« How to Acquire Students For Your eTutoring Business | Home | Children Achieve More When Able To Choose Their Learning Styles and Environments »
Hard Times at Douglass High: A No Child Left Behind Report Card
By Scott Palat
I watched this HBO documentary about a high school in Baltimore. I was blown away by the reality of this show. The one thing that stood out to me as an educator was when a teacher decided it was time to quit in the middle of the school year.
He explained that he wasn’t getting a spark from any of the students and because of this, he felt as if his efforts were not being rewarded in any way. You could tell by his demeanor that he really wanted to stay, but he couldn’t justify teaching when none of his students cared about learning.
Of course there were many reasons for the student’s lack of interest, but I wanted to write this blog post about the “spark” that we as educators need to truly enjoy our jobs. I totally relate to that teacher, because that spark is sometimes the sole reason why teachers stay with their teaching jobs.
Even though I never went out and had a real teaching job, I student and substitute taught for months. When I hung out in the teachers lounge and observed other classes, I could tell which teachers loved their jobs and which ones didn’t. In my opinion, a lot of their happiness revolved around that spark. If they were successful in teaching students and helping them feel good about themselves, those particular teachers were happy.
Others perhaps gave up on the students and even themselves by not trying new things. Today’s students are different than the group of students from say 10 years ago. The internet has changed everything and now more than ever it’s important for teachers to try new things to motivate their students.
This is why I love online learning. It’s a medium student’s love. More teachers should try this approach during class. The computer room can be used for different and unique types of lessons.
For any teacher struggling to get that spark, this might be the breakthrough you are looking for. Of course you have to get creative, but with all the technology these days, there is no reason you can’t teach a lesson on the computer. See if this new way of teaching helps your students gain interest again. I bet it does!
Topics: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
at
Dear Scott.
I do agree over the fact that the driver of the subject itself has to be driven first through an inner self interest and belief. In fact this is applicable in all phases of personal as well as professional life and motives, be it Teaching, Training or Tutoring. Today’s generation of children has lot more resources, technology and modern thought process driven parents that give them a higher platform of environment which requires a lot more effort than just an old fashioned direction in education. Actions and processes driven by Feelings, Creativity and Fun have very strongly been associated with education during the modern times rather than just completing the curriculum for the finals. The 3 words mentioned above required a completely different genre of teacher, tutors or trainer who firstly believes in oneself, then believes in the knowledge possessed and then believes in being articulative beyond the conventional way to get the point across to the child.
Technology provides a good platform to be creative and make education and learning a lot more fun. Though the face to face interaction has had its positive effects, but Online Tutoring has come as an excellent alternative learning method.
at
I agree. If the students don’t care, then you have the flip side of the coin where students are lying and cheating and causing trouble for the teacher so they can get grades they really didn’t earn and demand all the scholarship money with the false high grades.
I hope that one day all teachers utilize technology to fairly assess the progress of students so that this does not continue.