Essay on Implications for the Teacher Regarding Heredity and Environment

A teacher should know about the implications of hereditary and environmental backgrounds for the teaching-learning process.

The measured intelligence of individuals or groups of individuals is related to some extent to their educational experiences. There are intellectual differences in terms of the amount of formal education, even in cases of siblings who initially look alike.

Again, many individuals who were originally labeled as feeble minded or mentally retarded become able to function as normal persons in their communities after they have received the right kind of education or training. This indicates the positive impact of a stimulating environment on the development.

Therefore, a favourable stimulating and supportive educational atmosphere should be provided to children coming to the school. Following suggestions are given:

1. Teaching Strategies:

The curriculum development, teaching strategies or guidance, knowledge of one’s heredity and environment backgrounds, and their impact on an individual’s personality is very handy to teachers and curriculum developers. Educationists attach great importance to the selection of proper teaching methods to suit the need of the students.

2. Selection of Children:

The selection and placement of children in various groups should be done on the basis of their qualities, skills and talents.

3. Educational Guidance:

Students need educational guidance to either select a suitable course of study or to improve the level of their achievements.

4. Counseling for Adjustment:

Guidance also involves counseling for adjustment to educational, emotional or social situations.

5. Reduction of Educational Variability:

The purpose of individualized instruction is to reduce the educational variability among individuals by catering to their specific needs arising out of individual differences.

6. Helping Every Child:

Individualized instruction aims at helping every child according to his capabilities. The individualized instruction is not meant to impart instruction to each child separately.

A group of students similar to each other in terms of intelligence, interest, personality, etc. can be taught together.

7. Utilization of Information:

We can utilize information about every child’s personality and cognitive development for the purpose of selection and placement in a suitable vocation.

8. Group Formation:

Children with specific skills, whether obtained through heredity or acquired through environment, may be put in suitable groups or advised to go to a particular stream of education.

9. Essentiality of Counseling:

Counseling should be an integral part of educational guidance in our system. The guidance aims at making the individual aware of his own interests and abilities and to guide him in the proper direction.

10. Corrective Measures:

We should observe each student for the initial period carefully and find out details about him.

On the basis of our observation we can develop specific corrective measures to take care of his deficiencies so that he could be brought at par with other students. This will also ascertain the quality of education for each student.