By Maryam A Al Thani, Teach For Qatar Fellow
How soon can one work on their values? The answer is, it is never too soon or too late. Us teachers, interact with hundreds of students on a daily basis, most from diverse backgrounds, we learn from them as much as they learn from us. It is our responsibility to provide these students with values that will shape them and allow them to be the best versions of themselves for themselves.
One of my biggest passions is hearing from my students about their views on life. I was always intrigued about how much trust these students had in me, I when I realized the responsibility on my shoulders. I needed to not only be a role model to them, but to also leave an impact on them. This pushed me to further open their eyes on important values that will help them in the long run.
Throughout the school year, we would include basic values in each and every lesson. A lesson about recycling? Let’s talk about responsibility. A lesson about inviting friends over? Let’s talk about politeness! A Lesson about summer jobs for teens? Commitment it is! Showing these values in context really allows the students to absorb their importance. But hearing about these values from someone they trust wants the best for them, further pushes its impact.
The impact of incorporating values was undeniably effective with my students. They loved creating research papers and projects on the “Value of the Day” and presenting to their classmates. Slowly they became passionate about it, they even started to call each other out if someone wasn’t being respectful, kind or honest.
Being far away from my students all of a sudden really threw me off, but I made a decision that I was not going let this pandemic throw all my work and effort down the drain. I created an Instagram page to stay connected with my students, we played games, checked up on each other and most importantly kept our values alive and rolling in the back of their heads. This page allowed the students to refresh their memories on the importance of values, on the impact they have on creating a better society.
I never know where to begin when talking about my students, these are our future leaders, these are the people we should be investing our time and effort in. Great things are to come, and specially from them. Let’s start building a clean mindset, a mindset of commitment, responsibility and honesty. A mindset based on values that will only make them stronger and better people.
