of humidity, wind, temperature and light intensity
i left my desk 5 minutes before the bell and headed for my first class. there was sufficient time but my pace was still quick as i crossed the basketball court, and as i carried my teaching gear, the laptop, the wires, worksheets and the bio text, i felt suddenly felt like my secondary school english teacher. suddenly her seemingly perpetual rushing and muttering to herself like some mad hatter of a middle-aged lady seem to make sense.
the class was not what you would call the ideal class, full of smart little things just conscientiously flipping through the pages of textbooks trying to find out answer to burning questions on factors affecting the rate transpiration. my class was nothing like that. i arrived a few minutes before the ubiquitous bell rang, signalling not only the start of the lesson, but the start of my first official lesson in class. I WAS SO EXCITED AND SCARED YOU WOULDNT BELIEVE. but like the professional i am, i didnt not let it show. i am a firm believer that when it comes to fear, students are like dogs; they can smell it a mile away and will use it against you.
unfortunately, my first foray into teaching started out with stern mr. k. apparently, the students just finished their recesses and were strolling (and i mean s.t.r.o.l.l.i.n.g.) into class. i told them to quickly get changed because we had a lot to cover and blah blah blah and all that overused crap. some listened. some didnt. after 10 minutes it was just getting ridiculous and i just rang out in a stern commanding voice that not only they were wasting their time, they were wasting mine, which i deemed infinitely more valuable then theirs, and was not afraid to let them know this. that got their attention.
they settled down in a matter of seconds after that (pats self on back) and i got down to lesson proper. the class, despite the interesting beginning, was great. better than great in fact because it wasnt perfect. you know that sappy advertisement where the indian woman goes up to give a eulogy about her dead husband and ends off with saying something like what made him perfect was his imperfections. that was how it was actually.
the kids were rowdy, somewhat disruptive (though not uncontrollable), academically weak (which really isnt their fault) and talkative. but it was great to use these imperfections. for example, if they were disruptive and talkative, i gave them an opportunity to talk and be heard by all: "answer this question...." it may sound like a really old and boring and potentially irritating technique but when done with a little flair i have to say its damn effective. i mean, i'm a fun teacher and i make it fun (at least i like to think so) so my "punishments" are fun to and sometimes intergrated with the lesson. for example, i told this dude to stand becuase he didnt bring his text (usual protocol apparently) and, as expected, he started to slouch and not stand straight. since the lesson talked about rate of transpiration and plants wiliting, i told him not to wilt and told him to get his cells turgid or else i'll send him outside into the hot sun where his transpiration rate will further increase. this not only made him stand up straight, but the class appreciated the joke (which showed that they understood the lesson THANK GOD) and so did the guy i was punishing. all was laughing and smiling.
i would be so happy to get a class like this. contrary to popular belief a super smart class is not all that. sure the intellectual stimulation is fantastic and you can push them and all but the preparation involved is tedious and tiring. plus it can get really boring. of course, on the other spectrum, much more time has to be spent on discipline and all. but i find that in classes like the ones i taught, there was a rapport, a much more relaxed feeling. in the smarter ends, there is just lessons and smart questions... only intellectual stimulation. i guess i want stimulation of other sorts, funky kids, problem kids.
it's just more satisfying.
i left my desk 5 minutes before the bell and headed for my first class. there was sufficient time but my pace was still quick as i crossed the basketball court, and as i carried my teaching gear, the laptop, the wires, worksheets and the bio text, i felt suddenly felt like my secondary school english teacher. suddenly her seemingly perpetual rushing and muttering to herself like some mad hatter of a middle-aged lady seem to make sense.
the class was not what you would call the ideal class, full of smart little things just conscientiously flipping through the pages of textbooks trying to find out answer to burning questions on factors affecting the rate transpiration. my class was nothing like that. i arrived a few minutes before the ubiquitous bell rang, signalling not only the start of the lesson, but the start of my first official lesson in class. I WAS SO EXCITED AND SCARED YOU WOULDNT BELIEVE. but like the professional i am, i didnt not let it show. i am a firm believer that when it comes to fear, students are like dogs; they can smell it a mile away and will use it against you.
unfortunately, my first foray into teaching started out with stern mr. k. apparently, the students just finished their recesses and were strolling (and i mean s.t.r.o.l.l.i.n.g.) into class. i told them to quickly get changed because we had a lot to cover and blah blah blah and all that overused crap. some listened. some didnt. after 10 minutes it was just getting ridiculous and i just rang out in a stern commanding voice that not only they were wasting their time, they were wasting mine, which i deemed infinitely more valuable then theirs, and was not afraid to let them know this. that got their attention.
they settled down in a matter of seconds after that (pats self on back) and i got down to lesson proper. the class, despite the interesting beginning, was great. better than great in fact because it wasnt perfect. you know that sappy advertisement where the indian woman goes up to give a eulogy about her dead husband and ends off with saying something like what made him perfect was his imperfections. that was how it was actually.
the kids were rowdy, somewhat disruptive (though not uncontrollable), academically weak (which really isnt their fault) and talkative. but it was great to use these imperfections. for example, if they were disruptive and talkative, i gave them an opportunity to talk and be heard by all: "answer this question...." it may sound like a really old and boring and potentially irritating technique but when done with a little flair i have to say its damn effective. i mean, i'm a fun teacher and i make it fun (at least i like to think so) so my "punishments" are fun to and sometimes intergrated with the lesson. for example, i told this dude to stand becuase he didnt bring his text (usual protocol apparently) and, as expected, he started to slouch and not stand straight. since the lesson talked about rate of transpiration and plants wiliting, i told him not to wilt and told him to get his cells turgid or else i'll send him outside into the hot sun where his transpiration rate will further increase. this not only made him stand up straight, but the class appreciated the joke (which showed that they understood the lesson THANK GOD) and so did the guy i was punishing. all was laughing and smiling.
i would be so happy to get a class like this. contrary to popular belief a super smart class is not all that. sure the intellectual stimulation is fantastic and you can push them and all but the preparation involved is tedious and tiring. plus it can get really boring. of course, on the other spectrum, much more time has to be spent on discipline and all. but i find that in classes like the ones i taught, there was a rapport, a much more relaxed feeling. in the smarter ends, there is just lessons and smart questions... only intellectual stimulation. i guess i want stimulation of other sorts, funky kids, problem kids.
it's just more satisfying.
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