Chapter 2 in your text is entitled, "A Teacher on Our Side". The chapter includes a number of anecdotal comments from students on their perceptions of their teachers. Pay particular attention to these as you may think you "know" children this age but hear it in their own words.
After reading the chapter, select five of the quotes from the students to respond to here. Tell us what page the quote is on and the student's name. Then, describe why that quote impacted you or what about it caused you to think about; what was your perspective of what the student had to say?
Adolescent Learner – Chapter 2 Assignment
ReplyDelete“When we were little, we were, like, “I’m going to behave because that teacher is bigger than me.” But now that we’re almost the height of those teachers, we’re just too comfortable with the teacher. So we say to each other, “Whatever, we’re going to misbehave because she’s almost my height and oh, she’s cool with me.” Some teachers get mad, saying, “You’d better not say that, because I’m not one of your friends.” Diana p. 41
This reminds me of gym teachers. I think the relaxed atmosphere of this class (and other elective courses) can lead students to feel more “free” and perhaps forget the defined roles of themselves and the teacher. Because the atmosphere is relaxed, the students interact with the teachers in a more jovial and “peer-to-peer” manner. This can lead to a breakdown of the discipline and structure of the relationship. Friendliness is welcome and necessary, but the teacher needs to maintain the tone of the relationship. This has been my past experience.
“She was real down to earth, really talkative, but she was also very…”teachative”- I don’t know what word. She was very smart. She’d teach you. She’d try with you until you got it, and she was real nice. She’d offer to stay after school, so you could go there if you didn’t get it.” Kaitlyn p. 43
This reminds me of my seventh grade teacher Mr. Rogers. He taught science and everyone liked him as a teacher. He was a bald man with a mustache. He treated all students alike, had a great attitude, and made learning science FUN. He was also willing to go the distance in order for the students to learn the content and get the work done.
“If an eighth grader is disrespectful to me, I’m going to disrespect them back. Sometimes they take forever in the hallways, so you have to give them a push.” Katelin p. 46
I think that this young lady is experimenting with or testing her boundaries and realizing that she has a voice. Her attitude is a bit harsh, but you may not know what her experiences are like in the hallways. In the hallways, supervision is usually low, there are a lot of students moving about, and students have fun and horseplay or joke around.
“When we first start, they say, “I have a good and a bad side. I could be the nicest teacher that you ever have if you show me respect. I could be the meanest teacher if you disrespect me, don’t do your homework.” That’s what makes us think.” Diana p. 50
I think that this particular teacher is sending the wrong message. I understand the purpose of “laying the groundwork” but this statement is too strong and threatening for my taste. Oh, that poor girl.
“I think it’s dangerous to know (about your teachers). It’s not dangerous, but you should be careful in what you talk about to us.” Tiffany p. 53
I think that setting and defining the boundaries of the teacher-student relationship is most important. You want to be personable with your students and not tell them too much. They are not there to “get to know you.” They are there to learn about societal roles and the curriculum. Sharing too much information can be a potential security measure for both the teacher and the students. Liability!
“One day, I had a problem in school with this girl. She kept on bothering me. But I was trying to tell an adult, a teacher, and the others end up calling me a baby. I was afraid to tell a teacher. If I had taken [care of] it myself, it would have been something way different than telling a teacher to take care of it for me. Better to talk to a teacher, even if they’ll call you a baby. If you keep on fighting about the same thing and the teacher hasn’t handled it, some kids are going to be instigating a fight. I don’t want to get into it. If you get in a fight, you get in trouble, get suspended, get it on your record, and it’s a big mess.” DIANA (p. 63)
ReplyDelete*** After reading this comment I am glad this girl Diana didn’t give up. Regardless if people called her a “baby” she still tried to handle the situation in a good manner by trying to solve the problem with an adult. She knew the consequences if she was going to fight and she didn’t want that. If students are put into these matters they shouldn’t feel scared to tell someone at school, especially a teacher or another adult. I think in middle school teachers should definitely talk about bullying in the beginning of the year. That way they may become more approachable when things like that may happen.
“It’s hard for the students if they have family problems and then lots of homework. Teachers should know, so they can have mercy and take off some homework.” CARMELA (p. 64)
***I can remember some grades and classes that I had never ending homework. When I was in eighth grade I can remember my English teacher gave us tons of assignments to do. It was hard because I didn’t have a computer. I went to a higher class junior high and I think the teachers just assumed that everyone was well off to have computers at home. My family didn’t have a lot of money and we didn’t own a computer at that time. It was really hard for me to get my assignments done in time. I never said anything to my teachers about it because I did feel embarrassed. I think it is great when teacher s not necessarily lessen the homework but able to give students enough time to get it done in the classroom.
“My teacher’s nickname was Hairy, ‘cause her arms was hairy and she had a lot of hair on her body. I gave her that nickname. She got mad at me and suspended me.” Katelin- p40
ReplyDeleteThis quote stuck out to me because I remember getting in trouble in Junior High for something a lot like this. I had this journal for my 7th grade year. There was this girl in my classes who ALWAYS smelled so I wrote it in my journal. Well my little sister found my journal/diary and gave it to my Aunt. She read it and I got yelled at for saying bad things about people. Now that I think back about the “smelly girl”, I hope she didn’t know I wrote those things about her.
“If teachers are too strict and stuff, kids make fun of them; they talk behind the teacher’s back. Some people hate the teachers so much they start writing back things about them on the walls, like “she’s mean, she’s ugly” But then if you be too nice to the kids they’re not going to take you so serious. So it’s hard” Edward- p46
Like the book says kids want teachers to act both strict and caring. The way teachers treat each kid is different. What may work for one won’t always work on the next. When I reflect on one of my favorite Junior High teachers, I see many of my classmates taking advantage of his kindness. I don’t think he drew a clear line both teacher and friend.
