to that feel uneasy. The gifted challenges the slow learner. At the same time, the gifted ones grow the negative feeling over the slow learner. When there is not a proper teacher handling the both in their ways, the both kinds of students face problems.

5. Anxiety related problems The negative effects related to students clearly portray that many of the present day students face the anxiety related problems. In the same way in this research also many students have pointed out that as they are involved in anxiety problems they are not in a position to actively go on with their learning activities. No allocation of time by parents to discuss with children, feeling no body there to discuss their problems, not allowing children to use mobile phones freely, enforcement of parents and teachers to involve them in learning, burden of learning, no time to engage in recreation and sports activities, exam fever, stress, no opportunity to go a round on internet, no permission and no facilities are the following reasons mentioned. 6. Social media related problems Some students have mentioned that they have been affected heavily b the social media. Especially the movies published attract them and they try to imitate so. Some students say they model the famous actors. Some other students say they use the word used there in their daily life. Especially they say they are happy with the punch

dialogues. As they pay more interest on movies they say they have lack of interest in learning. 7. Modern Technology related problems When the question arises whether the modern technologies affect students’ education, some say yes and some no. Many students say that they can’t operate themselves without a mobile phone. Some say they do not realize the time going when they are in front the social media. Many say it is better to be in front of the social media rather than learning. Some say they can get many fruitful matters from the social media. Today in the cat running world the needs and wants of everybody are increased. As the need of the parents’ money and the need of the students education, the relationship between the parents and the students go making a gab. Students spend more time with their teachers rather than spending with their parents. So, there is a close bond with the teachers and the students, So, teachers have to think how they can make the students get rid of these and involve them in learning activities. When the question is raised what the teachers can do to solve the problems of the students, the main responsibility is on the teacher’s shoulder. The following figure reflects it. Learning

Teaching

Learning

Everybody knows about teaching learning process. Then, what is learning first? First is the teacher learns students.

How do the teachers learn students?

The teacher has to make good rapport with the students, pay attention on their activities, communication, behavioral patterns knowingly or unknowingly, supervising students, collaborate with the students’ activities in the classroom, providing questions, engage in individual research, pay attention on their behaviors and often discussions with the parents to learn the students. The feature to be with the teachers involve in learning students. The teacher learns the students have to have some disciplinary qualities among them. He should be experienced in maintaining the inter relationship with the students, have interest in getting to know students, the one who is responsible and ready to sacrifice, engage with care, able to know the students personally, not cause problems to students at any time and one who thinks that the learning is benefited to him and students. The benefits for the teacher in learning the students The necessity for learning students are to know the students fully, to get to know their personality, behavioural patterns and their talents at the specific levels, to identify the individual differences and act according to that, to prepare or arrange the teaching method to their wish, to evaluate his teaching method and learning activities of the students, to face the problems and solve them, to prepare the students socialized, to succeed in his teaching and students learning activities and to identify and solve the problems psychologically. The benefits the students get As the teacher consider the student can make himself to understand the strength and weakness of him, to discuss without fear about his problems, to engage him effectively in the learning process, to cooperate with the other students in the classroom, to cultivate and develop positive attitudes with other students, to evaluate himself, to use the modern technologies not as their recreation instruments but as their learning materials, to succeed in their learning activities and to make him a socialized person.

Conclusion In the present situation students face a lot of problems. They make the students to take serious decisions. To take them away from them, teachers should learn the students well. When they learn so, they can create socialized students in the community they live.