As a teacher you find that there are some students that bring problems to the classroom and/or some that create problems while in the classroom. It is easy to get offended at a student when their desire is to not participate in the lesson block using a myriad of excuses, complaints, or body languages to show their disinterest; the "I dare you to teach me something" attitude. But if a teacher proactively decides to take that challenge then the task at hand becomes the springboard which makes you a better teacher.
Example: I have noticed in observing some teachers (and students for that matter) that for whatever reason, it becomes ok for a student to sleep through the class period. Understandably, the student might have stayed up late working on homework, or there was a family problem, etc. The student might feel it is a good excuse to sleep in class. However, no reason should ever be good enough for a teacher to allow that behavior. Learning is enhanced only when a student is engaged in the lesson. Therefore it is the teachers obligation to find a way to help the struggling student learn that particular day, regardless of the subject matter or lesson block.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I think that some students my need to sleep in class. i think that we need to make the students trust us that the material we teach is worth their time to stay awake. We need to help the student know that we care for them and they in return they will care for us. Students are going to do what they want and our job is to help them understand that what they want is to listen and be engaged in our conversation.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe that you actually make kids stay awake in your class. That is definitely asking too much from a highschooler.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I don't let kids sleep in my classes either. They "learn" pretty quick that if your head droops, then you get called on a lot more often. Thanks for keeping the expectations high for our future leaders.
Chad West
A professor in college shared an analogy with me about fleas in a jar. He told me that if you were to put fleas in a jar and screw the cap on that the fleas would react by jumping up to the lid in an attempt to escape. It would be safe to assume that if you unscrewed the lid that the fleas would then jump higher to escape but my professor said the fleas would continue to jump to the hight of the lid. This example he applied to how teachers treat students. The lid can be thought of as the desired behavior and if we don't continue to set high goals for our students they will stop short of the lid and not achieve full potential. I guess this was a long way of say that sleeping in class is not an option:)
ReplyDeleteI like your statement that learning is enhanced only when a student is engaged in a lesson. This is so true! How can they learn if they are sleeping? I agree with you on the NO sleeping in class.
ReplyDelete