Language of a teacher in the classroom

'As a teacher, it is our responsibility to choose our words carefully. Our language should create a warm and safe space for them.'

Our language is a powerful tool. It is more influential in a classroom environment in the hands (read ‘tongue’) of a teacher. We tend to use it in whatever way we are willing to as it seems to be easy. But a slight mishandling may lead to a serious injury, which may not always be visible. Let me give you an example.

Rohan and Riya are not paying attention to the class. The teacher notices it and says staring at them, “I like how Neha and Anup are listening to the class! Everyone should follow it!” After this, there is a change in Rohan and Riya. They seem to pay attention to the class.

This looks harmless and the teacher believes that their way of dealing with ‘these kinds of students’ is perfect. But did you realize that they changed their behaviour not because they were motivated or developed self-control but because they faked it just to win the teacher’s favour? This is damaging in multiple ways. The students isolate themselves more and the teacher-student bond is compromised, they lose trust in the teacher, consequently, their learning is obstructed. On top of that, comparing one student with the other never leads to a positive outcome.

As a teacher, it is our responsibility to choose our words carefully. Our language should create a warm and safe space for them. One way of doing it is by using inclusive words which welcome various types of students regardless of their background. To keep my article precise, I will focus on using gender-neutral terms in our classrooms. We, teachers, make a serious mistake when we assume one’s gender expression (which is unnecessary). Today when most of us are talking about equal human rights, we teachers are extremely powerful to set the tone of it right from our classroom for the next generation.

Most of our languages are male-centric where toxic patriarchy comes into play. Here is a list of gender-biased words and how we can substitute them:

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