Friday, February 5, 2010

Teaching is a Skill not a Position

There is this girl in one of my classes who was also in my last semerster class, she is constantly speaking out about the club she is starting, her dreams, her triumphs...etc.  I admire this about her; she confident, unafraid of judgements and will do what she needs to do, in the most positive way, to acheive her dreams.

Now, only 4 weeks into the semester, I am hearing the annoyed sighs in the class when she just wants to say something or add to.  Even on the field trip I heard snarky comments, granted sometimes, it gets a little excessive (she's a bit long winded) but, I feel disappointed in my peers for not celebrating her positivity, drive and spirit.  This girl is going places and will do big things in her life should this accumulating momentum persevere through the sighs of the haters.

There is also another girl a different class who is constantly adding her tidbits, she's more of a class clown type.  We all struggle through each class, my teacher is awkward and constantly losing her train of thought (she's not good at teaching - it really makes ya realize how valuable having teaching credentials are in the classroom situation) and, in addition to the sorted mess at the head of the class we have the class clown interjecting.  Averting the collective consciousness of the class is difficult, I leave there drained and in a sour mood but despite this I do think my teacher is nice and I can only applaud the CC for trying to stay engaged in the class with her babble as opposed to checking out all together (which is what I found myself doing this last class).

"To Each His Own."

I love this quote.  When my nerves are on edge and I am not too far gone to say to myself: To Each His Own, I feel better.  I can only love the positives in these people and the rest of them.  We are all here trying our best.  We are so unconscious of this negativity inside of each of us, for the most part, we are all good people just different, set aside your differences and try and find a common ground.  Try and find the positive in situations or people that steer you in a negative direction.

In the case of this teacher, I'm still hoping that she finds her comfort or groove in teaching.  She lacks confidents, she even says that she is tired of listening to herself speak...newsflash sweetheart, if you can't even listen to yourself then how do you expect the class to endure it?  She's already sending out the vibes to the classroom of annoyance with her own voice...

When a speaker is passionate about that which they are speaking about then people want to listen.  Now if only I could find a way to get this to my teacher.  Obviously, the woman is knowledgeable but knowledge alone does not make a good teacher, the ability and skill of teaching is another skill entirely.

I don't know about you but I would prefer to leave that classroom hated but in a good mood rather than being the hater and leaving all Negative Nancy.

So what do you think?  How would somebody approach this situation?  I honestly feel that it is the responsibility of the students to report when a teacher is not so great a teacher otherwise they continue to teach and it stifles a students desire to want to learn.  I've considered going to some of my other teachers who have clout at the school and informing them of the situation but, I do feel bad for the teacher to go over her head without notifying her first and giving her the opportunity to improve.

5 comments:

  1. Some of my teachers used to have informal feedback sessions after every class to find out how well we understood their lessons/if there's anything we think they can improve on.

    When I started relief teaching after my A Levels, I did the same thing and it really helped me to connect with my kids.

    I think you should try talking to that teacher first. Tell her how and where you think she can improve. She might surprise you the next lesson!

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  2. I love that you can appreciate a peer's enthusiasm, I was certainly the one sighing in the background, but with age I've learned to embrace 'to each his own'

    As for the teacher, who knows - if it was me, I'd stay quiet until she asked for critiques on the class, but I have friends that are teachers that really take their students opinions to heart and do their best to incorporate change. Good Luck!

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  3. I'm glad you watch people, I do the same. Its important to not be absorbed with oneself (whether they are cocky or depressed) Humans need to interact.

    In all honesty that is how proffesors go. They don't have to have a teaching degree, some are better at teaching the information or knowledge than others. I hope you find some good ones

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  4. I love how, in the face of adversity, you take the less popular side and appreciate the girl who is positive and enthusiastic. I especially appreciate it right now as i just got 12 comments on my last blog post, 8 of which were hateful. It's nice to know that there are people out there who aren't negative about everything. Thanks for that reminder.
    Perhaps you could write an anonymous letter to your teacher and tell her your helpful thoughts?

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  5. Normally we used to have teacher evaluations at some point in the semester, and I would tell ALL.
    If your school does it, be brutally honest on the eval. It really does help.

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