Who is a great teacher?
A great teacher respects students and values each student’s ideas and opinions, making them feel safe to express their feelings and learn to respect and listen to others.
He creates a sense of community and belonging in the classroom where there are rules to follow and jobs to be done and each student is aware that he or she is an important person in the group.
A great teacher should have expert communication skills, deep knowledge and passion for the subject, an ability to build a caring relationship with students, friendliness and approachability and preparation and organising skills.
The mediocre teacher tells, the good teacher explains, the superior teacher demonstrates and the great teacher inspires.
Great teachers believe every student is capable of achieving success and do all they can to find ways of making each student successful.
They are warm, accessible, enthusiastic and caring. Teachers with these qualities are known to stay after school hours and make themselves available to students and parents who need them.
A great teacher is like a candle which consumes itself to light the way for others.
He is hard to find, difficult to part with and impossible to forget.
He can inspire hope, ignite imagination and instill love of learning.
D. Weeratunga,
Nugegoda
Thanks to the Lawyers for Democracy
Lawyers for Democracy have requested President Maithripala Sirisena to have a second thought on the implementation of the capital punishment.
The capital punishment is not an effective deterrent.
Even when the death penalty is not implemented for murder, it is to be implemented for narcotics offences. Are narcotics offences more serious than murder? Those who sell narcotics do it to become rich. Our society is money oriented. This nature of society is a cause for many crimes.
We must think of eliminating the causes of crimes without killing human beings. All beings will die. No one is required to kill a being whether human or otherwise.
Martin Dasanayake,
Dompe
Garbage in Wattala
The Wattala Pradeshiya Sabha has earned notoriety for failing in its duties to collect and dispose of garbage at a proper location. Garbage collection which does not take place methodically has caused severe inconvenience to residents in the area.
Garbage collection in fits and starts has aggravated the problem. Refuse foodstuff hanging on gates and walls in containers for days and weeks not only emanates a bad odour in the area but also spreads dengue and other viral diseases.
The area gets flooded for the slightest shower due to a haphazardly maintained drainage system. Polythene bags, sewerage lines directed to drains and leaves from untrimmed trees clog drains creating an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Stringent penalties leading to imprisonment is the best deterrent to get over the persisting crisis which reflects badly on the country. It is incumbent upon the authorities to find a solution to the issue.
A concerned citizen