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Bernama Radio: What Makes A Quality Educator?

Puan Ashikin Hashim, a well-loved principal of Genius Aulad Saujana Utama since 2015, was our special guest on one of our recent episodes on Bernama Radio! On her segment of #GOGENIUS, they discussed what it takes to be a “QUALITY TEACHER”. Here are some meaningful excerpts from her episode:

What does it mean by “quality teacher”?

The scope is huge, but let’s focus on three.

1.       A teacher that understands her duty as a preschool educator.

2.       A teacher that has great communication skills, be it with the children, the parents, management or even the surrounding community.

3.       A teacher that understands the challenges that comes with the role of being a preschool teacher, and has the ability to withstand them.

Why does a quality preschool rely on its educators?

It’s one of the most important elements that parents will observe when they visit a school, from the way that they carry themselves, the way they communicate with children, their qualifications and skills.

What do you think of people who assume that a teacher’s task is something “easy”?

It certainly looks easy from the surface, but beyond the “ABCs” and “123s”, not all children develop at the same pace. Some children might meet their milestones quicker or slower than others and their home environments aren’t always the same. Even in a roomful of 20 same-aged children, their progress, behavior, character and development are unique to every child, so it really isn’t as simple as it may look. Perhaps at home it would be easier to educate and control the development of our children when there’s just one or two of them around, but these are some of the factors that teachers have to work with daily to ensure that all children get the help that they need. It takes skill and knowledge to understand and handle each student well.

As an educator, when do you feel accomplished?

Throughout my years of experience as an educator, I feel content when the children are happy to go to school, and when their parents are satisfied with our service as educators. Beyond the academic successes, those are some of the things that makes us feel accomplished as teachers.

How does a teacher upgrade their skills from time to time?

Upgrades and self-improvement are definitely important for all teachers to seek continuously. For example, at Genius Aulad there are trainings, workshops and courses that cover a wide range of skills and knowledge that are available to all of our educators. Over time, the behaviors and development of children that come under our care tend do change. Therefore, it definitely is important for teachers to upgrade their skill set so that they can handle each child to the very best of their abilities, if not beyond.

What are some of the hurdles that you’ve encountered in your school?

Genius Aulad Saujana Utama has been around since 2015, and it is now our fifth year. Among the challenges that we’ve faced, coming from the children itself is the norm but it is also a challenge when the parents do not understand our methods in educating their children. When that happens, it is our responsibility to assist them patiently in understanding our methods (rather than condemning their queries).

For more on this thought-provoking topic, catch a replay of this segment on our Facebook! Tune in next week for more of #GOGENIUS on Bernama Radio.

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