Adult TV

It's Sunday and a day away from PHDC - Play House Disney! A time for Nenek to watch some adult TV and I've always liked the discussions on Astro Awani.
This morning the panel spoke about "How do children see the World?"...and to expand on this view, I have my 2-sen worth of opinion. The knowledgeable panel spoke about children's observation, about nature vs. nurture, even about fetal absorption of `knowledge'. My 17 years at an Institution that trains teachers and wannabes, my part-time stints at a private university and general observation contribute largely to what I am about to disclose.
I will focus on the most recent experience of supervising 6 research students from a private U doing their First Degree in TESL. Last week, to be exact.
They were all teachers from semi-urban schools. They claimed in their papers that their students were `slow learners' or `below average' to justify their research topics. They investigated the kids' background, their cultural and racial origins, they made conclusions. And their topics to be `researched' into? Vocabulary ..Grammar...Pronunciation...Use songs, use pictures, use force even...and I can bet the kids' level of English will remain the same.
Do not blame the children. I partly blame the teachers and their attitudes.. Their topics reflect their lack of enthusiasm; the teachers sadly lack creativity; they have chosen topics so ordinary and where millions of researchers have done. All these teachers wanted is a degree so that they earn better pay. I had to correct THEIR own Grammar ("Why did the students wanted to learn songs?")and Vocabulary ("The control group was very effected by their learning method.")
I had suggested Drama but nobody took the challenge. What..all those hours of practice and rehearsals? No way Jose..
So HOW do children see the world, if not through the eyes of their teachers? Among children to whom English is a foreign language, these teachers are blaming the children for being `slow learners'. Label. That was what the Panel discussed this morning. How quickly and defensively we affix labels to save our own conscience.
Children idolise their teachers. The younger they are, the more they love their mentors. Teachers represent a brave new world to them. I already fear for my Iman and Imran. What kind of teachers will they get in their Kindergarten, will they be able to see the world through the teacher? Will the teacher be hardworking enough, concerned enough, and dedicated enough to bring them out in the morning for a stroll in the school yard to show them the different shapes of leaves and flowers? Will the teacher allow little grasshoppers to crawl on the twins' hands? Or will the teachers, like many do, merely flick open pages of science books?
Or, will everyone, like the Panel (they were educationists), accuse the parents? Or grandparents? Neneks?
My apprehension is real.