gUrU

12 Jan 2012

KOMENTAR

PADA HEMAT SAYA
Contoh dan cemar pada guru

Oleh
Mohd Raman Daud
RENTETAN kes cabul melibatkan segelintir guru (termasuk guru tuisyen) dan muridnya sejak beberapa tahun ini memang memprihatinkan.

Kisah seperti ini tidak pernah terbayang sejauh ini. Namun, sejak ada media sosial, batas profesionalisme hubungan guru dan murid seolah- olah kian kabur.

Di Parlimen kelmarin, isu ini dijelaskan oleh Menteri Negara (Pendidikan), Encik Lawrence Wong. Katanya, semua guru yang baru memulakan kerjaya perlu melalui proses yang menekankan peri pentingnya nilai luhur keguruan.

Namun, perilaku guru yang tidak senonoh sudah diperikan orang dulu-dulu. Sewaktu belajar di Sekolah Rendah Tanglin Besar hampir lima dekad lalu, antara peribahasa yang kami cuba fahami ialah 'jika guru kencing berdiri, anak murid kencing berlari'.

Kami tertawa terbahak-bahak mendengar peribahasa itu. Namun, guru bahasa ketika itu memang serius. Menurutnya, peribahasa itu membawa erti yang amat penting. Pertama-tama, peranan guru menjadi orang budiman, mendidik masyarakat termasuk murid sekolah rendah.

Setiap tingkah laku guru diperhatikan oleh masyarakat (orang kampung). Guru menjadi semacam matahari kampung.

Ketika pernah menjadi guru pelatih dan berdampingan dengan para guru, barulah saya dapat membezakan erti 'cikgu' dan 'guru'.

Menurut Pendeta Dr Hj Muhd Ariff Ahmad, 'cikgu' iaitu singkatan 'encik atau cik guru' lebih mencerminkan guru yang hidup makan gaji sehingga detik bersaranya.

Namun, 'guru' daripada bahasa Sanskerta yang bermakna seorang arif yang setia menunjuk ajar (orang Melayu dulu juga memanggilnya 'ajar-ajar' atau 'pengajar') serta mempunyai budi pekerti yang tinggi sehingga akhir hayatnya.

Profesi guru memang dipandang mulia dalam hampir semua tamadun. Socrates, Plato dan Aristotle merupakan ahli falsafah Yunani dan para guru yang menjadi asas tamadun Barat.

Bahkan, para rasul dan nabi merupakan guru yang agung yang menjadi asas kepada pelbagai agama. Confucius dianggap guru terbilang bagi tamadun Cina.

Dalam menyusur sejarah kebangkitan semangat nasionalisme Melayu, guru merupakan antara faktor penting.

Maktab Perguruan Sultan Idris di Tanjung Malim, Perak, dianggap wadah tampil guru yang luar biasa seperti Haron Mohd Amin (Pak Har yang merupakan novelis paling prolifik dalam sejarah kesusasteraan Melayu moden), Mahmud Ahmad, Dr Muhd Ariff dan Masuri SN.

Selain wartawan yang menjadi peniup semangat lewat akhbar, guru amat berpengaruh dalam mencanangkan rasa harga diri orang Melayu agar tidak terus dijajah.

Pun sejarah sedemikian berlaku kerana tiada banyak bidang profesi lain bagi orang Melayu yang terjajah. Amat sedikit yang menjadi doktor, peguam dan seumpamanya tetapi mereka ada terlibat dalam membangun azam antipenjajahan.

Saya pernah terbaca tulisan sasterawan besar Indonesia, Putu Wijaya, asal Bali pada 2009 mengenai pujiannya kepada guru:

'Pada masa lalu, guru adalah orang yang lebih tahu yang mengajarkan seseorang tentang sesuatu yang ingin dikuasainya.

'Di dalam mengajarkan itu, berbagai-bagai cara ditempuh oleh guru sesuai dengan keupayaan masing- masing. Ada yang sangat mempertimbangkan mutu, keupayaan serta keterbatasan muridnya.

'Ia menjadi guru yang lebih merupakan orang tua yang mengarahkan dan menumbuhkan muridnya untuk menguasai ilmu dengan kasih sayang.'

