How to Effectively NOT Teach Your Students: A Compilation of Bad Teaching (GR2)

Be contradicting! Tell your students that they will receive proper guidance on their assignments, but only offer vague, unclear directions. Be sure to fail them when they do not meet your unclear expectations.

            Be the teacher, but fail to teach. Unload countless amounts of information onto your students. Yet, neglect to deliver any of the information in a comprehensible manner.

            Think for your students! Because it is proven that the notion of allowing them to think for themselves is absolutely absurd.

            Allow the students in the back of the class to sit and talk during instruction. After all, they are a lost cause anyways.

            Often stray away from school and class related topics. The students are obviously there to hear your uneventful, far from relevant, life story.

            Under no circumstances should you give feedback! Why bother? Students could care less why they received one grade or another. Don’t even burden yourself with telling them what they did well and what they could improve on. This would be a great time to pass up an opportunity to teach. After all, there is NEVER any possibility for improvement.

            Avoid differentiating instruction. It is a fact that there is no lesson more effective than the classic, “I talk, you listen” methodology. Students will undoubtedly fall asleep, but that is not a result of hearing the same monogamous voice the entire period.

            And if I’ve taught you nothing so far make sure you remember to absolutely, positively never, ever include your students in any way shape or form. If you do that, they may actually learn something!! I know . . . scary right?

Is Homework Really Necessary?

The first few weeks of the school our students weren’t assigned any homework. I didn’t pay this much mind until the semester continued on with to take home work assigned. About six weeks ago my CT confirmed that she does not assign homework. Because of this my CT constantly emphasizes the importance of class time. She is always reminding our students that all of the points that they receive come from in class work. Therefore, in order to be successful in her class students must be in class, on task, and completing assignments. They don’t have the option to “do it later” because all work stays in class.

 I see the benefits of such a system. The students are, much more often than not, on task and paying attention. They also have good attendance, overall. However, and this could be that I was always assigned homework in school; I also see a downside to this philosophy. I feel like homework, as tedious as it may be, comes with many advantages. It is a mechanism that can be used to encourage our students to practice independence. It is also a way to get them to look deeper into the literature being studied. Assigning homework is a way to get students to utilize their own brains. They will not have their teacher or classmates to lean on.

I am conflicted on the matter, but I believe this is another instance in which there has to be a set medium. I do not believe in overloading students, but at the same time I don’t think that absolutely no homework is an effective policy. Homework has many uses. Extra credit may be one way to incorporate homework, perhaps for the few students who do have an issue with attendance. They tend to struggle with making up assignments that they have missed in their absence. Letting them complete these assignments for homework would enable them to make up points they may not be able to make up otherwise.

I read an article about the pros and cons of homework. In it were some interesting strategies in deciding whether or not to incorporate homework or to what extent to incorporate it. A few of these were to: 1.) Reduce the amount of homework, 2.) Rethink standardized homework policies, 3.) Involve the students. I think all of these are good ideas and can be effectively utilized. I definitely like the suggestion of involving the students. Perhaps it would be useful to talk to them and try to establish a homework policy guided by their lifestyles. I’ve posted the link to the article below.

http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/rethinkinghomework.htm            

                I am amazed to be in a classroom with no homework. This whole concept is new and intriguing to me. I certainly didn’t think any educators would consider this. It makes me wonder how prevalent this is. Is homework dying out, or am I just a part of a unique classroom setting?

Genre Reflection #1

Just Gettin’ By

I’ve crossed paths with so many students that have just gotten by.

Is it inattention, neglect, or carelessness that has silenced their cry?

Their plead for help to those who have an obligation to provide,

and their inability to do the work that they are assigned.

I’ve witnessed kids struggle with tears in their eyes

and I ask myself how on Earth are these kids gettin’ by?

How do you make it to Algebra, but you can’t do the basics,

Why is it that the educators seem so complacent?

Well I’m worried; I see a very real problem.

Simply passing students who are undeserving is not goin to solve ‘em.

We have to find a way to make the concepts we’re teaching apply,

it is our job to stop the cycle of letting kids get by.

