Dealing With Slow Learners
A very big problem that every school faces, i.e. the difficulty to deal with the slow learners. The teachers have their big headache over these children. Handle them in homework and class work, understanding the topic, etc are the areas concerned with the slow learners. We try to advise them or we try to get result by hook or crook through putting negative enforcement by punishing them. It is estimated that due to that problem many slow learners or dropout students are being termed as weak students and thrown out of the school. But that is not the solution. The result of the action of the throwing out the child out of the school paves the way to create a dark spot in the life of the victim child. Then, where are the solutions? If the teachers will give time to think over those children, definitely the solution comes in their hand. It is also the proof in history that many slow learners have become qualified themselves as the scientists and writers in their life. So, why not we experiment with these slow learners who are with us? Have we thought over it? Have we tried to understand the life of a slow learner? The following discussion may help the teachers to improve the skill of the slow learners.
1. Psychological Analysis and Problem solution-
The more and more we think about the child the more we get the solution. Firstly,we have to search the problem area of the child. The problem of the child may be his family or friends or his personal condition. If we go for personal asking questions as a relative of his own, then we can be assured about getting some difficulties for which the child is not reading. Then we, from our level will try to get solution of this problem.
2. Guidance from his level-
Child has a level of his own. Level of understanding is different from one child to another. The weak child more often can't understand the studies because he has not understood the previous formula/concept in the previous classes. How can he understand the concept of class IX if he has not understood the simple concept of class VII and VIII? That's why the child should be personally taught from his understanding level.
3. Encouragement in small success-
The greatest factor for the success of the life of the child is his encouragement. If we try to find out the strengths of the weak child then we come across some of them. If we try to applaud him with encouraging words and give confidence he definitely feels his importance and worth. Once the child has grown his confidence means he will definitely improve. The most important cause of his weakness is we; the teachers always give importance to the good children and neglect the weaker in the class. Encouragement can change the whole personality of a child.
4. Fixing the goal and Prescribing a Time table-
The child should be persuaded to make a time table for the study purpose. Sometimes some children have no goal regarding study. The teacher should observe those children and inspire them to fix the goal for the life and help him to make a time table for every day work so that the child will be captured through the time table to do the things at write time.
5. Giving Memory tips-
More often the child forgets what ever he learns. That's why he loses his confidence on him and differentiates between him and the good students. The teacher's role is to give the tips such as 'how to recall', 'in which way to write systematically', 'when to learn', 'how to learn' etc.
6. Giving importance in the class-
It's always seen that the class room teaching goes on with the direction and understanding of the strong children. But if the average children do not understand your teaching and you are just running towards the completion of syllabus then the whole teaching is a futile one. Some times it's very urgent to go near the weak child and ask personally whether he has understood or not. Here the teacher's asking approach should be very polite and sweet, not rude.
7. Self reading method-
Most of the weak children are found that they neglect self reading. They may have the language understanding problem for which they do not take interest to read. If the teacher freely tells the child to come at home or to him in extra time for understanding the key words then slowly slowly the child will take interest to self reading. Then definitely he improves himself slowly.
8. Questions for practice-
Some questions can be given time to time to engage the learner in the habit of study. That is a practice with Special guidance beyond school hour-
Basically we the teachers now have become very professional. After school hour we hesitate to give even a single minute to the children which reduce our rapport. The weak children, they need special attention beyond school hour that is personally to take up the child's difficulty. We the teachers, beyond school hour, either we waste time in gossiping or earn money in tuition. If we give 1hour extra time for the weak children then definitely they will improve. Because it is very difficult to give time to the weak ones in the classroom itself.
Seating arrangement-
More often we see that the strong children in the class room don't wish to sit with the weak children. The weak ones always sit with the weak. This is another cause for the no improvement of the weak children. If the class teacher prepares seating arrangements properly to benefit the weak children-to make arrangement to sit the strong one with the weak one and instruct to the strong one to help the weak one in studies then the weak ones may be improved in studies.
9. Search physical or mental problem-
The teacher should find out any physical or mental problem of the child. A child is not writing anything from the black board means may be some eye defect. A child is not obeying the words of the teacher, may be some mental problem is there. Some children are severely affected by the physical problems which made them lazy to read and write. Firstly the teacher/parent should find out the problems then treat them accordingly.
10 Creating confidence level in his interest areas-
The teacher should observe the child and secretly know the interest areas of the child. Even if the child plays, act, does some work the teacher/parent should find out his interest/specialty. Because, every child is special. The encouragement can be started from the child's interest areas. When the child builds his confidence in his interest area then we can expand and inspire the same confidence in other areas also.
11 BE A FRIEND TO HIM-
Be a friend to the weak child. Teacher should try to knowingly mix with the child more and more with him. Unknowingly when the friendship is build with that child then the child starts loving the teacher. The starting of love starts the surrender of the child towards the same teacher. Then the teacher, whatever he tells the child obeys it. The mystery of all success is the love, understanding and friendship.
Oh teacher! Many more children are waiting to catch your lovable hand. They are searching you as a friend. They are so called by the society as slow learners or weak ones but actually they are not. May be some unfortunate moment misguided them. Is it not noble to improve them, support them to develop in their own pace? Is it not wise to take care of them? The history has proved the slow learners such as Thomas Edison and Gandhi as the world class Scientist and Leader respectively.
Every child is special. As every child has a soul, there is every possibility of improvement, sooner or later. The goal of the soul is to develop. The source of energy is lying within them but the only thing is to stretch the hand of confidence towards them which will solve their problem and improve their quality.
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