“If you give us time to do our homework in class, we’ll turn it in” Gabe- p51
The last thing a Middle School student has on their mind is homework. They have bigger, more important things on their mind like video games or who’s dating who. In middle school homework seemed like a waste of time. It was easy work, but it took forever. It seemed like a repetitive process. I felt like I was doing the same things over and over just in a different form.
“It helps the teacher to learn some slang. Because kids will be talking behind the teacher’s back about something really bad, but the teacher won’t know. There’s some bad words, drug words, that kids will use, but they aren’t obvious. We kind of personalize the slang.” Carmela-p 55
I think it is very important to learn the slang of the kids in your class. It’s particularly important to learn the cultural slangs of the students. For example growing up on the reservation we had so many different slangs that the non-native teachers didn’t understand. There were a few that caught on but not many. Learning their “language” can only benefit the teacher, you may gain a little insight into the cues to pick up but it will also let the students know you are interested.
“If we’re good and we respect her, and if we keep doing good work, sometimes my history teacher will buy us a little snack from the school” Kenson- p59
Rewards are appreciated among Middle School students. Students want to know where they stand in class. They like to know when they are doing something right. Middle School students are always trying to impress others, so by giving them recognition may improve their performance in class.
“My science and math teacher was just a really nice person. If you had questions, you would write a question mark on the problem and she would go over it in class.” ITAI (p. 58)
ReplyDelete***I love this idea! I remember I was one of those students in my elementary grades and if I didn’t understand something I would never ask any questions. Even though some of the teachers would say at the end of the lesson do you have any questions, I would never raise my hand.
“My teacher’s nickname was Hairy, ‘cause her arms was hairy and she had a lot of hair on her body. I gave her that nickname. So she got mad at me and suspended me.” KATELIN (p.40)
***This section of the book is so true. In seventh grade is when I noticed the students starting to pick some of the teachers and give them nicknames. Kids would call the math teacher Mr. Shower, because he would spit a lot when he talked. When I finally had him for a teacher the rumor was true. I think this teacher from the quote didn’t have to suspend Katelin, to me that is a little extreme. At that age we joked around a lot but never meant to be mean about it. I think teachers shoudn’t take nicknames to heart unless it is very serious. The teachers that didn’t respect us at that age were usually the ones we made fun of.
“The teachers don’t really care, as long as they are getting paid. They do what they gotta do in class, and teach the kids what they gotta be teached. They don’t care when students have a problem. Like, if kids say something rude, disrespectful, they just give a detention or suspension.” SHANIECE (p. 52)
***It saddens me when I think that there may be some teachers out there like this. Students shouldn’t feel this way about their teachers. I personally never had any teachers that acted like they didn’t care from what I can remember growing up. I don’t think detention or suspension doesn’t always solve the problem especially when students don’t like school and know they can get out of school by getting in trouble.
@ KARA
ReplyDelete“When we first start, they say, “I have a good and a bad side. I could be the nicest teacher that you ever have if you show me respect. I could be the meanest teacher if you disrespect me, don’t do your homework.” That’s what makes us think.” Diana p. 50
I think that this particular teacher is sending the wrong message. I understand the purpose of “laying the groundwork” but this statement is too strong and threatening for my taste. Oh, that poor girl.
***RE: I agree with you on this statement. This teacher is not sending the students a very good message. Students at this age don't like to be threatened. If the teacher is on her bad side the students my act out worse to make he or she more mad.
"She was real down to earth, really talkative, but she was also very.."teachative"- I don't know if thats a word. She was very smart. She'd teach you. She'd try with you until you got it, and she was real nice She'd offer to stay after school, so you culd go there if you didn't get it. Kaitlyn pg. 43
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of my 7th grade Math teacher. She would joke around with the girls and stuff but she was also strict when it came to teaching, so we knew the boundries with her. She also set up an after school study hall a couple times a week which was very helpful for anyone that needed it.
We will do more things in class if you give us less homework. Or if you give us less textbook stuff and more activities in class, we will do more homework at home. Carmela pg. 50
I like this because giving the students a voice can be helpful. It can serve as a starting point for a conversation but also by allowing them, within reason, to chose their homework and activities, they are more likely to be interested in it and there will be more student participation.
The teachers don't really care, as long as they are getting paid. They do what they gotta do in class, and teach the kids what they gotta be teached. They don't care when students have a problem. Like, if kids say something rude, disrespectful, they just give detention or suspension. Shaniece pg. 52
This reminds me of a teacher I used to have. He was just there to teach, he read right out of the book and seemed to have no personality. We would do our daily reading out of the book and then have the rest of the class time to do our work. This type of classroom seems like the kind where students 'slip through the cracks' and are passed by the skin of their teeth, just so the teacher won't have to deal with them.
My teacher pointed out how everything you do affects everyone and yourself dramatically. If I keep saying bad words it can affect other people too. If I keep doing bad stuff in front of little kids, then they'll think that it's all right. I didn't see that before. Carmela pg. 55
This is where leading by example comes into play. As a teacher, this is probably one thing I will need to remember. I was just reminded the other day when doing my lesson to use or display proper english in front of the students. Some students will remember everything and always remind you of something you said earlier or maybe of a promise you made. So its important to model good behavior and always keep your word.
The teachers might think they have you figured out, but they don't really know what happens at home. Like my aunt passed away this month. Gabe pg. 63
I think it's really important to pay attention to detail when it comes to your students. Are they acting out of the ordinary? Are they not getting their homework in on time when they usually are? Are they always tired? A teacher should ask questions when its the right time to show the student that they care and earn their trust. It's also important to keep the information they share private and not bring it in the class.