Why do students love some “fierce” teachers?
Introduction — Students need teachers who care
As a student, I hated fierce teachers. They scolded us all the time! To them, only a few students were worth their praise. The rest of us seemed to do everything wrong.
Before their lessons, my mind would be filled with anxiety. And during the lessons, I would be too afraid to try. They made me hate the subject. I always wonder why teachers need to be so fierce.
When I became a teacher, I learned that teacher-student relationships are very important. I also learned that we should not scold students for their mistakes. If we keep scolding them, they may develop a habit of not wanting to try.
That further reinforced my belief that teachers should not be fierce. As such, when I did my first practicum, I aimed to be a nice and friendly teacher. I thought that would make the environment safe. Then, students would be motivated to try.
However, I quickly realised reality had other plans. When I tried to be friendly, some students would not respect me. And if they did not like the sports, they would not put much effort!
I persisted in my belief. But I still did not see much learning. I thought, “What is the point of having a lesson when nobody learns?” I asked the senior teachers, “Do you scold?” Disappointedly, all of them said, “Yes, of course!”
During the practicum, there was a Teachers’ Day celebration. In the celebration, there was a segment where students voted for the “most caring teacher” in the school.
After being in the school for many weeks, I saw that some teachers were more popular than others. They are nice, friendly, and approachable. As such, I expected those teachers to win the award.
Ironically, they did not win. Instead, Mdm M, known for being the most strict and tough, won the top prize!
I was confused. Don’t students want nice teachers? And don’t they hate strict teachers? Why would students want to vote for the teacher who “tortured” them every day?
Fast-forward many years, I have learnt that students need teachers who care for them. “Care” means understanding what students need and helping them meet their needs.
Looking at Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, we would know what these needs are. They need to feel safe and feel a sense of belonging. They also need us to help them reach their full potential.
These teachers help students reach their full potential in learning
Students do not want to be lousy at the things they are learning. That is why we believe every child wants to learn. But why are there so many unmotivated students? No matter what we do, they still refuse to learn.
In some classes, there were so many such students. At the end of the lessons, I felt like I was merely maintaining the class’s discipline. I was not teaching at all! Sometimes, I wish we could just focus on those who want to learn. And ignore the rest.
However, we cannot judge books by their covers. On the surface, they were unmotivated. But deep inside, they were facing many challenges. We need to find the root of the problem. Then, we will know what causes the poor behaviour.
Ivan Pavlov, a Russian psychologist suggested that behaviours are largely shaped by many stimulus-response cycles. This theory is widely known as classical conditioning (Cherry, 2023), which is a type of unconscious learning.
One example of this theory is our “addiction” to social media. As we scroll through the app, we might see something funny. Our brain then produces dopamine (a stimulus), which makes us scroll some more (a response).
The more we scroll, the more dopamine is released. And the more it reinforces that scrolling behaviour. Hence, every time we feel bored, we would look at the social media feed again.
To stop the “addiction”, one way is to delete the social media app. Not easy. We might reinstall it again. A more effective way is to condition a more positive behaviour.
For instance, we can develop new habits, like going for an evening walk with a friend. The enjoyable walk and chat makes our brain produce dopamine (A more positive stimulus). It makes us want to continue the walk (a more positive response).
As we continue to find time for walking, our mind would stop telling us to look at the phone. Over time,we stop taking out our phones so often. And we became healthier.
This shows that every negative behaviour can be changed. We just need to understand what causes it. Then we replace the stimulus. Something that would cause a positive response.
It is the same in our classrooms. It is possible to change students’ behaviour, although not easy.
For a start, let’s examine what might cause some students to have a poor learning attitude.
When I was a student, I wanted to learn. And I want to be good at it. Who doesn’t? But learning was too stressful! I have poor handwriting, and I always make a lot of mistakes. As such, I was constantly worried about being laughed at.
I developed a low self-efficacy. I would anticipate myself to make mistakes. And I felt I could not learn as well as others. It was the same in Physical Education (PE). Thinking my friends would judge me, I avoided doing more.
However, unlike other subjects, doing less in PE did not result in any consequence. Nobody would say anything if I did not work harder.
Imagine when you do more, you worry people will judge you. And when you do less, nobody says anything. When doing less makes you feel safer (stimulus), would you do more or less?
Of course, I would do less (a negative response)!
