Put your best face forward

Manaswini Sridhar

One, two, three….mike testing! Testing!

As I glance at the sullen, frowning and sometimes expressionless faces of some teachers as they file into a workshop, I wince, and wonder how students acclimatize themselves to the unsmiling and ‘no-eye contact’ world of some teachers. Even as an adult, it is challenging enough to compel these faces to signal some kind of expression so that a connection can be made. Many thaw only towards the end of the session, and some continue to send out signals that are not easy to read. My customary query to most teachers at the beginning of the session is, “Do you smile at your students?” There is a vague nod; some enthusiastic and happy teachers demonstrate their greeting and smile as they walk into class. Many nursery and primary section teachers are totally devoid of a smile. Their faces sometimes wear a smile, but neither the body nor the voice reflects the happiness. The thought that flashes through my mind then is, “How frightening it must be for a three-and-a-half year old child to try and learn from someone who seems so unfriendly and so unwilling to reach out.”

In a world where every household has at least two mirrors, why don’t people study their faces (and not just their beauty and attire) to determine whether they seem approachable or whether their demeanor is of a person who is aloof, chilly, and threatening? When I suggest this in a workshop, most of the adults look a little startled or amused. Teachers, like actors, need to perfect their body language because like actors, they are expected to be role models; nearly 200 students in the course of a single day focus on how their teachers handle the subject, their bodies and their voice. The smiling and friendly teacher is the one who will be welcomed in class, and who will be able to engage the class in knowledge acquisition, and in active listening and participation.

Most mobile phones these days have camera/video options. Wouldn’t it be wise to tape ourselves teaching in the classroom so that we clearly understand whether we really are what we imagine ourselves to be, or whether there is a gap between reality and our vision (or illusion!) of ourselves? The recording reveals whether we spend all our time talking, writing on the board or just staring at the students. It also captures whether we give our students the time to ask us questions, or whether we are doing the asking all the time. Yes, it can be embarrassing to realize that one is not the perfect teacher; but it also helps us become that perfect teacher we want to be, and until now have only presumed ourselves to be.

The video unravels the mystery of why our students are yawning most of the time…it’s because we are yawning or constantly looking at our watches. Both these actions are clear evidence of lethargy, impatience and sheer boredom. No wonder our teaching doesn’t strike a chord with the students.

The videos document our body language and most importantly, where our hands are. Are the hands and fingers pointing and accusing, or are they inviting and encouraging? Does the hand help explain concepts better by illustrating to students words such as big/small, tall/short, high/low. Or are the hands totally out of sight, hidden behind the desk or in your pockets? It is said that children trust those whose hands are always visible. Websites such as https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/brain-wise/201209/your-hand-gestures-are-speaking-you outline the importance of the hands and what each hand gesture communicates.

Similarly, are you using the desk as a barrier between you and the rest of the class by constantly standing behind it, and to ensure that the physical contact between you and the class is minimum? This only paves the way for students to remark, “My teacher always hides behind the desk.”

http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/chat/chat213.shtml discusses a book called Acting lessons for Teachers that talks about how presentation skills are such an integral part of teaching today. The teacher can no longer prance into a class armed with notes and tests, hoping to retain a tight grip on the attention of the students. Teaching is a challenge today because students have the World Wide Web to rely on for information, which is even more updated than the information most teachers come armed with.

Talking about our voice….not all of us are born with the best of voices; however, we could become more proactive and do some voice exercises in order to sound pleasant and audible. A loud voice sends small children scampering into their shells; a very soft voice can easily get drowned in the chatter and babble of children. Pacing the voice is as important as the volume of the voice. Explaining a difficult concept at lightning speed perplexes young minds and leaves them more confused than ever. Going at snail’s pace is also detrimental since it allows time for children to let their minds wander. Taping one’s voice gives a crystal clear picture of whether the voice is interesting/interested or boring/bored. Would we like to listen day in and day out to someone who is droning on and on without changing their modulation or showing any kind of excitement or interest in their voices? Would you like to be constantly listening to a shrill voice? Your ears can turn red from the grating performance. No student will enjoy listening to such a voice sing the nursery rhymes. How will we react if we had to sit through the performance of a singer who is actually tone deaf? Students will either switch off or may come with their ears plugged.

http://www.write-out-loud.com/quickeasyeffectivetipsforvocalvariety.html#pitch offers tips and exercises on how adults can make their voice sound interesting, and more importantly, have such an impact on the students that they automatically sit up and listen!

Many of us in the teaching profession are convinced that good notes and a good knowledge of the subject will help us sail through the 40 minute period. What we don’t realize is that the impact of our voice sometimes batters and badgers the sails so much that the student no longer feels that it is smooth sailing.

A very practical principal recently told me, “As teachers, we are so used to doing what we have been doing, that we are reluctant to have a re-look at our ourselves and our teaching methodologies. We constantly nag our students to change their learning styles, but we are so very set in our ways! I think teachers are rather bad students.”

If we examine our voice and body language closely, and work on some of those weak areas, our students will enjoy their classes, and we too will take delight in unraveling the world of knowledge to our students who would then be willing to eat out of our hands.

Why aren’t our teacher training institutions addressing these fundamental issues? There are numerous sites on the Internet that stress on the importance of voice training and voice exercises for teachers. Like the professional singer, the teacher too relies on his/her voice for livelihood.

If your students had to rate your voice, which one do you honestly think they will tick?

• sounds like a foghorn
• shrill
• pleasant
• confident
• well-modulated
• monotonous
• flat
• interesting
• soft-spoken
• high-pitched
• taut
• quivering

The author is a teacher educator and language trainer based in Hyderabad. She can be reached at manaswinisridhar@gmail.com.