Putu Wijaya (pernah menyertai Minggu Penulis Singapura tahun lalu) juga menyatakan:

'Ada guru yang sama sekali tidak peduli (cara lain untuk peduli), sehingga murid-muridnya akan berusaha dengan seluruh kemampuannya untuk pintar.

'Ketika para pelukis anggota Sanggar Bambu Yogya meminta Afandi meluangkan waktu untuk mengajar, agar kemampuan mereka meningkat, Afandi menolak. Dia bilang dia sedang berpacu untuk mengejar berbagai-bagai pencapaian di dunia internasional.

'Kalau Sanggar Bambu mahu belajar, jangan minta saya berhenti atau menoleh ke belakang, tapi silakan mengejarku, agar pengejaranku tidak terganggu,' kata pelukis terkenal Indonesia itu.')

Tambah Pak Putu, 68 tahun:

'Murid pun ada bermacam-macam. Ada yang patuh, belajar dengan sabar. Ia akan mengikuti seluruh ucapan, fikiran dan perintah daripada guru dengan hormat dan bahkan takut. Mati pun ia bersedia demi guru. Murid macam itu tumbuh menjadi duplikat guru kalau tidak bisa dikatakan pengikutnya yang setia.'

Barangkali dari sana lahir pepatah: 'Guru kencing berdiri, murid kencing berlari'.

Jadi, konteks peribahasa 'guru kencing berdiri' dinilai Pak Putu sebagai 'positif' menurut pandangan murid yang taksub akan gurunya.

Di sinilah berlaku tengkarah bahawa guru sedemikian hanya membawa kerosakan kepada murid atau pengikutnya.

Imam Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali menyifatkan ulama sebagai guru yang membawa dua kesan - baik atau rosak (ulama su').

Bahkan, beliau mengingatkan bahawa jumlah ulama merosak akan bertambah menjelang akhir zaman. Oleh itu, berhati-hatilah mencari guru atau berguru.

Dalam Islam, antara amalan berguru ialah mencari guru yang benar-benar dapat membimbing ilmu zahir dan batin.

Lazimnya, rantai pertalian guru dicari sehingga akhirnya sampai kepada para sahabat dan akhirnya Nabi Muhammad saw selaku guru agung Islam. Itulah sebabnya ulama silam sering membanggakan deretan gurunya yang sebenarnya berkaitan antara satu sama lain.

Zaman saya bersekolah rendah sehingga menengah masih diwarnai oleh guru yang bengis. Ada yang membawa rotan. Segelintir saja guru yang lucu dan bertindak macam teman.

Namun, dalam begitu banyak guru, saya teringat seorang guru yang mengajar Ilmu Hisab (Matematik) dan menjadi guru Pasukan Kadet Kebangsaan (NCC) di Sekolah Menengah Swiss Cottage.

Di sebalik wajah serius, hatinya mulia sehingga sanggup mengajak kami belajar kelas tambahan Matematik di rumah dalam bahasa Inggeris. Disediakan juadah untuk kami yang selalu lapar dan haus. Padahal kami murid aliran Melayu. Usahanya berhasil. Namun, guru itu kemudian berhijrah ke Malaysia. Semoga barakah laluan hidupnya.

Guru kini memang tidak sehebat dulu - jika masuk dalam kelas, tiba-tiba disebut 'malaikat lalu'. Seorang ustaz menceritakan pengetua Madrasah Aljunied yang apabila masuk pekarangan, murid yang gamat tiba-tiba sepi.

Ya, guru kini tidak lagi ditakuti bukan kerana hilang kehebatannya. Namun, guru sudah berubah menjadi teman yang menggantikan peranan ibu bapa yang terlalu sibuk atau tidak tahu mengasuh anaknya.

Guru kini tidak dilihat sebagai gedung ilmu sejak adanya Internet. Namun, guru lebih dinilai sebagai pemudah cara (fasilitator) yang tugasnya menyampaikan ilmu dan caranya kepada murid.

Bahkan murid disuruh belajar cara kumpulan untuk menemukan (discover) ilmu dan sebagainya. Kononnya, cara ini lebih inovatif. Saya sendiri kurang pasti.