Interestingly, most of my classmates also had the same issue. They were also worried about judgement. As such, they also did less. When everyone does not put in effort, you start to feel like it is normal to behave that way. This behaviour became a “social norm”.
“Fierce” and effective teachers understand this. They know students can learn, and students want to learn. They also know students unconsciously develop poor learning behaviour.
To these teachers, something must be done to change the “social norm”. One way is to set high expectations. If the lesson has a learning goal, EVERYONE MUST achieve the learning goal.
They were firm on the goal, always reminding the purpose. When students slacked off, they gathered everyone and gave a pep talk. The pep talk made the students believe they can learn. And it made them understand why their behaviour would not help them.
The students fear of being “scolded” (stimulus). They also understood that their hard work would eventually pay off (another stimulus). These stimuli make them put in more effort (response). That is when students start to see improvement!
“Fierce” and effective teachers did not stop at instilling fear. They quickly praised the students whenever they saw improvement. The positive outcome and affirmation made them want to do more.
Over time, students achieved many learning goals. They realised they were actually good at the sport. As such, they developed a high sense of self-belief. And they began to think they could actually learn.
These teachers make students become better people
“Fierce”, and effective teachers not only set high learning expectations. They also ensure their students become good people. They set routines so that students develop good values.
For example, at the beginning of the lesson, some students were expected to take charge of warm-ups. Others must set up the equipment.
During the lesson, everyone was expected to contribute to a safe learning environment. They must not judge their friends, and they must also help whenever they can. During games, everyone must also have equal opportunity to play.
Because of the fear of “scolding”(stimulus), everyone did their job (response). And each time the students did the right thing, these teachers would quickly affirm them. Again, the affirmations made them want to do more.
Affirmation is a great stimulus. It makes students want to do more of what is right. But before we can affirm them, they must do something right first. That is why these “fierce” teachers were so strict!
The students quickly realised that these “high expectations” were not difficult to meet. They just did not have the confidence at first. The more they did, the more competent they became.
Over time, they develop a strong sense of responsibility. They also develop good leadership skills. When the majority of the class have good values, the classroom becomes a very safe place to learn!
A safe learning environment is a prerequisite for anyone to be motivated (Dalimunthe et al., 2024). When we do not feel safe, we cannot learn. We also do not want to learn.
Think about the best learning experience you had. What happened?
To me, it was a scouts camp in primary school. During the camp, I lost my spectacles. I searched everywhere, but could not find it. Thinking I still had two more days in the camp, I was overwhelmed by anxiety.
A senior noticed I was not engaged. That night, he came and asked if I needed help. When I told him what happened, he assured me that he would help me find it the next day.
When I woke up the next morning, I saw my spectacles beside me! When I realised so many people helped me, I became super motivated for the rest of the camp!
That is what the “fierce” teachers wanted — everyone working together to build a safe learning environment. They know this environment will motivate the students.
To achieve that, these teachers followed a three-step process.
First, the teachers make sure students will follow their instructions. Second, they make students take the first step — Leading and helping one another. And lastly, they praise whenever they see improvement.
Conclusion — Getting people to do the right thing
During my practicum, I thought I needed to be nice and friendly. But the students walked all over me!
Sometimes, I had to persuade the students to follow my instructions. However, even though they followed, they did not put much effort. And nobody saw improvement. That reinforced the belief that there is no point in following my instructions!
When I saw how “fierce” and effective teachers taught, I was amazed. The students came early and followed every instruction. Without much time wasted, students spent more than 80% of the lesson practising — and they practised with much effort!
I used to think being fierce was the way to go. Students followed instructions. And they did not dare to try anything funny. However, if we continue to scold students, it may backfire.
Because of the fear of being scolded, students will develop a fear of trying. Soon, they will be conditioned to always rely on instructions. And they will not develop self-directedness.
On the other hand, effective teachers set high expectations for their students. Whenever they see good effort, they quickly affirm it. Over time, the students will develop a strong sense of self-belief. They will also become good people.
The question is not about whether we should use the hard or soft approach. The question is whether our students are learning, doing the right thing and becoming better people!
References
Cherry, K. (2023, May 1). What is classical conditioning in psychology? Verywell Mind.
Dalimunthe, H. A., Dewi, I. K., Yunita, Y., Faadhil, F., & Lubis, D. M. G. S. (2024). Building a supportive learning environment: The role of psychology in increasing student motivation and engagement. OPSearch American Journal of Open Research, 3(4), 934–939.
