It has been said many times that the only permanent thing in this world is change. We may have different attitudes in adapting to it. We may resist change if it worsens our situation, but when it comes to education, we must acclimatize ourselves to it.
As the world changes, people change, too. And our students are no exception. The question is, how can we adjust to it?
“The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.”–Attributed to Socrates by Plato
Is this true? Maybe we are just being stereotypical and cannot accept the fact that they are much more high-tech, much more new than us. As teachers, we must learn to understand them and be open-minded. New ways of learning are available, and much more than us, these need to be updated and in-tuned with the students’ way of living.
Stuck within this space of tension, I cannot help but admit that I, we, have loads of limitations.
But should we stop with this reality? No.
Deep within us we must struggle, so that we may accustom ourselves with this new generation, therefore being teachers of the new generation.
By: Mrs. Elena H. Fabian | Tapulao Elementary School | Orani, Bataan
