Shun the ‘know-it-all’ attitude – Haffar tells Teachers

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• USMAN 10 years ago

  We have professional university graduate teachers who can not teach their subject areas.

  We have professional university graduate teachers who can not teach their subject areas.

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• Kojo Billy Duncan 10 years ago

  Well said Mr Haffar. It is the reason why most of our youth cannot engage in intellectual discourse on subjects ranging from archeology to zoology. Moreover, they are timid to express ideas and thoughts that challenge the sta ...
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  Well said Mr Haffar. It is the reason why most of our youth cannot engage in intellectual discourse on subjects ranging from archeology to zoology. Moreover, they are timid to express ideas and thoughts that challenge the status quo or orthodoxy as laid down by their elders, hence the stifling of the innovative spirit.

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• eric london 10 years ago

  Our system of education must be changed and the teachers should be encouraged and well paid.The church which is teaching rubbish and destroying the nation must be checked and instead promote education which is the backbone of ...
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  Our system of education must be changed and the teachers should be encouraged and well paid.The church which is teaching rubbish and destroying the nation must be checked and instead promote education which is the backbone of every nation.Superstition and mysticism,philosophy,physics and alchemy must be compulsory in our schools for Ghanaians to understand the reality of life.There is theory to prove matter and mass in physics,philosophers stone in alchemy and disapprove physics as science and if the universities in Ghana would agree I will come and teach them

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• Teacher under tree 10 years ago

  The sentiment is appropriate, but Mr Haffar, with the greatest respect, has not understood the basics of Ivan Pavlov's theory of classical conditioning. Given the state of Ghana's school meals service, it would not be surpri ...
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  The sentiment is appropriate, but Mr Haffar, with the greatest respect, has not understood the basics of Ivan Pavlov's theory of classical conditioning. Given the state of Ghana's school meals service, it would not be surprising if students salivate when they hear the end-of-lesson bell, but such a conditioned response hardly exemplifies critical thinking!

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• EASY WAYS 10 years ago

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• Hard Thinker 10 years ago

  These days it is which party that is in power & who in the party knows you that gets you a job. May be that is why teachers have relaxed. Why waste time, efforts & resources when it is the politician who decides the future of ...
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  These days it is which party that is in power & who in the party knows you that gets you a job. May be that is why teachers have relaxed. Why waste time, efforts & resources when it is the politician who decides the future of students? Not the reason for falling standards??? Long lists of Protocol Lists from party Chairmen, DCEs, MPs etc Why crack brains if the student has no access to these kind of people????

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• Kwame Angel 10 years ago

  Who is Haffar? Different teachers and professors have different teaching philosophies. Haffar can not define a standard philosophy for any teacher to follow. That challenge must be done with respect to the rights of other stu ...
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  Who is Haffar? Different teachers and professors have different teaching philosophies. Haffar can not define a standard philosophy for any teacher to follow. That challenge must be done with respect to the rights of other students. Teachers and mature enough to know when to apply the breaks without any feeling of "know it all". This is why different teachers have different philosophies. Go wey you, my friend.

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• Akadu Mensema 10 years ago

  Yes, every class, course, etc. is different.Great teachers are able those who have the capacity to adapt!

  Yes, every class, course, etc. is different.Great teachers are able those who have the capacity to adapt!

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• Whatever 10 years ago

  Teachers must appreciate that they are teaching their students to be better than them. So interactive teaching is important

  Teachers must appreciate that they are teaching their students to be better than them. So interactive teaching is important

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• MARCUS AMPADU 10 years ago

  Eminent educationalists should first of get together to come up with a common core - what every Ghanaian boy and girl need to master from class to class. Then teachers have to be trained in how to impart that knowledge, mindf ...
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  Eminent educationalists should first of get together to come up with a common core - what every Ghanaian boy and girl need to master from class to class. Then teachers have to be trained in how to impart that knowledge, mindful of differences in the learning styles of the children, and what Gardner calls multiple intelligences.
  We certainly have to reform our education system, from primary to tertiary, and the way we train our teachers.

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• Tolamanan 10 years ago

  What a wonderful piece we forget the difference between a preacher and a teacher.A preacher such as Duncan William,Asare and all the preachers just come stand in front of the congregation and preach or to say it right just ta ...
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  What a wonderful piece we forget the difference between a preacher and a teacher.A preacher such as Duncan William,Asare and all the preachers just come stand in front of the congregation and preach or to say it right just talk out loud or just pour on the people what they have read from the Bible the way they themselves understand it without anybody questioning but teaching allows all teacher and the learners or hearers to use their God given critical thinking to contribute and sometimes a student may end up to be right.So as a God teacher you should always be open for contributions or questions from your learners or listeners and quit the know all mindset.Go to any developed nation and ask your Dr.or Teacher or your Boss any question and he will answer you or if it is beyond his know how will be fair,bold and frank to tell you I donot want to feed you with any wrong info.so please bear with I will find out and get back to you because they always nobody can be a Mr know all.You donot expect a medical Dr to know everything about being they all have their strengths and weaknesses just like every human being that is why a good Dr will refer you to a specialist if he finds it to be beyond his know how or speciality.The problem with the African Teacher or Dr or lawyer is that they think they know it all so a lawyer back home wants to do insurances,criminal,immigration,land,visa,corporate,divorce,inheritance and every kind of lawyer.It is about time we accept change of our old innate mindset and know that nobody knows all.Thanks.

