Rules For Posting To This Blog and Weekly Blog Question

1. Only use your first name (no last names, addresses, IM screen names, etc.)
2. Show respect and consideration of others when posting and commenting. This includes individuals, students, organizations, political parties, colleagues, etc.
3. Check all posts for spelling and grammar errors before posting.
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6. Make sure you write about things that are factual.
7. Keep your postings education-oriented. Avoid discussing plans for the weekend, etc.

FINAL BLOG POST - OUR "DAILY TRIPLE" (DUE 12/1).
This week I would like you to use your imagination. You have just won the lottery and will leave your teaching post immediately to travel around the world. As you leave your keys you meet your replacement. You are asked to give this new teacher just ONE piece of advice. What would that be, and why? Enjoy your world expedition!

Blog Post - Week 7
This past week in my own teaching I felt a little disconnected which prompts my question to you, "What was the moment (or moments) when I felt most disconnected or disengaged as a teacher - the moment(s) I said to myself, I'm just going through the motions here?"

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 6
For the past couple of weeks you have experienced asynchronous online learning (doing modules by yourself). Previously this semester you have experienced synchronous online learning (all together in the Collaborate room). Which do you think is more effective and why do you think that? Which do you like better, and why?

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 5
This week we have what we call "open mic." You can write a post about anything related to your teaching that you would like responses from your classmates.

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 4
Here is this week's question: "What was the event that most took me surprise this week - and event that shook me up, caught me off guard, gave me a jolt, or made me unexpectedly happy?"

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 3
Please write a post about the following question, "In thinking about my past week teaching what is one thing I would do differently, and why?"

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 2
Please write a post about the following question, " In thinking about my teaching activities this past week, of what do I feel most proud? Why?"

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 1
Describe something you used in your program in the first weeks of school that you learned in the summer NTI program. How did it work? Did it get you off to a stronger start than last year?

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Burn out!

I spoke to one of my mentors today and asked her "when do you start to feel a lack of drive and start to think about summer vacation"? Well, her answer essentially was that it's all relative to the work load. Being careful to provide your students with plenty of opportunities for evaluation but then being careful to not create too much extra work for yourself has it's own set of challenges. But then there are a lot of other factors, as we all well know, even with the limited amount of experience that we have. We issued progress reports today and several of my students were shocked to see that they had "F's" in my class. Because a good work ethic was so lacking in the majority of my students I decided that I needed to grade them a little harder in that area. Many of them seemed to resent me after I explained to them why they recieved the grade that they did. Where did the conscience go in so many of our students? This work outlook and these attitudes are what wear me out. Sometimes I feel like, as the verse in the bible states, I'm "throwing my pearls to the swine". These sorry attitudes.....this is what burns me out.

1 comment:

Jessie H said...

I've experienced exactly what you are talking about with various groups of students. When your students are not motivated, it's incredibly hard to stay motivated as their teacher. It does indeed cause burnout.

What has worked for me in this situation is to do get out of my comfort zone and do something radically different to spike the students' interest in my class again. You could design a game for them to play (related to your course content), or create a new learning activity/experience for them. Just do something that will surprise and engage them.