Summary
- What is patience?
- Why is patience important while teaching?
- Homework and patience a recurring problem
- Humility and patience
Patience is one of the greatest virtues of every teacher. Without patience, the teacher may not be able to deliver. So, why is patience so important for a teacher? Or, we can ask why is patience important while teaching? We make this difference only to point out that there may be many instances where you are required to teach even though you are not an educationally qualified teacher. In such cases too, patience is important while teaching.
First, Let’s take a closer look at the word Patience and What it Entails.
If we go by the true definition of the term patience it refers to tolerance or the capacity to or endure problems without getting annoyed or perturbed. With regard to a teacher, the term patience connotes a stronger meaning because it is associated with students. So, why does patience have a deeper meaning for a teacher?
In the teaching profession, patience is one of the first and foremost virtues one should possess. Without this virtue, the whole meaning of teaching vanishes into thin air. Students are the leaders of tomorrow. These young minds need to be trained and moulded so that they can be better citizens of the nation.
A teacher can inspire hope, and ignite the minds of these young learners. It is the responsibility of teachers to ensure that each student is considered an individual mind to be crafted and sculptured into ideal human beings. Patience is the one quality that can nurture young student minds.
Also check: Consistency Is the Key to Success
Why is Patience Important While Teaching?
Below, we have tried to enumerate the reasons why patience is important in teaching.
1. Multicultural atmosphere in classrooms
In a classroom, there are students from different backgrounds, cultures, languages, religions and ethnicities. Not all students will think in a particular manner or fashion. It is the duty of the teacher to understand each student and cater to the needs of each student individually.
To do this teacher require a lot of patience. It takes time to comprehend student backgrounds and reach out to students who need more help. Teachers cannot consider all students alike. Each student must understand at a different level from another. That is why patience is important in teaching.
2. Different capacities of comprehension
Another reason why patience is important for a teacher is because as mentioned above a classroom has different students from different backgrounds.
Apart from various cultured backgrounds, these students may not have the same learning capacity as others. While some students may be way beyond the level of the class, others may be slow learners who require more help. It is with these slow learners, that teachers must show patience and composure.
3. Impressionable young minds
Students in a classroom are of tender age. These young minds are very impressionable and influence by events and occurrences around them. If a teacher shows patience, students will learn this virtue and try to emulate this quality from the teacher.
4. Pressures of life
Every human being, including teachers, face stress in life. It may be pressures from work or personal stress. It is the best virtue of a teacher to show patience even during these trying times. If students see their teachers flustered and agitated, students might feel the stress too.
That is why patience requires in teaching. It is the best quality of a teacher to show calmness during stressful times. Showing your stress or panic can cause students to worry and underperform.
5. More than one point of communication
A teacher, not only does interact with students but also with the parents or guardians of the students. Interacting and communicating with parents or guardians of students can sometimes test your patience as different parents may act or react differently to different situations.
It is important for teachers to stay calm while interacting with parents or guardians of students. The more patient you are, the better the communication.
6. Surprises down the line
Another reason why patience is important in teaching is because many students can show improvements and developments much later than others.
In such cases, the teacher must be patient enough to realize the potential of the student and be patient at every corner. While some students may show fast progress in the initial years, other students may bloom in the later years. The more patience you show with these students the faster they can bloom into ideal citizens.
7. Patience in all fields
Apart from student teacher relationships, teachers need to be patient with other acquaintances around. It could be school management or colleagues. Patience is a quality that requires in all walks of life.
8. Understanding different families
Why is patience important for a teacher? This question is often asked on many occasions. The answer is simple. A teacher is one who takes a hand, opens a mind and touches a heart. Such is the role of a teacher.
A teacher must know that the students she deals with everyday come from different families. Each student has their own story to tell. It is for a teacher to understand each student even if they do not open up.
Homework and Patience- A Recurring Problem
One of the greatest problems teachers face is students not doing their homework. Must a teacher reprimand a student for not completing their homework? While there are diverse opinions on the issue, teachers must always realize that students come from different family backgrounds.
Each home atmosphere is different from another. Why the student had not done the homework must consider before punishing the child. Family issues could be one of the main reasons the student has not performed his/her work.
Consider all factors before reprimanding a child for not doing homework. Here, patience is required to understand the reasons from students.
Also check: Benefits of Homework for students
Humility and Patience
As a teacher, your greatest joy is when all the students in your class understand what you have taught. Now, certain situations may arise when you have taught a concept in the class and you still have a student who stands up and says that he has not understood anything.
This can dampen your spirits, it may even for a moment reflect on the power of your teaching. The trick is to not allow the student to know that you are upset because he has not understood.
Your patience and humility will be tested here. You have to accept that your method of teaching has not been understood and must be patient enough to start teaching the concept again from a different angle and a different style. This is why patience is important for a teacher.
Conclusion
Patience is not the ability to wait but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting. For a teacher, being calm without getting irritate is one of the greatest virtues.
Also check: A Detailed Guide About Reflective Teaching Practice