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• Akadu Mensema 10 years ago

  You don't share with those who don't know; you teach those who don't know. Of course, teachers have to be generous.

  You don't share with those who don't know; you teach those who don't know. Of course, teachers have to be generous.

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• Akoo London 10 years ago

  I have read with the educationalist view on teachers accepting challenge from students as a way of learning from them. This is the traditional view which does not hold any water nowadays.
  I will differ on his view on the CHA ...
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  I have read with the educationalist view on teachers accepting challenge from students as a way of learning from them. This is the traditional view which does not hold any water nowadays.
  I will differ on his view on the CHALLENGE that leads to cognitive and deeper thinking and knowledge. Our students must be stretched and pushed harder to think deeper in lessons. The teachers must create that opportunity for this to happen. More often than not our lessons are just 'coasting' through because we as teachers presume that the students do not know anything. Rather we should be in a position to create both conceptual as well as concrete materials to enable them to acquire knowledge beyond the normal.
  This challenge that I am thinking of should be based on 5 principles: Planning of the lesson, The structure and content of the lesson, the pace of the lesson, the teaching style and the expectations we convey to the students as teachers.
  It is about time teachers move away from didactic teaching and concentrate on creating opportunity for students to find things for themselves- moving away from lecture method to independent /direct learning experiences.

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• Derrick 10 years ago

  It is all fine and correct(theoretically)if teachers could stretch and challenge students but in what context and with what tools and methods?
  How many Ghanaian teachers have gone through this wonderful experience and how m ...
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  It is all fine and correct(theoretically)if teachers could stretch and challenge students but in what context and with what tools and methods?
  How many Ghanaian teachers have gone through this wonderful experience and how many are capable of employing this tactic usefully? Remember, any tool(form of instruction)could become a tool depending on who is wielding it. Good and dedicated teachers make great pupils with very little.
  I don't buy this theoretical nonsense.
  A dedicated teacher may not even have a good command of the medium of instruction, he may lack textbooks, enjoy his mango tree classroom but he lacks no enthusiasm and always finds a way to engage his tutees!
  How many Ghanaian teachers am i describing here?

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• Nana Kwaku 10 years ago

  “Education must also train one for quick, resolute and effective thinking. To think incisively and to think for one’s self is very difficult. We are prone to let our mental life become invaded by legions of half-truths, ...
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  “Education must also train one for quick, resolute and effective thinking. To think incisively and to think for one’s self is very difficult. We are prone to let our mental life become invaded by legions of half-truths, prejudices, and propaganda. At this point, I often wonder whether education is fulfilling its purpose.
  A great majority of the so called educated people do not think logically or scientifically. Even the press, the classroom, the platform, and the pulpit in many instances do not give us the objective and unbiased truths. To save man from the morass of propaganda, in my opinion, is one of the chief aims of education.
  Education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from the fiction. The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. But education which stops with efficiency may prove the greatest menace to society.
  The most dangerous criminal may be the man gifted with reason, but with no morals.”
  ~ Martin Luther King Jr.
  
  I think the great MLK Jr. has said it all. He even mentioned the pulpit. Please notice that our bosses give the young men in their companies the chance only when their PCs need some upgrading, etc. And please notice how by nature young women in the same companies get attracted to IT guys! This I did not read anywhere. It has been my personal observation! The bosses then start hating the same IT guy just because he's getting too close.
  
  This unfortunately is the same with our teachers and "men of the pulpit." No critical thinking is allowed in these two institutions. My wife (who has never set foot in a classroom) was listening to a radio discussion on divorce, when the studio preacher quoted the bible that a woman can be divorced only when she commits adultery. She quickly sprang to her feet that there is no logic in it. I asked her why, and she defended her claim that what if the woman is a thief and can one day arrange with crooks to rob, and if possibly kill her husband. My wife further claimed that if the couple were not community based, whereby they both grew up in the same community for the inhabitants to know their respective backgrounds, then anything can happen. Another point she raised was that what if the woman is so disrespectful that her attitude is causing the husband so much stress that there are signs the man will visit an early grave. Do we wait for him to die just because some critical thinking was not forthcoming? I felt so proud of her for one thing. All the two scenarios are taking place today!

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• Ewe nation 10 years ago

  That know-it-all attitude is an unfortunate trait inherently present in all ashantis.They think they are "the special tribe" anointed to lord it over other tribes.They think they know it better than others and they think they ...
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  That know-it-all attitude is an unfortunate trait inherently present in all ashantis.They think they are "the special tribe" anointed to lord it over other tribes.They think they know it better than others and they think they have all the answers.And mind you they don't even belong to Ghana.Their ancestral lands are in Mali and Ivory Coast yet they want to lord it over true Ghanaians like us Ewes and our brothers,the Gas.Pure asshole tribe with bad attitude and ugly lookin ape-like men.

