Back when I was a student under
the public high school system I had many days of coming across dreadful moments
of not wanting to come to school. However, as I look at myself today and
contemplate on the videos and article that I had viewed, it makes me think
about how my attendance in school was actually worth something. It made me
think about not only I as a student but others who continued their education
with me. Basically, the point that I saw
and agreed with in the article and videos is that we are the children of the
future. Although the education is not consistently well due to some teachers,
the intentions of the government were quite clear.
Throughout all my years of being a student I experienced many downfalls
with teachers. One of them was quite similar to Peter Gray's historical teacher in Germany who was proud
to bear a sum of "20,989 taps with a ruler" amongst the bare skins of his
students. Just like the ruler teacher in Germany, I had a ruler/meter stick teacher in my first grade year. However, she wasn’t as violent as the article
provoked, because she only used desks (broke two rulers with that) and a few usages
of students hands. This method didn’t help students and I learn at all. Instead,
we were inferior to learning.
Another teacher had me come across days where instead of learning I sat
countless minutes to hours on a classroom desk or in a cafeteria waiting for my
teacher to arrive late or be completely absent for the whole day. I also came
across another teacher who would come into class with his shades on obviously
hinting that he’s hung-over, high on drugs, or ready to sleep while the rest of
the class will learn nothing. These are just a few listed downfalls that I had
with some teachers.
There were also other teachers, many in fact, who did completely better
than the disappointing teachers in creating a good educational environment for me. These were
the teachers who made me learn. They were consistent, intelligible, and made
learning fun and worthwhile. Sure, I do agree with Will Richardson that they were working on "raising the needles on the test scores," but at the same time they were helping other students and I to become responsible hard workers who will do well in school, make it to college, and get a job.
In conclusion, I believe that even though bad teachers may come across
one’s way, good teachers will eventually come along to make a beneficial impact
in one’s life. Basically, this was the concept that the government was aiming
for—to get students to become inspired learners rather than ill factory
workers or bums at home.They wanted us to be better off for the future.
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Good post about allowing yourself to share your experience with others. I, myself had a teacher in elementary who will get mad and spank us students whenever we didn't do what she told us to do. I do not think those teachers belong in a classroom environment.
ReplyDeleteGreat Post Gertrude,
ReplyDeleteLikewise i too had to deal with teachers who did not teach me anything but also had better teachers along the way.
True comment. Every student will have a bad teacher once in their life. But sometimes the teacher may seem bad, may be the best teacher. For example, the teacher is always mean to students if they don't get assignments done, the teacher doesn't get mad for nothing, but for a good reason, to push their students to do work. But yes a bad teacher could be like the ones you mentioned, where a teacher could come into class maybe high on drugs or something, now that is a bad teacher. But like you said, all it takes is one really good teacher to change you. Good post.
ReplyDeleteGreat pic for your post. I'm sure the "good" teachers you remember found some way to engage you with the subject. Have you ever had a teacher you didn't care for and was surprised to find she was a favorite of a friend?
ReplyDeleteHere's a link for you: http://storycorps.org/listen/