1-1 Activity 3_ Reading 2: Social Cognitive Theory

My powerful lessons learnt during this Activity

 That children learn what they see and they model and imitate the behaviour of persons around them especially teachers. This scenario was recently expereinced by me as I watched my great nephew (5 years old) playing school with his teddy bears and toy trucks.
 He was the teacher and the teddy bear and toys were the children. He came to me and asked for a ruler. I asked him why and his response was "I am the teacher".  I questioned him and he said he was playing school with "Simba and my toys". I asked him again what is the ruler for and he said to me "Teacher use a ruler to point at the board and to beat." That triggered some emotions but  I calmed myself,  gave him the ruler and decided I would peek on him just to see how he was playing school.
  The toys were on the chair and he was standing infront with the ruler waving it in the air and saying
" Children listen and follow on the black board".
Then he hit one of the teddy bears and said "Simba you hush". Then he turne to the truck and waved the ruler at it and said "Truck, you and car keep still before I beat you". he then turned to the wall (blackboard) and pointed to it while looking at the toys and said "One plus one is two, now repeat".

It was in amazement as to his vivid role playing of the teacher and how he acted out the roles after only beginning primary school three weeks ago. It is quite obvious that the influence of this teacher on the child is great and it is quite obvious that from what he has displayed that this teacher like to beat and uses the ruler to beat quite often to drive fear into the children and it is not a good situation for learning.
We as teachers must always be cognisant of the fact that the students are watching us no matter how small they are and that at all time we have to be POSITIVE ROLE MODELS who EXHIBIT POSTIVE ACTIONS and ATTITUDES at all times. 

Secondly the Teaching and Learning process is a two way process where roles can be interchangeable. I wanted to become a teacher as I wanted to change the way teaching was done and I think I have actually done so in many cases at some point in time in my twenty six years of teaching. In relation to this reading I think I have done so by allowing students to take charge in the classroom. This has helped them to develop their self esteem, leadership skills, cooperative learning and who knows grooming a teacher in the making. ( Many of my students are now teachers). I realised I needed to help make school a place where young people can use their intelligence i.e their ability to come up with  new and creative/ innovative rational ideas which can be employed in the classroom to help their learning. Students should be encouraged to think and create, and the curriculum must be relevent and stimulating. They must also be taught at a pace that they can cope. I have been doing these things for a number of years and this reading brought up some past feelings which have allowed me to recognise that I am enacting EDUCATIONAL CHANGE.