Teacher vs Parent: Similarities and Differences

As it has been emotional being away from my two girls, I thought I go for some Steemrapy (Steemit-therapy). Hey, this can be a new tag idea #steemrapy. Anyway, teachers and parents share more in common than you think. For the post today, I thought I point out the similarities and differences between a teacher and a parent. One of the biggest similarity is the noise... oh, the noise...

The noise

The biggest similarity between a teacher and a parent is the noise. The screams that fill the house and the classroom are similar. It starts with a little bit of noise by one of the child or some of the students. Like a crescendo of a musical piece, or some horror movie, the noise will get louder, occasionally accompanied with screams. Silence is an exceptionally alien concept to these children. The only time that it truly ends is when the child sleeps or when the class ends.

I remember when I first taught a class of 8 year olds. I realized why I was always getting the last class of the day. You see, I was new and young, so my older colleagues assumed that my resistance towards noise was higher. When the bell rung at the end of the day, like a call to battle, the students will scream and charge for the exit of the classroom. It reminds me of a scene of Braveheart where like a group of highly motivated warrior, they charge out in the name of freedom!

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While slightly different, the parent on the other hand faces not a battle of numbers but a long battle of patience. The constant call for attention and the constant repetition of words is not for the faint of heart. I was counted a child calling his mom mummy 47 times at the mall. At the 20th time I felt like yelling at the child, but I do salute the parent for his or her patience.

As such, while the noise faced by the parent and a teacher may vary, it is similar to a certain extent. When dealing with older students or more mature students, the noise evolves into something a bit more interesting. Something I would like to call, the long debates.

The long debates

When I moved to a secondary school my students were of the competitive sort. They would argue and fight for every single thing. Especially for the marks of their exam. This would often evolve into long debates of how the students are right and I am wrong. It can get extremely interesting when they try to prove their stand. One of their arguments is by listing all the favors they have done for me and should therefore deserve a few extra marks. I suppose on the bright side of things, I am happy they are learning critical thinking skills.

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MY three year old have recently begun applying the following words:

• because
• so that
• if
• you can try...

Basically, she has learnt the ability of justifying her stand on certain things. While I am happy that she is growing up well, I do not know how to respond when she justifies why she should be eating ice cream instead of vegetables. She pointed out that both mint ice cream and vegetables are green, so, if she eats the green ice cream/vegetable ice cream, she would grow up strong and healthy. I told her that it is not the same and she asked me why not? As much as I feel like telling her 'because I am your father', I try my best to explain the difference to her.

A teacher and a parent have to deal with these arguments and debates in a way that promotes discussion. While doing so does take more time, patience and the occasional hair pulling, the benefit of being patient is that it helps the child in his or her thinking skills. While it may be extremely painful to justify certain concepts to the child, taking time to explain does benefit the child in the long run. Of course, the one biggest difference between a teacher and a parent is the time spent.

The time

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A teacher from where I am from, typically has about 2-6 hours of classes a day. No matter how loud the noise, the debates, the arguments and the stress, it all becomes quiet after the bell rings. A parent however, has to spend 24 hours with the child or if you are lucky, about 16 hours after school. The time spent is precious and should always be cherished. I remember having to pick up my daughter from school because she was late and she could not enter the class. We ended up going to the zoo and she still talks about it till this day. I remember teaching a student for only one semester, the time taught in total was less than 10 hours. At the end of the semester, he walked up to me and thank me for inspiring him.

I had no idea of course how and why, but upon asking him, he said he remembered asking me why did I even bothered doing my job when I could have just ended the class early and left the students to do whatever they want. My reply was that it is my responsibility to inspire and to teach. If no one listens, that is ok, at the very least I have done my job.

I write this because I miss my daughter and my students. Studying as a PhD student is an extremely lonely journey, at the very least, there's Steemit to keep me company. A big shout out to all the parents out there, you guys are awesome battling daily noise and arguments to bring up the next generation. You are as important as us teachers.

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