Teacher effective learning as devised by Dr. Thomas Gordon takes many forms in terms of the ideal and best way to educate people. However some of the philosophies that I would like to discuss of his are; teacher-student relationships and what he considers to be a good teacher-student relationship for effective teaching, and what Gordon advises teachers to do when a student has problems. There will be examples of how he supposes these ideas and philosophies work in practice. First of all, Thomas Gordon advocates that there must be some kind of connection, link, or bridge between the teacher and learner. Thomas Gordon’s book Teacher Effective Training is a programme designed for professionals, and anyone who instructs to increase their skills for effective instructing or teaching. These people can be anyone from parents to school teachers or even the sports coach.
Dr. Thomas Gordon advocates that it is essential to zero in on the fact that teaching and learning are two very different functions, and they require two different and distinct processes. So therefore, there needs to be a kind of connection made between the two in order to seek effective education, some kind of connection needs to be established. The teacher has the responsibility to teach while the student has to learn the content he is given. However, if the student feels put down, misunderstood, pushed around, humiliated in some way, or critically evaluated, then he or she will become stubbornly resistant. Gordon believes that, the teachers are often untrained and unskilled to help students deal with their external problems and therefore many students become rebellious, and teacher’s problems are then created as a reaction to the student’s rebellious and often resentful ways. Therefore it may cause a break down in the relationship and loss of valuable teaching time. There is skill in having the ability to relate to students, that can be delivered in many ways; some of which are devised by Thomas Gordon as; 1. Talking which can be delivered in many forms mainly the appropriate and positive kind 2. Listening and 3. Parenthetically. By using these three elements of communication, Gordon holds the notion that effective teaching can be delivered. There is also the notion held by Gordon, that whatever the subject area, learning can be made fun and interesting.
Most of Gordon’s book deals with communication skills between the student and the teacher. One of the most effective ways of building a relationship with your students can be achieved through mere talking; something which we all do very easily but some talk can be equally demoralizing as it can be comforting and rewarding. He implies that it is the teacher’s moral duty to select positive talk and praise to uplift the spirits and enthusiasm of the students as opposed to negative feedback and comments that may perhaps demoralize the students or make the feel despondent and put down. Listening is also another common tool which he has adopted as positive form of communication. He advocates that many of us use this skill everyday but implies that perhaps many of us do not actually hear the true messages that the students are trying to communicate with us. He advises that perhaps many teachers may like to consider assessing your own listening skills by finding out what the student really means. An example may be perhaps paraphrasing the question to the student and seek to find an answer together to ensure you know as the teacher what it is the student is trying to communicate. This then leads us on to the final form of communication in this essay. There are times when students should be ignored. This type of communication may be adopted when the children are displaying disruptive or using inappropriate behavior. This is where the advice “be a good listener” needs to be ignored and where the teacher or parents need to show the child that they are interfering with there rights. This message however, needs to be delivered in a way that the child does not feel squelched, put down, or even defensive.
Gordon’s theory about a good teacher- student relationship in summary is about creating a link between the student and the teacher by being open, caring, interdependent, separate and where mutual satisfaction is achieved. This is his theory below.
What is a good teacher- student relationship?
The relationship between a teacher and a student is good when it has
(1) Openness or transparency, so each is able to risk directness and honesty with the other; (2) caring, when each knows that she is valued by the other;
(3) Interdependence (as opposed to dependency) of one on the other;
(4) Separateness, to allow each to grow and to develop her uniqueness, creativity, and individuality; and
(5) Mutual satisfaction, so that neither’s needs are met at the expense of the other’s.
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