Week 3 reading

Reading these chapters touches on the very core of real teaching.

 Step 1: you are in a position to build up or put down and have influence over young/old minds. It is up to you how you want to go. I have found that if you play to the strength of students, then they will be more willing to follow. One former student was always disrupting all of his classes. I watched how the other teachers handled him by forcing him to submit of get out. This never worked. He always chose to get out. One day he was being so disruptive that I gave him a stern “teacher look” and told him to meet me in the hall. There he started to rant about how unfair I was being and he wasn’t the only one. I looked at him and said calmly to him “You are acting like and ASS.” That got him to stop ranting. Next I talked with him about how the other kids react to what he does in class. He realized that they were following him. So I then gave him the option of coming back in and acting the good leader or going to the office. He chose to stay. Addressing him on his level made me less threatening and more human to him and made him realize how much he mattered to the class. I gained his respect and to this day am one of the few teachers he behaves for.

Step 2: don’t take yourself so seriously! Too often new teachers take everything to heart and end up crying at some point with in the first month. If you take everything the students do and your job and the administration so seriously then you will be the most stressed person. Kids are afraid and insecure, you were trained to do you job well, and administration is being serious enough for everyone. Relax!

Step 3: entertain to educate. My mom is now a 30yr veteran teacher and just retired. The best advice she gave me was that teaching is 80% show biz. To grab them you have to entertain and inspire. If you are passionate about something it will transfer to the students, and in turn if they are passionate about something try and find a way to incorporate it into your class.