There are a lot of sayings about how to teach, what to teach, when and why....But one can sense that in spite of everything that is being published and spread out into the oblivious world some cases need more and more work and thus they need even more personal blending between methods. So in order to deal with students one must at some points get in touch with the inner self and sense in order to solve behavioural or achievement problems. This means that the teacher must be equipped with all the information and knowledge he/she can grasp and get hold of.
In older days, teaching was simple our fathers and grandfathers used to get learning under the shade of the tree, the teacher was the source of everything and he was to be feared and was surrounded by an Ora of respect and great affection. Even the parents of the small students were weak against the power of the teacher he was bestowed with. The teacher gave the information to the students in a more simple way maybe even without materials to help the students to get some points of the lesson. The teacher a lot of pressure on the students, for instance the Lebanese countryside from about eighty years and more and as my father and grandparents say that teaching was with a more blessing, though they didn't get to learn such complexed subjects and course materials, but they had the total respect and surrender to the teacher.
At that time they used to bring with them their own source of heat to maintain some kind of minimal survival while they were educated. They got with them a small piece of wood, if not, a small dry cob of corn would do the trick and aid the young student onto learning on a cold hard day of school. They also had maybe an old used book inside a hand made bag.
The teacher was usually either a Shaikh or a priest, and he was at many times directing knowledge into the religious side. The teacher said everything in his heart to the students including the information that might make the student ponder and get a grudge at learning. But it was thought to be done for the sake of the child.
But it must be noted that some students had the choice to drop out school and head to continue the family business or to help the father at planting or farming or getting married....That was directly related to the gender of the students and the motives of the parents.
So most of the students and usually the males dropped out to continue with ''more important things in life'', they had to help out their fathers and raise their other brothers and sisters as the families were bigger in those years.
Learning was focused on elementary classes and the students got the skills of reading and writing to some extent.
Girls were luckier a bit, they had the chance to study more, if their parents had the will and money and they did not get married yet. But still classes were small, for the number of students and the size of the building as well.
And if someone chooses to get the higher college degrees, of course he would be famous in the village, but he will find lots of obstacles in order to earn such a prestigious college degree as a B.A..This student might face war and killings at some years, if one may go back to the Lebanese history of the French conflict or the economical or the civil war....The student could not stay near the family, he had to travel to the city to pursue a degree. And all branches were available he had to be satisfied with what was available or either he had to travel abroad. Most of the students who chased such a future seemed to be males.
Their parents deprived themselves from lots of things if they had to help in the tuition, if their child did not have a scholarship. Lots of people, as it was said were so unlucky that they had to sell pieces of land for their children to go abroad and get a doctorate maybe. They seemed to struggle to the bones in order to mold out a bright future.
Such a humble briefing of real stories that many of us had just heard make one think and force one to say that we are in a blessing, everything has changed completely, all can have the blessing of learning no matter who. The teacher has changed and his/her role importance also the students and the schools. Everything serves the student who is the centre of ''the solar system''.
But a very shy wish may come out that the ethics and the morals of the past years should be preserved because they had the good and the purity which no one must loose, a teacher or a student. We must hold it well and let it live throughout the years.
