The announcement that teaching in the Sultanate is to come under Omanisation policies is a bold and progressive move, and one that rightly confirms the need for Omanis to become the architects of their own destiny. There is nothing more anyone, with any compassion for coming generations of young Omanis, would rather see than their own societal and cultural role-models teaching them, with, however, three important caveats.
The first is that specialist native language teachers must be exactly that. Basic language may well be taught by second language, or non-native speakers, however the qualities of understanding, context, and even pronunciation are so pivotal to the language learning process, that there is no more effective language learning experience for students than that taught by native speakers, here in Oman, of English, French and German.
The second is to recognise that teaching is not something that is taught, or learned, in five minutes, and it is certainly not learned at college, university, or during the course practicum sessions... becoming a teacher is a lifetime experience. Yes, teaching is something that one can become relatively proficient at within three to five years of graduation, but the irony of teaching and learning is that as a teacher, the day you stop learning, is the day you should stop teaching. Your arrogance will have surpassed your ability to listen to, and to hear, and compromised your educational objectives.
Understanding the psychology of education when applied to a group, understanding the unique individuality of one’s students or pupils, and coming to grips with the construction and progression of learning programmes... and the list goes on. It is not even about knowing, understanding, remembering what you have become accomplished at, but to become ‘comfortable in your own skin,’ as an educator. It is about understanding yourself, your strengths and weaknesses, your fragility and resilience, your... self... self-worth... and self-confidence.
To effectively manage teacher development is to ensure that meaningful mentoring and support structures are available 24/7 for new and developing teachers, to ensure that professional development courses and workshops are available, and that teachers have genuine opportunities to attend such workshops. Personally, I believe that new teachers should be mentored by retired teachers, who will share experiences, and who will encourage those young people to talk about their teaching, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Having someone who knows and understands what you are going through, who can genuinely empathise, is like gold!
Finally, there must be a viable plan for teacher trainee retention. It is common knowledge that a significant number of graduate teachers simply do not stay in the profession, and it has little or nothing to do with teaching, pupils, or the classroom, and everything to do with teaching assignments. Significant numbers of new graduates have returned home, after postings to remote locations or far from home, which I guess is not so bad if you are a young man but if you are a young woman?
A legitimate suggestion could be that all young teachers should be assigned within commuting distance of their homes, unless they request otherwise, leaving them within the nurturing, supporting, protective framework of home, and letting them ‘grow’ their teaching. In terms of the isolated locations, why not offer meaningful incentives such as isolation payments, remote allowances, and the like? They will surely encourage young men to fill those vacancies.
Ray Petersen
petersen_ray@hotmail.com
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