I give out a critical thinking and analytical skills assignment each semester that asks students to observe a person in a specific profession or setting and analyze (objectively and subjectively) the impressions that this person makes, using only the evidence that they see from their observation as the basis for their analysis....Really ACADEMIC SOUNDING. Right?! Well this semester it was Good/Bad Teacher.
Interestingly enough, while teaching this assignment and reading rough drafts, I began thinking about "What really makes a bad teacher?" One of my more colorful students put it this way: "A bad teacher is one who is boring is basically a jacked up mess and doesn't even know what they are teaching or how to manage the class." (A run-on; yet, a compelling statement) I began to wonder how each of my students felt about their teachers in the past as well as the present and gave them a chance to share their observations with the class to help get some brainstorming going. (Yes, I asked for the good, the bad, and the ugly. . . it is a summer session class after all and there are some all-too-familiar faces in the class)
In short, I learned some interesting things:
- Everyone can name a horrible teacher they had in the past.
- Only a select few could think of a teacher that was AWE INSPIRING
- Many students felt like the best teachers were the ones who they could relate to but also those who pushed them although they didn't like that so much at the time they were being pushed
While there may be many "BAD TEACHERS" out there, those of us who love the profession passionately have to continue to let our enthusiasm permeate the classrooms we find ourselves in and push our students so that we continue to change lives.
How many of you can remember a BAD/GOOD Teacher?
No comments:
Post a Comment