Conflict between your personal values and institutional values

All of us have certain beliefs, values that are inherent. Some values have been inculcated in us ever since our childhood. These values defer depending on our nationality, religion, race, cast and creed. These values have such a deep impact on our mind and we tend to behave accordingly. In order to change our existing values or accept other values, we need to make a conscious effort. There are some values such as non-violence, truthfulness, tolerance and respect for human life that are universal so it may seem that these values may be shared by everyone. All of us have some personal values and beliefs which we developed based on our education, experiences, learning’s and community.

 As a teacher or a trainer I am sure most of us have faced a situation wherein we experience a conflict between our personal values and institutional values. I experienced a similar situation last year when I was training MBA students. Usually in colleges or institutions, the management is always under pressure regarding the performance of the students. They expect good and consistent results from their students in order to market the current students performances, achievements and  gain more admissions the following year. They are unwilling to be patient and try various approaches to obtain such results. In such a situation no one wants to pay attention to the slow learners and try to improve their performance. They focus primarily on the brighter students and cater to their needs and ignore or humiliate the others.

 I believed in motivating students in order to improve their performance in class whereas the head of department believed in humiliating them. According to her, if such students were humiliated and made to feel that others in class can do better than them and they will make efforts to improve themselves. I tried to explain to her that humiliating, embarrassing students will have a negative impact on them. They may go into a shell and refrain from making efforts. They will avoid participating in the class activities and eventually lose interest in the subject. They may even stop attending classes and their performance will further decline. I persuaded the HOD to let me follow my belief try my method of motivation.

 I began with appreciating even the smallest effort taken by such students. I started asking more open ended questions to begin my sessions, I initiated discussions, organized debates. I tried  to encourage the non performing students to participate and contribute in the classroom activities, discussions. I made them feel important and valued their contribution. I would  help them to elaborate the points they stated in discussions. Later while summarizing the discussion, I would link the key the points and emphasize the ones made by the so called weak students. Gradually these students began taking more interest in class and began participating in the classroom discussions. Eventually their grades and  performance improved. I am glad that I stood by my belief and proved my point and hence helped to extirpate a redundant belief that proved hindrance to students’ progress.