Learning is a joy and teaching is a boon. Very few people get an opportunity to take up the teaching profession and become responsible teachers. Our students have faith instilled in us and it is our duty to ensure that we do live up to their expectations.

Inside a classroom among so many students, it becomes essential for the teacher to find out the number of slow learners and find out ways and measures to help and guide them in their learning process. Being a class teacher of VIII Grade I have realized that there are many children who are the slow learners and it is a challenge to make a slow learner improve on their regular lessons.

Here are some essential ways in which a slow learner might be dealt inside the classroom:

1. First and foremost, avoid making them feel that they are the slow learners and are not as intelligent as their intelligent peers. This constant fear of being tagged as slow learners might affect their level of confidence and definitely hamper their concentration level inside the class room. Instead treat them as any other child and make them feel comfortable. Avoid making much attention to these learners as this might gain all the unwanted attention from the other students.
2. Attend to their needs, yet not making it very obvious that more attention is being paid to the particular child. This increases the curiosity among the other students and some might start pitying the slow learner, which could result in embarrassment within the slow learner. After all no child wants to be pitied, but every child wants to be praised for his or her capabilities.
3. Avoid showing intolerance towards these children as they might feel unwanted. Always have a tolerant attitude towards these children and monitor their activities inside the class room. Give them ample opportunities to voice out their opinion in front of their peers. Guide them if they make any mistake while working out a lesson and encourage them with a lot of extra activities. This constant appreciation will help the learners to gain confidence and he will surely come out with bright colours.
4. Try to find out the areas in which a slow learner is good at. For instance, there are some slow learners who might be good in base ball, or cricket, or in music. Make these areas their strengths and motivate them to take up extra lessons on their talents. Try to make a note of all the small acts that they perform inside the class room. Trust me there’s a lot to find out about them through these acts.
5. Give them responsibilities and have trust in them. Avoid comparing them with the intelligent lot as this might dampen their spirits. Don’t try to over praise them in front of the class, because that might also lead to all the unwanted attention from the other children.
6. The most important thing is to interact with them like any other normal child you would have interacted with. Try knowing more about these kinds of children, about their likes and dislikes. This will help matters to be sorted out.

Slow learners are also learners, it is only the adjective ‘slow’ that tries to create a bar in between their peers and them. Being an educator it is our duty to do away with this tag and let them be known as ‘Learners of a modern education system

’.