Thursday, April 26, 2012

What guides my decisions as a teacher.




Whenever I come across a dilemma that requires me to evaluate how different choices will affect my students, I try my best to think about how that decision would affect my daughter if made by one of her teachers. Although she is a few years older now than when this photo was taken, I still see her this way and probably always will. I want the best for my daughter, and I am sure that the parents of my students feel the same about their children. I don't want a teacher to make my daughter's life easy. I want them to challenge her, while still respecting her and helping her. Teachers and parents have two very similar tasks in this respect. They both are trying to prepare kids for their futures away from the direct support of their families. They are also trying to make them the best adults they can be. The other day I had a student who was failing my class approach me about advancing him some extra credit that he would be completing in the future, so he could remain active on one of the school's sports teams. As much as I would like to have given in and let him off the hook, I knew that I wouldn't be truly helping him understand that actions have consequences (not in the California Content Standards). At that moment, I thought about what his parents would have wanted me to do, and I thought about how I would feel if he were my son. In the end I told him that I will work with him to make up any deficits in his grades by allowing him to turn in missed assignments, but that I would not advance him the upcoming extra credit. Although it is not our job to be our students' parents/families, I do feel that we must take every opportunity to provide guidance not only on content, but also on life and growing up. 

Monday, April 9, 2012

Embracing Our Inner Nerd!


 Each time I am introduced to a new class, I try to think of something interesting to say that might inspire them, and have them looking forward to being in my class. I have developed a relatively generic speech that explains what I expect of my students, and the general policies of the classroom. However, I have recently decided to modify my introductions to include something that I hope becomes even more important during the course of instruction. I now ask them to embrace their inner nerd. I tell them that it’s alright to actually think some of this is cool.  I go on to explain that I try my hardest to present material that at least I find interesting and cool. I try to explain to them that they shouldn’t feel bad for quietly thinking or saying to themselves, “That’s cool”. I then go on to explain that applause will not be required, unless of course they are truly moved to provide it.
           
The other point that I try to accentuate is that it is completely OK to come up with a wrong answer when I ask for input. I usually try to relieve any fear of looking foolish in front of their peers by assuring them that after the next three years, they may never see another student in that particular class again. Although I am going for a laugh at this point, I do assure them that high school does not predict the rest of their lives, and that they should have nothing to fear while in my class.