The Art of Teaching

Okay, I've been here again in Berastagi.

Today, I went to LP3M Berastagi and I had a little conversation with my English teacher. Well, we discussed many things, including the 2010 UAN Tragedy, farming, and teaching, and many, more.

And, while we had the conversation, his students come and we stopped our discussion then he taught. First, he arranged their positions to make him organize the class well. Well, this class is quite special for me. I noticed that there were four students in the classroom and each of them had different lesson. One 'played' with TOEFL-preparation post-test, second-one with TOEFL preparation, the third one with a Bahasa Indonesia-English translation lesson, and another one with I-forget. I noticed how he taught. And after he had a break, I asked him, "Sir, I saw each student in this classroom has different lesson. How could you taught all the lesson?"--approximately that was the I said, hehe.

He replied, "Well, do you know, that's what I said as the art of teaching?"

"Well, sir, it's the first time I hear that term." (Yeah, I don't know its definition)

"There is three-know in teaching, know the lesson, know your student, and know your self."

"Yeah, that's what we call teaching competence in University, Sir!"

"Yes, and you know, you must be ready to teach in any condition, time, and places when you master this three-know. First, you have to know the lesson well and that will make you be able answer any question given by your student. And do you know now what is the art of teaching?"

"Uhh, I don't know, sir, hehe, I still can't get it"

"The art of teaching is learning."

"Learning?"

"Yeah, learning...."

"Yeah, a teacher makes the student learn."

"It's not just that, but you learn! You learn from your student, you learn every time you teach. And that is how you know them, so that you can teach in any condition. 'Ketika kamu berkomitmen ingin tahu tentang yang terang maka kamu juga akan tau tentang yang gelap, itu seperti dua sisi koin'. And that's Taoism's Ying and Yang. You'll see the dark side when you know the bright side. And they are parallel. So, when you commit to teach then you have to learn!"

"I see, sir, I got it! Yeah, we need to know our student."

"You are now still a young teacher, when you are going to teach, you will make a teaching plan, right? And you will implement the procedure step by step in the classroom and may be you still have no self-confidence to stand in front of the classroom... When you have more experience, you will need that no more, cause you have already master the three-know. And that's it!"

"Hmmm, yes, sir, the art of teaching..." (I was imagining.....)

Then, suddenly, "bbeeep..bbeep..." His cell phone ringing, he got a text-message from a friend in Bogor asking whether he would go to Bogor this coming week.

(That was approximately what we talked as-far-as I remember, hehe)

Well, what could I say... Every time I have a discussion with him, he gives me new perspective. A new way to look and think of what we deal with. And it's inspiring me.

Well, yes, sir, I'll be a dedicated teacher in the future, no matter what field I will be in....