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• KOBBY 10 years ago

  you've said it all. Thank you,you are some of the few people that can transform our education in Ghana.
  
  well taught

  you've said it all. Thank you,you are some of the few people that can transform our education in Ghana.
  
  well taught

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• Akosua 10 years ago

  Nobody force you not acquire knowledge. your analogy SUCKS.

  Nobody force you not acquire knowledge. your analogy SUCKS.

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• re 10 years ago

  teachers especially our university lecturers must be given some form of training to teach properly. some of our lecturesrs cant just deliver comprehensively what is their heads to students.

  teachers especially our university lecturers must be given some form of training to teach properly. some of our lecturesrs cant just deliver comprehensively what is their heads to students.

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• Notorious NDC Govt 10 years ago

  HEY, YOU SCATTERBRAIN! DID YOU UNDERSTAND THE CONTENT OF THIS WRITE-UP. IF YOU WELL DID, YOU WOULD KNOW MR HAFFER NEVER FOR A MOMENT SAY THAT UNIVERSITY LECTURERS CAN'T DELIVER. HE SAID TEACHERS MUST ALLOW STUDENTS TO CHALLEN ...
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  HEY, YOU SCATTERBRAIN! DID YOU UNDERSTAND THE CONTENT OF THIS WRITE-UP. IF YOU WELL DID, YOU WOULD KNOW MR HAFFER NEVER FOR A MOMENT SAY THAT UNIVERSITY LECTURERS CAN'T DELIVER. HE SAID TEACHERS MUST ALLOW STUDENTS TO CHALLENGE THEM, SINCE THE KNOW-IT -ALL ATTITUDE MAKES THEM FEEL TIMID. NOTHING MORE, NOTHING LESS. AS FOR BAD NUTS, WE HAVE THEM IN EVERY IN EVERY PROFESSION. MAJORITY OF TEACHERS/LECTURERS ARE MASTERS OF THEIR TRADE. THE PROBLEM RATHER IS THE STYLE OF TEACHING, PARTICULARLY FROWNING ON STUDENT CHALLENGE WHEN THERE'S THE NEED FOR IT. NOBODY KNOWS EVERYTHING, THAT'S THE POINT.

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• MAHAMA LACKS WISDOM 10 years ago

  WORDS OF WISDOM REALLY, MR HAFFAR. EVERY TEACHER, BY NECESSITY, MUST READ THIS. THE NOTION, OR IS IT A MINDSET, THAT WHEN A STUDENT CHALLENGES THE TEACHER IS TANTAMOUNT TO RUDE, DISRESPECTFUL BEHAVIOUR, IS PRIMITIVE. REALLY H ...
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  WORDS OF WISDOM REALLY, MR HAFFAR. EVERY TEACHER, BY NECESSITY, MUST READ THIS. THE NOTION, OR IS IT A MINDSET, THAT WHEN A STUDENT CHALLENGES THE TEACHER IS TANTAMOUNT TO RUDE, DISRESPECTFUL BEHAVIOUR, IS PRIMITIVE. REALLY HAS A BAD INFLUENCE ON LEARNERS OVER MANY DECADES. IN ADVANCED COUNTRIES, TEACHERS BRAVE THEMSELVES UP FOR IT, BECAUSE STUDENT CHALLENGE IS AN ACCEPTABLE NORM.

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• Yaw Manu 10 years ago

  I am glad my University lecturers were humble enough to tell a student they(the lecturers) don't know about what the student is asking and that the student should research on it. Computing is a field where new knowledge emerg ...
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  I am glad my University lecturers were humble enough to tell a student they(the lecturers) don't know about what the student is asking and that the student should research on it. Computing is a field where new knowledge emerge almost every second so my lecturers never had a know it all attitude.

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• Yaw Manu 10 years ago

  Maths Dept. Smart students detect error in marking scheme and go to see lecturer about it. He tells them We know it is wrong, but we have decided to make it right. Reason? Professors provided the wrong solution. The students ...
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  Maths Dept. Smart students detect error in marking scheme and go to see lecturer about it. He tells them We know it is wrong, but we have decided to make it right. Reason? Professors provided the wrong solution. The students had to reproduce the wrong answer so that they get their grades and go their way.

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• MAYOR WALEWALE 10 years ago

  This issue of teachers "know it all" is the way our curricullum materials are designed. In that, you are guided by the syllabi, and you are not suppose to go out it because you will chargged with teaching non_sylla. Therefore ...
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  This issue of teachers "know it all" is the way our curricullum materials are designed. In that, you are guided by the syllabi, and you are not suppose to go out it because you will chargged with teaching non_sylla. Therefore, when students are trying to take you out of context you need to draw their attention to that. Teachers do accept the views of their students in good faith but not when that will not bring anything meaningful to teaching and learning. YOU THE ONE COMPLAINING IS ONE OF THE CAUSES OF THAT NOTION BECAUSE YOU HAVE ALSO IN ONE OR THE OTHER CONTRIBUTED IN DESIGNING THE CURRILLUM MATERIALS, SO WHY DO YOU COMPLAIN AGAIN!!!

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