In today’s fast-changing world, education has taken a sharp turn. It has grown from a relationship between students, books, and teachers to involving students, internet emotions, surroundings, books, teachers, and parents, taking anything and everything related to students under its ambit.
Education today is not only about learning facts and figures but has developed into a comprehensive format covering various aspects of the student’s growth. This is what holistic development is all about and what is the role of teacher in holistic development of a child.
What is Holistic Development?
Holistic learning is an extensive approach to teaching where equal importance is placed on the academic and non-academic growth of the student. A rounded focus is placed on the student’s emotional, social, ethical, and educational aspects to mold them into better humans. Lessons are conducted in a supportive environment, allowing students to recognize their strengths and weaknesses.
Holistic Learning ensures the child grows not only academically but is also street-smart. It is to align the Mansa-vacha-karma, i.e., the student’s mind, speech, and actions, to let them discover their best version. Both teachers and parents are responsible for creating an environment that supports it. Here, we will focus on how a teacher contributes to the holistic development of a student.
What is the role of a teacher in holistic development?
Teachers are crucial in guiding students through emotional, physical, moral, cognitive, and psychosocial challenges. Each aspect of the holistic approach needs teachers to play the leading role. Teachers acting with integrity and respect are more likely to impact a child’s moral development positively. Let’s see that briefly in the next section.
Role of teacher in Holistic Development of a Child
Teachers are the molders of a child’s future. Through their diverse role, teachers play a crucial part in guiding students through emotional, physical, moral, cognitive, and psychosocial challenges. This blog can help you understand how teachers can foster well-rounded growth in students.
Improving Physical Abilities
A healthy body is a healthy mind. Physical well-being isn’t only about looking good and feeling healthy and active. Putting the child’s motor skills to work and letting them explore their strength is essential. For this, the teachers can integrate physical activity into the curriculum and ensure it is followed daily. This may include:
1. Regular Exercise: Teachers can develop different activities like dancing at the end or beginning of the day, regular yoga sessions, or a day in the playground to break free from the routine class setup.
2. Promoting a Healthy Lifestyle: Educating children about healthy foods’ benefits and hygiene’s importance can steer them toward a healthy lifestyle.
3. Working on Fine and Gross Motor Skills: By integrating play, like beading, jumping, stretching, coloring, or playing in teaching sessions, the teacher can help the child develop crucial motor skills.
Developing Emotional Awareness
Where intellectual ability is an essential aspect of a child’s growth, emotional quotient shares equal importance in the holistic development of a child. EQ is the child’s understanding of their feelings and the feelings of others while navigating through various life events and social situations. The child’s environment plays a crucial role in determining their EQ level. Hence, the classroom environment can be significant in evolving the EQ of a child:
1. A Supportive Environment: An empathetic and respectful environment is imperative to foster a child’s emotional evolution. It lets the child express freely and feel secure and understood.
2. What and Why of Emotions: Teachers can teach students to recognize and manage emotions through various activities and examples. This can be done by dedicating a day to reflect, contemplate, and meditate.
The Moral Dimension
The moral dimension of a child focuses on their daily dealing with people around them. Moral development is how a child develops proper attitude and behavior towards the other beings in their surroundings. Teachers can help children instill the values of harmony and kindness to be a better version of themselves:
1. Storytelling: Through stories, teachers lead children to relate themselves to the moral character and aspire to be like them. Discussions amidst storytelling help children comprehend ethical dilemmas and understand societal values.
2. Modeling Moral Behaviour: Children look up to teachers, try to act like them, and pick up their accents, words, expressions, etc. Teachers acting with integrity and respect are more likely to impact a child’s moral development positively.
3. Each Perspective Matters: Through team-based activities, teachers can place students in a situation where they can consider other viewpoints and work harmoniously.
Psychosocial Development
This aspect of holistic development focuses on the personality and social attitude of the child. Since most of the child’s achievements are associated with school, be it a rank in academics or best performance in dance or drama, teachers’ response and appreciation play a vital role.
1. Cultivating Self-Confidence: A child looks up to teachers for recognition of their efforts and hard work. Appreciating them and supporting their unique talents can foster self-confidence and resilience in children.
2. Facilitate Social Interactions: Teamwork and collaborative activities help children to develop social skills.
Benefits of Holistic Development
The all-round growth of children helps them deal with the world smartly, empathically, and efficiently. It empowers them to improve their academic opportunities and gain the life skills essential to flourish in their careers. Holistic learning is beneficial in the following ways:
1. Enhanced Academic Achievement: Holistic learning is based on engaging all the senses- body, mind, and soul, of the child. Since it is done in a safe and supportive environment, it leads to increased brain capacity irrespective of the background and subject of the child.
2. Better Mental Well-Being: Upcoming times are the times of cutthroat competition with increased stress and anxiety among children. Mindful learning through a holistic approach helps children to manage any situation easily. With Holistic learning, they learn self-awareness and build confidence and empathy.
3. Developing Problem-Solving Qualities: The best way to develop problem-solving aptitude is to have hands-on experience, which is promised in holistic learning. Through various activities, the teachers tune the child’s critical thinking and cognition to solve the problem.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the role of teachers in a child’s life isn’t limited to academics. Instead, teachers have a vast and vital role to play in a child’s holistic development. Each aspect of the holistic approach needs teachers to play the leading role. By addressing a child’s overall growth, this approach addresses the greater good of society. It nurtures the next generation to be empathetic, mindful, fit, collaborative, and happy. Learn about more topics like Role Of Teacher In Holistic Development Of A Child with littleginnie, the best preschool in South Delhi.
