Students Should be Encouraged to Teach

I remember the long weary nights I spent cramming for exams all through High School and College. I also remember that the grades I got when I "studied" (more like had a massive panic attack while reading) like this were not nearly as good as when I went over the material with my fellow students. We were able to relate to one another so well that we had our own ways of explaining the information. The more we helped one another the better the knowledge stuck. The best example I have comes from a biology class I took. The professor wanted the class to learn the major bones of the body. We all met in the lab about two hours before the test and began going over them together. Not one of us knew all of them that morning. When we walked out two hours later we could name them all! Everyone made an A and the professor was very impressed as that was the first time a class had done so well. When she asked us how we studied for the test we told her we got together as a group and taught one another. Needless to say we left out the fact that the study group was formed a mere two hours before the test! I feel that when students are able to get into small groups and discuss the material they learn more than they would from me standing at the board lecturing all day. That does not mean that I will not be actively involved in the learning process. I would like to listen to each of the groups and see where their interpretations of, for example, Hamlet are going. The small groups create a feeling of security. My hope is that this will inspire particularly shy students to talk. I know I was nervous in my first lit class whenever I had to speak. After the first week though, and the small group discussions, I spoke as much as everyone else! I know that not every student I will teach will love English and reading as much as I do but I hope that they will all find something to enjoy in my class that will keep them motivated.

I do not Know Everything

I do not know everything and I will not pretend like I do. I am however willing to go and learn and I am willing to ask my students for help. When I was in school there was nothing that annoyed me more than a teacher who refused to ask for help be it form students or colleagues. Once in a science class a teacher wasted a whole period because he would not admit that he did not know the material well enough. I believe it was something about cells and I was really looking forward to that lesson. While my primary goal as an English teacher is to help students learn the mechanics of the language and to have some knowledge of, if not a love for, various novels from England and America. That is my primary goal. My secondary goal, which I feel is just as important as the first, is to inspire confidence in my students. Knowing everything about anything and being willing to talk about it until you are blue in the face is not confidence. In fact I do not believe anyone on this earth is capable of retaining so much knowledge! Confidence to me is the ability to ask questions and to ask for help without thinking any less of yourself for it. We live in a society that prizes confidence and the ability to do things quickly and sufficiently with minimal instruction. The person who asks for help is sometimes viewed as less capable and I do not believe this is right. I want to establish a feeling of security in my classroom. It should be a safe environment where students are free to ask questions. If I am not making sense I want to know about it. If I get a really good question about a piece of literature that requires me to go back to the book, I will say so instead of making something up off the top of my head. I am even more willing to say I don't know the answer and ask the class for their input. I want my students to be able to do the same thing. To ask questions and admit that they don't have all the answers. I know I don't so why would I expect it of them?

Blogs in the Classroom

I like the idea of using blogs in the classroom. They are a way to keep the classroom discussion going even after the lights have been turned off and all have left the building. With the advent of the Internet students began to drift even further away from the classroom as soon as the day was over. They spend hours on social networking sites like Myspace and Facebook and are masters of posting information about themselves and commenting on what others say. Why not take this dynamic and move it to the classroom? By setting up a class blog I would enable my students to spend time conversing with each other in a manner that is easy and familiar to them. At the same time they would be blogging about topics that are not always easy or familiar. Shakespeare may have been fun fun fun for me, but I know some of my friends would have rather spent some time on the rack than utter his name much less discuss his works. If each student was allowed to have the blog reflect their own personality ( I would of course check for any obscene pictures or words) it would make the educational blog seem a little more like their personal one. Maybe they would even start to enjoy talking about what we are covering in class. I would be able to view these blogs and gauge how much my class really takes away from the classroom. I could even have them make a post about a subject the night before we are set to discuss it. That way everyone would have their thoughts in order. I am doing this blog for one of my classes at South Alabama. It focuses on technology in the classroom. I have to admit that this is the first time I have ever had to keep up a blog on a week to week basis for a grade. I never used them before either so it has been a new experience for me. I like how similar it is to keeping a journal. I am able to post my own thoughts on things and also read the views of others. In this manner I feel I know my classmates and myself better than I did before. I would really like to employ them in my own classroom.

Classroom Involvment

I believe that every student has something to bring to the table. I want my students to WANT to participate in classroom activities because they are interested in what is going on and not because they quiver in fear for their GPA's. You can learn a little bit by being a wallflower but not nearly as much as you would by joining in the learning process. There are many ways students can become involved in the classroom. For example a brilliant but painfully shy girl could use the class blog as a means to express her views and interpretations on what the class is covering. Ideally she would receive positive feedback from her fellow students and become more comfortable talking in class. I may have a student who is very good acting out others' interpretations of a play. Through this acting process he may come to develop his own opinions and might feel more confident reading the play as well. Every class has its group of chatter bugs. They could keep an in class discussion lively and flowing even if the subject matter isn't. I remember high school and middle school. Every kid I knew was good at something but sometimes they were not allowed to bring their capabilities and talents to the classroom. I think this really damaged their motivation and their confidence. I am not against a classroom that offers diverse ways to learn the material. What matters to me is that everyone is learning and wanting to come to class. Naturally there will be the usual papers and tests as well to ensure that everyone stays on track!

No Burp Back Education!

I do not believe in "Burp Back" education. Memorization to me is a tool but not true learning. A student is little better than a parrot if he or she cannot use the information being given. I want to inspire my students to think independently and come up with their own ideas. I am going to be an English teacher and English is one of those subjects that can involve a lot of interpretation. I will be teaching many books and stories and there will be a lot of class discussion. I had an English teacher who made Shakespeare painful. All he did was tell us what the lines meant and we were not allowed to give out own opinions on the essay final. He only wanted to hear what he had said. To me this is a crime because it deprives students of the ability to rely on themselves and their interpretations. I am king forward to having my own classroom so that I can start undoing the damage that burp back education has done. It deprives the educational system of any meaning. In the real world people are not given all the answers so why should they be
force fed them in high school? There are few straight answers in English. Everything relies on interpretation. I actually did a group podcast on the evils of burp back education. To me it is the antithesis of learning and something to be avoided. It is important that students know their opinions and thoughts are valid. Sometimes school is the only place where they will be told this. I want my students to feel comfortable stating their own opinions and not automatically assuming they are wrong.