Comments on: dy/av : 003 : preview

By: Susan Morgan

Susan Morgan — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:24:56 +0000

David Foster Wallace’s Commencement Address: I am sitting here, feeling grateful to have read it and, once again, amazed at the synchronicity of events and ideas that intersect in my life. After 30 years in schools, I am still inspired by great thinkers who talk about what education is (should be), and the choices we can all make. I needed that today-thanks.

By: Paul B

Paul B — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:12:37 +0000

It took me three years to get this part of teaching right. When I reflect on it at a really high level I think getting it had more to do with my emotional well being than anything else. Here are my stages….

My first year I was intimidated by the kids. This made me reactive. I was always putting out fires, some of which were my own making.

My second year I was determined to put the first year’s mistakes behind me and I was competitive. I was not going to be bested by their behaviors. I had charts and rules and became a control freak. It drove me nuts trying to keep track of all the crap I had created for myself.

In the third year a strange thing happened. It sounds kind of trite for me because I’m not a touchy feely type but in my third year I began to love them. Sounds kind of freaky doesn’t it? What I mean by this is I started to have a genuine affection for them and an appreciation that they carry around a lot of baggage that you have to work through. From that came more respect from me and them.

I still do all the little things that add up to classroom management but they mostly flow now from this fundamental premise. I think kids, especially distressed kids, can sense where you’re coming from in a heart beat and this sets up the entire relationship for good or ill.

By: Per

Per — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:04:53 +0000

Reflect on and question what you do. This wont help you start as a good teacher but it will give you a steeper learning curve. Talk to others to get input, try to find time to visit other teachers and have them visit you.

/Per

By: dan

dan — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:44:13 +0000

“It’s just a job,” is, of course, Freedom Writer’s fork in the road, the moment where you either draw nearer to Erin Gruwell or to her father, who is correct about teaching.

By: Peter

Peter — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 03:02:33 +0000

1) Without a doubt, I believe it’s, “Don’t smile until January.”

2) While almost all teaching advice is vague and nearly impossible to apply to your own classroom, I think the best one-liner is: “Hold students accountable for everything”. Too big of an idea to be encapsulated in one sentence, but it would have helped me a lot my first year. If the kids do work, collect it, stamp it, check it off, put it on the board, do anything to let them know it matters and it ain’t optional. A parallel exists for student behavior, homework, tests, really everything.

By: Gina Marie

Gina Marie — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:34:56 +0000

@Tim: No, I really appreciate this advice. (I am looking at this whole post as sort of professional advice for myself since I am a new teacher.) I think it's important to remember it's just a job. I came into the game WAY too idealistic, and I got slammed hard by the reality of teaching. Now I've taken on a healthy dose of cynicism for my job, and I am pretty happy about it. Don't know how my colleagues feel about it. My fiance, who used to teach high school but quit after a year and a half, reminds me often that it is JUST A JOB. Don't bring it home with you. Let it go at the end of the day. My goal now is to make it as easy as possible (and as much of a 9-5 as possible) without losing all credibility as a teacher. And still enjoying myself. Truth is, I might not make it. IMH(new teacher)O - I think this is about the best advice anyone could give a new teacher.

By: Tim S.

Tim S. — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 23:25:10 +0000

Interesting topic. My thoughts on this won’t be popular. I am also sure they will be misinterpreted. Here goes anyway…The maxim of the first kind, the overused, trite, no-help-at-all one I always here has to do with the word respect. “The students feel you don’t respect them”, “to get respect, you must earn respect”, even the students themselves get into it. Often at the unprofessional encouragement of other teachers, “Man,…Mrs. Whatever don’t respect nobody!!!!”. What does respect really mean, anyway?
The maxim I would give to new teachers, again, this won’t be popular on this board and might be misinterpreted is IT’S JUST A JOB!! Teaching is one of those professions that defines people and who they are. However, being a lousy teacher does not make one a lousy person. All during college future teachers hear”Make a difference”, “the future of the world depends on you”. Teacher movies don’t help. When I was in college in the early 90’s, everyone wanted to be Robin Williams from Dead Poets Society. Probably still the case. Once your a teacher, when you crap it is no longer suppose to stink. Once you get in the classroom you realize your day, week, month, school year, doesn’t quite follow a Hollywood script. That’s OK. Some administrators, students, fellow teachers, etc will tell you your crap stinks. Not everyone is Mr. Keating. Again, IT’S JUST A JOB!!! Don’t personalize it. When I started out, as a 22 year old kid, I did. Now let me duck for cover.

By: James White

James White — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:40:16 +0000

I remember the “don’t smile until Xmas” and found I don’t have to worry about it anymore as a more experienced teacher. Maybe younger teachers need to come down hard and then lighten up as it is an easier way to learn consistency. And I do mean “younger” as I have observed that the closer the teacher is in age to their students, the harder it can be to set good boundaries. By boundaries, I mean like the rules of the game so everyone can play fair. As an older person who came to teaching professionally in the past six years, I have found that I can be a bit more mellow by saying things like “let me think about it and get back to you” for questions about rules and policies. I can more easily turn on the “now I’m not kidding” face than I could when I first worked with kids at a summer camp at the tender age of 19.

Now, if I could advise a new teacher it would be along the lines of “be honest.” I have found that no matter what, when I am strait with students I get cooperation and collaboration instead of mere compliance. If the comment from the floor is “this lesson is stupid,” and I explain the one purpose of the lesson is to teach them how to work together as well as how to look up supporting details from Shakespeare’s work, then they are more likely to see value and not feel hoodwinked.

I will give the advice one of my best teachers gave me about teaching Fencing and I find it is sound for any kind of teaching:
1. Remember to breath
2. Keep it simple
3. Start at the beginning
4. Break down the difficulties
5. Don’t let what you don’t know interfere with what you do know.

Cheers!

By: James White

James White — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:34:25 +0000

I will give the advice one of my best teachers gave me about teaching Fencing and I find it is sound for any kind of teaching:
1. Remember to breath
2. Keep it simple
3. Start at the beginning
4. Break down the difficulties
5. Don’t ;et what you don’t know interfere with what you do know.

Cheers!

By: Jason Dyer

Jason Dyer — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:16:10 +0000

I can’t think of any maxim that seemed particularly outrageous, other than perhaps trying to apply maxims in the first place. There are techniques I’ve seen given as mantras by freshmen teachers that would work horribly in a senior class. I believe teachers often underestimate how different both other levels and other student populations can be.