I see high school students who can’t write for their lives.

Kids from various ethnicities with dialects that affect how they write

As teachers we will face a number of difficult tasks,

but when it comes to our students we cannot turn our backs.

If a student requires we should put forth the extra effort and time

Lend our ears to their cry, teach them, and not just let them get by.

“Work Hard, Play Hard” or “All Work and No Play”

           In addition to strictly working on content all of the time I believe that there should be periods of when students should get a break from the normal routine of the classroom. I believe that many teachers share this sentiment as well. Where the ideas differ, however, is the amount of time these time periods should last. I’ve met teachers who are strictly against showing entire movies to their students and will only show clips at most. At the same time there are those teachers who do show entire films in their classrooms. The films are usually based on literature they’ve read and if not they’re directly related to themes that have been discussed. I say all this to explain a situation that my CT recently encountered that made me question whether or not showing films classified as ‘teaching’.

            During the reading of several stories, on which our primary focus was conflict, we read Jack London’s “To Build a Fire”. To those unfamiliar, the conflict in the story was character verses nature. In the story the main character was challenged by, and eventually succumbed to, the extraneous circumstances around him paired with his lack of knowledge when it came to survival. To both engage the students and further help them grasp this concept My CT played the first fifty minutes (which is the entire class period) of the movie The Day After Tomorrow. Coincidently, the one day that the students spent the entire period watching a film, two officials from the school district as well as the buildings head principals walked in to observe my CT’s teaching. The part of this that I found the most interesting is that she felt obligated to go to them and explain herself. It made me wonder, if there’s nothing wrong with this methodology of instruction why did it seem so bad when the district observed it.

            After class I stayed and talked to my CT about this incident and I really liked what she had to say. She told me that numerous times she’d suggested to the school principal that the teachers be required to submit weekly lesson plans. Not in-depth lesson plans like those we do at WSU, just very basic explanations of what the class will be doing on a day to day basis. These would essentially be similar to the overview many teachers write on the board to inform students of what they’ll be doing for the day (Ex. Monday- Vocab for “Harrison Burgeron”. Read 1^st half, Cornell notes). Had the principal had this information he could have provided the visitors from the district some background which would have reflected well on him as well.

            With all that being said I am brought back to my first concern. Should ‘movie days’ have to be explained, are they not thought of as being a sort of informal instruction? I think if they are used appropriately they should be used and perhaps even encouraged. Even as a college student, I can read something over and over, but nothing paints the picture like seeing it acted out. I also believe that showing movies, especially extensively, can be a bad thing as well and viewed as a result of laziness on the teacher’s behalf. What I’ve gathered from researching and asking the opinions of other English teachers is that there needs to be a balance. Movies can be showed when relevant. Many of the teachers suggested showing particular portions as opposed to entire films. I think this is a good idea also. Movies can and should be used to dive a point home.

 I don’t think there was anything wrong with showing the 1^st fifty minutes of The Day After Tomorrow because it is in this portion of the movie that nature begins to affect the characters similar to the main character in “To Build a Fire.” I don’t believe she played too much of the movie because I’ve been there and I knew her logic for this decision. For our guest, however, seeing this outside of the context of everything else did not seem pleased. . .

Who’s Who in the Classroom: Roles and Responsibilities of the Various Adults Involved in the Teaching Environment

 

               With three adults in my pre-student teaching classroom we, as well as the students, appear to be unclear as to what each person’s role is. I am fortunate enough to have been placed in a CWC (Class w/in a Class) classroom. What this means is that some of our students are special education students and some of them are regular education students. Due to this the classroom has support staff.  Apart from myself there is the teacher and a paraprofessional in the classroom. I can see already that the CT, as well as the students, is struggling with the change in classroom dynamic that my presence involves. I can see that she wants to involve the two of us; however, the physical space allowed can make that difficult at times. The only person who has a clear place in the classroom is the CT. Beyond that, it seems as if the para and I split ‘para duties’.

