How to Beacon Your Students on the Path of Learning

“The influence of teachers extends beyond the classroom, well into the future”

– F. Sionil Jose

A great teacher is the one who ignites a love for learning in their students. Intentions are not limited to making students score well on exams, but rather aspire to direct them on a path of lifelong learning. Teachers know that if they succeed in this mission, students will soar high in success in all fields of life. So, teachers direct their meticulous efforts to sharpen their intellect and they don’t stop until they have finally fulfilled their purpose. Once this purpose is fulfilled, it is then that they can rejoice in watching students build a beautiful life for themselves.

Do you too aspire to become a great teacher?  I’m sure you do as it is visible through the spark you have in your eyes right now. This spark is the first and foremost requirement for becoming a great teacher. It tells you that you have it in you. The potential, strength, and passion required to become a great teacher, is already within you. Now, the only thing you need is to put the right efforts in the right direction.

How to beacon your students on the path of learning:

1. Captivate their hearts

This is one of the most important things you’ll have to do to beacon your students on the path of learning. It is only if you captivate their hearts that you can truly influence them. So, great teachers, you have to start working on captivating the hearts of your students first. Here are some simple ways to help you do so:

• Inculcate an influential body language:

Your body language is a reflection of your personality. If you want to captivate the hearts of your students, your body language has to be impressive and influential. You should be the kind of teacher who makes the classroom environment lively with his presence. Thus, you should work on inculcating influential body language. For this, you can read books on body language and watch YouTube videos on the same subject.

• Have regular interactions with your students:

To pave closer to the hearts of your students, know them well and for this, you should have regular interactions with them. Every week take some time to interact with your students. You can interact with them on different topics such as their interests, ambitions, family, and so on.

• Be a mentor for your students:

A mentor is the one who teaches students much more than what is mentioned in books. A mentor teaches them about life and shows them how to live it well. One that inculcates in them good moral values and turns them into gems of persons. When a mentor does so much for their students, they naturally become more inclined towards him/her. So, you should work on becoming a mentor for your students.

• Be ever-ready to help them:

Whenever you find your students in trouble, lend a helping hand to them. This will help you win their love with your generosity.

• Be authoritative yet gentle in your dealings:

As teachers, you have to be authoritative in nature. But, you should not be harsh towards your students. Even if they have done something wrong, you should correct them in a gentle manner.

2. Identify your students’ individual talents

To beacon your students on the path of learning, identify their individual talents. This is important as your students can become lifelong learners only if you direct them in the direction of their interest. Now, to identify your students’ individual talents you can try the following ways below:

• Talk with your students about their hobbies and ambitions:

This is the easiest way to know about your students’ individual interests. You can directly ask them in the class and take notes of the ambitions they have.

• Organize different contests in your class:

By organizing different contests in your class, you can give your students the opportunity to explore their talents. You can organize such contests once a week. Sometimes you can organize creative contests like painting, singing, etc. and at other times you can organize quiz contests on different academic topics. These contests will help you discover which students are interested in which activity.

• Talk to your students’ families and try to know what they love doing at home: Your students’ families can give you detailed insights into what your students love doing at home. This will help you identify their fields of interest. Now, you can use different ways to talk to your students’ family members. For example, you can create some forms for them to fill about their children’s interests or you can call a few parents every day over the phone and enquire about their child’s interests.

3. Hone their talents

Once you have gathered the required information about your students’ interests and talents, work on honing their skills. For starters, you can give them an opportunity to present their talents in front of the entire class by organizing talent days every week. These days, your students have to come prepared to showcase their talents to their friends. As you organize these days every week, your students will naturally enhance their skills with regular practice.

4. Show them the pathway to turning their passion into a profession

‘Passion is the fuel which keeps the fire for learning ignited.’ So, if you show your students the path to turn their passion into a profession, they’ll start moving on it themselves. They’ll start inculcating the required skills, work hard, and not stop until they have made it. Now, the question which comes to your mind here is that you have a lot of students and how can you guide each one of them? Great teachers, you can! Remember, ‘where there is a will, there is a way.’ To give you an idea, you can start by conducting let’s discuss sessions in your class once a week. Starting with the first roll number you can discuss with the respective students how they can turn their passion into a profession.  If you cover 10 students in a session, then, you can continue with the rest in the next session.

5. Keep a check on their progress

After guiding your students on the right path, keep a check on their progress. For this, regularly ask them in the let’s discuss sessions about what they are currently working on. If you feel that some of your students are getting drifted, you can schedule individual meetings and stimulate them to start walking on the path of learning. Believe me, you have the power to prevent your students from drifting off track with your powerful and influential words.

You are a great teacher. You have the power to direct your students on the path of lifelong learning by identifying their talents and helping them hone their skills. Now, wishing you all the best and hoping that one day when your students will look back at their successful lives, they’ll accredit their success to you.

About the Author:

Jessica Robinson finds her peace in penning down intriguing and captivating blogs for her readers. So, she has been creating the finest pieces of content for over a decade while working at ‘The Speaking Polymath’.

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