This site is a class blog space for new Career and Technical Specializations and Heathcare Science teachers enrolled in the New Teacher Institute (NTI) at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Most Important
The most important thing I've learned in the past term/year is instructing our students requires respect of both parties. The students will test the boundaries, Even our most trusted students will try to get away with something. Some of the things they will try will amaze us, not for what they may gain, but that they will chance the consequences for something so unlikely. We would all like our students to like us, but our students must respect us in order to instruct them. Correction is essential. The methods are all that should vary. Each action causes a consequence, be fair, but always be consistant. We must remember adults will let you down, so it follows the students will occasionally do the same. They are not our friends, but our wards. we are here to lead. We lead by example, consistancy, and dedication. They fall, and we start again. This is not personal, this is not a game. What we do, and how we respond will follow our students for a lifetime.
Hi, Ken - one of your best posts, and you've had many. Hard to pick my favorite part, but maybe where you recognize that we are not our students' friend, but much more. That is sometimes difficult to realize, especially for younger teachers. Very well said.
ReplyDeleteI so agree with you Ken. I see far too many teachers trying to get the students to like them, but in exchange something is lost. I see this in my own children. We have 3 teenage daughters and when I find myself becoming more like them, yes it is fun...but the attitude begins. They lose respect for me until I set boundaries again. There will always be times when we as teachers want to grow closer to our students,but we also need to remember that they are our students as well.
ReplyDelete