Saya pernah menjadi guru kelas malam di Lembaga Gerakan Pelajaran Dewasa di Sekolah Menengah Monk's Hill lebih tiga dekad lalu. Pun saya mengajar sebagai guru pelatih cuma tiga bulan di sebuah sekolah kelas Pra-U. Namun, gaji guru ketika itu amat kecil, jadi terpaksa saya cari kerja lain.

Kini kian ibu bapa kekurangan masa, gurulah menjadi harapan. Sudahlah begitu, imej mereka juga terjejas oleh sikap segelintir yang memasuki profesi ini kerana dianggap 'mudah mendapatkan kerja' atau bergaji boleh tahan. Jadi, timbullah segelintir guru yang merosak kerana tiada dedikasi, apatah lagi berlaku cabul dan mendera.

Sedang Singapura kian berkembang menjadi hab ilmu dan pendidikan, profesi guru akan terus diperlukan. Kalangan mereka itu ada yang begitu tertekan. Bahkan saya diberitahu, ada guru termasuk pengetua yang perlu mendapatkan rawatan jiwa kerana tekanan kerja.

Pokoknya, guru akhirnya boleh jadi teman dalam mengenal kehidupan yang rumit.

Baru-baru ini saya menemui seorang guru pencen yang sedang pulih di hospital sesudah mengalami pendarahan usus.

'Man, berapa umur kau?' tanyanya.

'54, cikgu.'

'Eh kau dah tua rupanya, apatah lagi aku.'

Kami tertawa seolah-olah masa silam itulah guru. Dan kini tinggal sejarah saja.

THE 'SMART' TEACHER

The 'smart' teacher

Nithya Siddhu

| The Star/Asia News Network |

Mon Oct 31 2011

Good educators are not determined by their race, qualifications or personality, but by their willingness to strive for the best of themselves.

Deepavali was celebrated a few days ago. This festival of lights never fails to remind me of how much teachers should live up to the fact that they are called guru.

Befitting its Sanskrit meaning, a guru, like the deepam (light) is a "remover of darkness". Therefore, teachers should enlighten.

Recently, I received three e-mails from a group of teachers undergoing their postgraduate diploma in teaching at a local university.

I had given them a talk on action research but I was surprised to note that the burning question they all sought me to answer was this: "How can I become a better teacher?"

They all desired to be teachers who would be respected and remembered fondly by their students.

In view of the nationwide concern that the quality of teaching in this country is in dire straits, I must say their question deserves a well-thought out answer.

Over the past 25 years, I have worked with, met and observed scores of good, dedicated teachers but whenever talk turns to the subject of poor teaching, fingers inevitably get pointed at a teacher's race, level of education or years of teaching experience.

Truth is, good teaching has more to do with a teacher's personality, character, attitude, values, personal beliefs and intelligence than anything else.

In my opinion, here is what it takes to make a good teacher. I have used the acronym SMART to exemplify the salient characteristics that I personally think make the crucial difference.

S - structured, systematic, yet spontaneous and stimulating

Yes, a good teacher is an organised person. Her lessons are well-planned, her preparation thorough and her teaching progresses from the simple to the complex and abstract. She is aware that teaching is her core business and she takes it seriously.

I have, in fact, seen teachers teach with such attention to detail that it is as if their lives depended on it! They are on the right track because they see teaching not only as a means of livelihood, but as a profession that needs and thrives on passion.

Therefore, they make it their business to teach well - teaching briskly, efficiently and in a businesslike manner. In their classes, they give clear presentations, speak clearly, are expressive and easily understood. They also use a wide variety of models, aids, examples and methods to ensure understanding of the material taught.

Being performance orientated, they set academic tasks that are age and ability appropriate. Yet, they have a strong sense of "with-it-ness" and can spontaneously adapt their teaching to suit any new circumstance and situation that arises in the classroom.

I cannot count the number of times I had to "rise to the occasion" rapidly and change (often on the spot) the kind of stimuli I used to arouse and sustain interest. Sometimes, in the middle of a lesson, I would have to change tack and throw in a game or two (or change from teacher-student interaction to student-student interaction) simply because I knew the lesson was not generating interest.