                It’s important to mention that aside from pre-student teaching my actual job now, and for the last three years, is being a para. Many times we will hear the term para and support-staff as interchangeable words. In my opinion that is my job as a para, to be support staff. That could mean being supportive to the teacher and students in my classroom as well as throughout the rest of the building. It is also imperative to note that this is not my first time working with more than two adults in one classroom. This is the only year that I’ve been the only para in this class. Prior to this year there were always two of us. In that case I never found it complicated because we, the other para and I, had the same job. We performed the same duties and our work could easily be interchangeable.

                As a pre-student teacher, though, I am there as just that, a student learning to be a teacher. I feel as though my place should be by the teacher’s side, learning and evolving, not doing the same job I’ve been doing for three years. I would like to point out that the teacher is not oblivious to this. My CT attempts to be very inclusive and I do believe that as the semester goes on my role will begin to change. Even now, I am very hands on with the students and she allows for, and even encourages, that. I understand the predicament of both my CT and the para in the classroom because if we’d had a student teacher included in my classroom at work that would not mean that I no longer had a job to do. I would not be comfortable with doing nothing at all.

                At the end of the day I believe that we need to find balance. I don’t mind handing out worksheets, grading papers and such things.  Although, I am aware, from working in a teaching environment, that the teacher’s job is far more extensive and complex than that. Sometimes I feel as though I would be EXTREMELY unprepared if my only insight into the teaching profession were my placements alone. I am thankful that I’ve been able to work in the schools.  I’ve talked this over with my CT and we have put in motion plans to incorporate several of the co-teaching strategies listed on the hand out we received at our pre-student teaching meeting. As far as the roles and responsibilities, we plan to share them and remember to keep the success of the students at the forefront of everything that we do. 

Well until next time...

Goals of a Guest

Going into this pre-student teaching semester the goal that comes to my mind first is, as always, to be impactful and to make a difference in the lives of these children. In order to make a difference in this profession I am constantly setting new goals for myself and revising old ones. In doing so, my hope is that I never settle and, in effect, begin to slack as an educator. With every semester and every year I want to be better than I was before. My goal is always to grow as a tutor, teaching candidate and eventually a teacher. There is so much room for growth in this profession that to find myself at a ‘stand still’ (Running my classroom the same way year after year) should never become an option.

 

There is nothing that I enjoy more that being a part of a teaching and learning environment. I have found that it is much easier to become a serious and impactful part of the environment if you are a paid employee. I have had the tremendous opportunities to work at two high schools over the past three years and I have found that being employed automatically makes you a part of the classroom. I attribute this to the fact that the staff that you’re working with actually want/need me there, which is why I was hired. In my placements, however, it seems more difficult to get involved. Therefore that is one of my goals for the semester. There is no way I can make a difference if I am not actively participating in classroom activity. I think I’ll find it easier to get involved this year because I’ve worked with my current CT in the past. I have also begun to take the initiative to get involved. I’m not sitting down the whole class period. I’m up moving around, asking students if they need help. Basically, I’m trying to let the students know that I’m there and I’m there to help!

 

Something that I always keep in mind is that learning is a never-ending process. As people we are never done learning. Just because college is almost over does not mean that we will know all there is to know about teaching. Also, I believe that simply because we are told that something has to be done one way does not mean that that way is the only way. The beauty of teaching is that the restrictions are limited. This is why no two classrooms are the same J. With that being said another goal I have for this semester is to learn from the people around me. I do not only mean the teachers either. I think sometimes we seem to forget how much we can learn from the students. I plan to document their actions and behaviors during the class periods to, hopefully, determine what interest them and what bores them. After all, the only students you can effectively teach are those that are paying attention.

 

I never imagined that when I posted my goals last year that I would not meet them. With that being said my ultimate goal is simply to meet these goals that I have set for myself!!!! I think this is going to be an amazing semester. These are just a few of the goals I have set. My plan is to meet these, among many others, goals in a purposeful way that will allow me to be impactful on the lives of those I come into contact with. This goes for teachers and students alike, as I'm sure they will impact me!