Religion and Theology

It may be true that some people have a natural gift or talent for teaching, but they can achieve a much more considerable success in this field if they follow several basic principles. Thus, if a talented teacher applies the right teaching methods, his or her students will accept the new material very positively and therefore the received knowledge will have a more considerable impact on their lives. Any teacher can learn such methods and be able to educate students more effectively. The seven laws of the learner is an essential teacher training aid for both religious and secular educators. The law guides the teacher on the ways of achieving the best in passing information to the learners. This paper views the laws of teaching as discussed by Bruce Wilkinson in his book The Seven Laws of the Learner. The laws are based on the personal experience of Wilkinson, including the observations of his teachers and that received in the course of his own teaching practice. The seven laws of the learner provides the teachers with practical theories that can be used to motivate learners to personalize the content of the knowledge by simplifying, packaging and rearranging the content so that it is absorbed by the learners memory effortlessly. The laws define the difference between speaking and communicating and are essential not only for the teachers but also parents and leaders who need to improve on how they communicate with each other (Wilkinson, 2005).

The Seven Laws of the Learner
The first law states that the teachers responsibility is to make the student learn. Wilkinson describes the role of a teacher to enable his or her students to learn by giving examples of real life situations. He narrated a story of how he went into a freshman class and taught for twenty minutes and gave a test on what he had taught for the twenty minutes. Being the first class to attend in the college, the students were not happy about him and thought that they should be given time to learn the concepts taught. Most of the students failed the test and felt that the test should not be recorded. To the surprise of the students, he admitted that he was the failure himself and not the students. The students pay their tuition fees expecting to learn and therefore the teacher should ensure that the students do learn. He felt that the performance of the students demonstrated his effectiveness of teaching during the time of 20 minutes. He convinced the students that they should expect to learn something in the end of the lesson otherwise he has failed in his job. He vowed to the students that in the subsequent classes, they should expect him to be responsible for their learning.

An educator should therefore teach until the students understand and learn the new material. The effectiveness of the teacher can then be gauged by testing the students at the end of the lesson. It is the responsibility of the teacher to apply all the possible methods to make his students learn something in the end of the lesson. He also gives an example of his son who had a language teacher who insisted that the students must move on with the book although they did not get what she taught. According to this rule, a teacher has taught, if he has caused the students to learn (Wilkinson, 2005).

The second law states that the teacher must be accountable for his actions. Being responsible is closely related to being accountable for the work done. When an individual is responsible for a project, he is held accountable for his performance. The Bible clearly states in 1 Cor. 510, that we will have to account to God for all our deeds committed during our life. This is the day when we will be all accountable for our actions and faithfulness. Teachers have a responsibility of making their students learn and are accountable to God. According to the word of God, the role of a teacher is essential in the society. They are not only responsible for their students score in their tests, but also the evolution and betterment of their souls. The teacher should however be ready to face challenges just as the Master Teacher who was also faced with demoralizing students such as the Pharisees who challenged both the content of his teaching and his life events and the reputation. The teacher should teach when confronted with joy or grief because he is commissioned by the Lord (Wilkinson, 2005).

The third law states that the teacher has control over the subject, style and speaker. In the learning process, the teacher has a full control and that is why he is answerable to the Lord. A teacher controls the subject of the lesson by choosing the words to use. He also controls the teaching style throughout the lesson. He can change the tone, posture or the teaching method at will. He also have the control over himself, how he dresses, talks, sits, walks and how he carries out his duties. All the major elements of teaching and learning are under the control of the teacher which makes him responsible. By choosing the correct subject, style of teaching and how he speaks the teacher causes the learners to learn.

The fourth law states that the teachers success is judged by the success of his students. The success of the teacher is not determined by the gender, age, educational level, experience or the hobbies of the teacher but on his ability to cause the learners to learn. Although the credentials of a teacher are a consideration in the process of hiring, the credentials tell nothing about the effectiveness of the teacher. The teacher can only be rated from the performance of the student at the end of the course. Therefore, the teacher may have earned additional degrees, published many papers, gained experience, served in various committees or even been nominated for national and international awards which means the teacher has a great personality, but indeed, he is only then a great teacher if he is able to make his learners successful in their learning activities (Wilkinson, 2005).

The fifth law states that the teachers character and commitment to his teaching work has a more considerable impact on his teaching than his communication. The person the teacher is has more weight in his work than what he says. What the teacher says is influenced by his character. Unfortunately, despite the power of actions over the words, the world both in religious and secular issues gives more emphasis on the words. For example, the church may chose to retain a pastor who is immoral on the bases that he is a powerful preacher. Great preachers in the world have been openly opposed to the true word of God and their oratory abilities are excellent yet their words move the whole world. Despite that, teachers of character influence their students more and they receive genuine admiration and honor from their students. The greatest joy to a teacher is his students aspiring to be like him.

The sixth law states that the primary role of the teacher is to serve his students. The teachers role in the class room is compared to the role of a waiter in the restaurant. A teacher should not forget that he is a servant when in a classroom. They are there to take care of the needs of the students and not their personal needs. The teacher should not be concerned about himself on what people think about him provided he is able to satisfy the needs of his students. By aiming at meeting the needs of the audience, even a first time public speaker will not be able to control his nervousness. The service of a teacher to his students can also be compared to the love of a parent to his children. Although a parent may strive to demonstrate love to his children, they may not see it that way which is the same case to a teacher. However, when the teacher understands his role in the classroom, his frustrations transforms into motivations. The lord is able to use us only if we are ready to serve the audience who are our students. A great teacher should therefore seek for ways of meeting his students needs (Wilkinson, 2005).

The seventh law summarizes the other six laws by stating that a teacher who follows these laws can become a master teacher. By understanding the laws, it comes out clearly that master teachers are not made nor are they born but they are improved. An individual may have a talent but if there is no persistent effort to improve, the talent is wasted. Greatness is achieved through many small steps of improvement over many years. The endeavor to attain an individuals potential is what makes people great but not their natural talents. To demonstrate this law, Wilkinson gives an example of a hiring process in which an old man who had years of experience and a young woman who had two years experience turned up for the interview. Days later, the old man was very furious with the recruitment committee who had opted for the woman with less experience. He demanded for an explanation why he was not given the job while he was the favorite for the job. However, committee thought that the man had taught for many years but his performance had not improved over the years. On the other hand, the young woman had improved over two years to beat the over thirty years experienced man (Wilkinson, 2005).

Conclusion
According to Wilkinsons suggestions, a great teacher is not born so. Moreover, a teacher does not become great by the number of years he has served the cause of educating, the educational level he has attained or the number of educational papers he has published. A teacher can only be rated through his performance in class. A teacher whose students are able to learn can be rated as a great teacher. To achieve the basic role of a teacher, causing the student to learn, the teacher should understand the seven laws of the learner.