It is very important to be aware of your learners' backgrounds as much as possible in order to reach them effectively. How can you teach someone if you cannot reach them? How can you reach them if you don't know them? Too often teachers rush through content and do not take time to connect with the student. I had an experience recently with a teacher who kept complaining that she couldn't get her class to behave. The other teacher assigned to the class did not have this problem. After investigation I found that the first teacher was very disrespectful to the students while the second one took time to show that she cared about them. It is sad that we have teachers who think that it's ok to treat children as lesser beings without realizing how much easier their jobs would be if they created an atmosphere of mutual respect and caring.
It is also important to look within ourselves constantly. Identify with our students. It is a gut-wrenching, draining experience but that, in my opinion, is what teaching is all about. It is a vocation, not a job. If a person cannot cope with the demands of this vocation, that person should not be a teacher.
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