M - Master of the subject they teach

It was John Milton Gregory who said, "The teacher must know that which he would teach. Imperfect knowing must be reflected in imperfect teaching".

When a teacher of English can barely write a grammatically correct English essay herself, does it matter what race she is?

If a teacher is trained to teach Physics but has no clear idea how the hydraulic system works, does it matter to his students that he holds a Masters degree in Educational Management?

If a Mathematics teacher still struggles to solve a challenging question on calculus in last year's SPM paper, does it matter that he's been teaching the subject for many years?

In contrast, students will appreciate the newly qualified Chemistry graduate who knows his subject well enough to teach them a unique way to remember the name of all the elements that are more reactive than carbon.

Take pride in being the master of the subject you teach and you secure the respect of your students.

In my 16th year of teaching, I was asked to teach Form Six Biology. This was a huge leap from the Form Five Biology syllabus, which I knew like the back of my own hand.

I remember getting up at the crack of dawn to devour Reese and Campbell's Biology textbook for A-Levels, just to be one step ahead of my students!

I studied like crazy, prepared fresh worksheets and learning modules, and became a student all over again. The truth is this - you really must know that which you teach!

A - Affective

In all the years I taught, my students responded with alacrity whenever I took the trouble to "affect" them positively. My personality mattered!

Teachers have to be charming, lively, interesting, fun, creative, interested, giving, engaging, encouraging, warm, amiable, pleasant and a hundred other things just to melt their students' hearts.

Good teaching takes a lot out of you. Personally, I found teaching very rewarding yet intensely exhausting.

Are your students "affected" by your teaching? Do you have a positive impact and "effect" on them?

If teaching is all about bringing about positive change in the mind, emotion and will of students, the teacher who has the "oomph" personality wins hands down.

I realised years ago that my students didn't care one bit what race I was or whether I had any Javanese, Singhalese or Fuchow blood in my veins.

All they cared for was this: Could I attract and maintain their attention and interest? Was I kind, helpful, just, concerned, a good listener and a person they could talk to?

You are truly mistaken if you think the specific blend of DNA you carry in your cells matters.

What matters to them is who you are as a person. If you are caring, unprejudiced, understanding, empathic and supportive, they will appreciate your teaching.

R - Responsible and responsive

The word "responsible" is about the ability to respond. Good teachers respond to the professional demands set by their work, leaders, superiors, colleagues, students, situations and circumstances in a way that reflects their character.

Primarily, they seek to understand first and then, respond to the real needs of their students.

The good teacher always asks questions such as: "What it is that my students don't understand or find it difficult to understand?"

"How can I make the understanding of this material easier and more interesting for them?"

"How can I help them become better learners and better people?"

In other words, "How can I educate my students?"

And, in turn, "How can I educate myself?"

Character is the backbone of a good teacher.

A teacher with character responds to challenges by being industrious, professional, ethical, diligent, just, honest and trustworthy.

She knows teaching is a huge responsibility and she acts accordingly to lead a principled life.

Year after year, one of the things I strived for was to be a moral exemplar to my students. I use the word "strive" because it is far, far easier to preach than practise!

When you realise that things are easier said than done, you also wake up to the fact that constant struggle and the resultant learning must be part of a good teacher's make-up.

T - Thinking and reflective

Compared to a person's academic level of education, I respect intelligence more in a teacher. The reason is simple.

A good teacher needs and uses intelligence to reflect and think about her practices. She uses it to innovate, improve and develop as a professional.

The thinking, reflective teacher is one who spearheads true progress.

By asking herself constantly, "what works, and what doesn't?" and fine-tuning her teaching methods, she is miles ahead of those who are in a teaching rut simply because they have stopped thinking about how they, or their approaches can be changed or be modified to improve matters.

The reflective teacher will step away from mundane, routine ways. Anytime. Anywhere.

In the final summation, I am reminded of the courtroom scene in William Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice.

In it, this is what Portia famously said:

"The quality of mercy is not strain'd,

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven

Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest;

It blesseth him that gives and him that takes."

I sometimes think she could well be talking about the quality of good teaching.