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, October 29, 2013
To be or not to be....what am I doing in Cosmetology?
In a perfect world we would all have students that could not wait to get into our classrooms and learn what we are teaching. Too bad Eve ate the apple... I find myself comparing my program to what it was 25 years ago when I was enrolled in the same course (same classroom too). I make myself crazy when I do that. Times have changed, students have changed, I am learning to change. I think that is the key to a successful program. We no longer live in a world that is driven by people that want to make their own way, work hard to achieve their goals, or even work at all. The kids today have a sense of entitlement. They act like everything should be given to them or that they should be able to have what the next guy has even if they didn't do anything to earn it.
In my program I would say that about 20 percent of the kids really want to do hair, 60 percent or higher thought it would be an easy "A", and the rest just needed a slot filled on their schedule and my class just happened to have an opening. It can be disheartening if you concentrate on the numbers. I am learning to concentrate on the kids. If I can make them feel like they are more than a number and help them to find success in my classroom (even if it is not where they want to be) I am adding to their life skills and hopefully changing their mindset from entitlement to pride of ownership.
CTAE is the perfect place for a child to be successful. Not everyone is designed to attend college but that does not discount their value in society. We need folks to cut our hair, change our oil, build our house, fix a leaky faucet and so forth. If we as educators in the CTAE program embrace that there is a possibility we can have the kind of CHANGE our society truly needs. A workforce that wants to work and takes pride in what they do.
Of the 20 percent of kids that really want to be in my program, I would say only 10 percent of them are naturally talented. It is my job to take the other 90 percent and teach them the value of the skill set I offer. They may not BE the best, but I can teach them to DO their best. If that is my goal, with time I am certain the "numbers" will reverse themselves and I will wind up with more students that want to learn and less students that are just filling a space on the roster.
It actually sounds like you have done a good job of “marketing” your class to the student body. You have undoubtedly figured out the trick of getting the word about your class out to the kids that may be interested in taking your class. You seem to have a pretty good percentage of kids in your class that actually want to be there. By growing your program in this manner you can ensure a high number of kids that want to be there. That will definitely make teaching the subject easier and more fun.
ReplyDeleteIf all teachers would take time to realize that it's about teaching students to give their best effort, to focus on goals and achieve them then I believe that students would change. I see so many kids fly through school only because the grade was given to them that it's become hard for them to "WORK" to earn it. It's sad but thank God teachers like you set the right example. They strive to build students up and train them the best possible for individual students. Those kids are incredibly lucky to have you as a teacher. You should give yourself a little more credit because I know that you are adapting to change perfectly. I see it in your teaching style, the trendy hair style you keep, and as a friend.
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