The teachers of Don Bosco School, Gumla, had the in-service training programme on 10th June 2022. The resource person for the programme was Fr. Thomas Powathil, the Principal and Manager of Livens Academy Lohardaga. There were 22 teachers who participated in the programme.
Fr. Thomas dealt with 3 topics – how to be an effective teacher, classroom management and POCSO.
In his opening sessionon being effective teachers, the resource person stressed the 4 important attitudes of a teacher: Devotion, commitment, compassion and becoming a student, a life-long learner. The key concept of different exercises was RESPECT – respecting oneself and respecting the students. He tried to convey the idea that teaching is not just a profession or career but it is vocation, a call. He further invited the teachers to pay attention not so much to few students who are very bright but to those who are weak and need our help more than the others.
Regarding the classroom management, Fr. Thomas gave some simple but practical tips to make the teaching-learning activities more interesting. He spoke of the co-operative learning and win-win attitude in the process of teaching and learning in the classroom.
Dealing with the POCSO, Fr. Thomas explained the legal aspects and then highlighted the idea that the school is expected to provide safe environment for the education to the children. And so, the POCSO is to be seen in the light of protecting and caring for the children and providing them safe environment for education.
The participants benefited much from this programme. They found the inputs very simple and yet very practical.
Fr. Augustine Toppo SDB