Sometimes this is exactly how I feel in my classes. I sometimes feel like I don't learn anything from class, I am just trying to give the teacher what they want. There are many times in my school years that I have just done what I thought the teacher wanted.
One example was from my English 2010 class. Every paper that I wrote in that class had something to do with learning a language or living in a different country. For the final portfolio we were supposed to include all of our papers and a summary paper. I wrote up the summary paper and wrote it in an order that made total sense to me. I met with my teacher (it was a mandatory meeting) in which she would give some advice on my final. When she read my paper she pulled out some scissors from her desk. She proceeded by cutting my paper into five or six sections. She rearranged the sections and explained that the paper "flowed" better in that order. I thought the order made no sense and I didn't like it at all. I almost felt like she was destroying my work. Did I leave it the way that I originally had it? NOPE! Why? Because I wanted an A, and I got it.
I recently entered the Education Department. I have learned some great techniques on how to teach in a foreign language class, and I have decided how I want to teach my class. I also learn the exact opposite of what I just learned. For example, in one class I learned that we are supposed to be among students and let them do the majority of the talking and learning. (I am the "facilitator" or "architect".) Then I go to my next class where I learn that I am supposed to dominate the classroom and stay up front with a vigilant eye on the class. (I am large and in charge.)
I have to come up with lesson plans that totally contradict each other. I have to do this to please the teachers and to "get the A." I will probably implement some lesson plans and totally throw out the others. It all comes down to my Fry quote above: I "just learned how to pass classes over the years."
I hope that everything that I teach in my class will be useful to students in their future. If I have them do an assignment, there will be a reason behind it, be it culture, language or some other objective.
I think that you discussing an issue that is relatable to all students. The experience that you share about your teacher cutting up your paper is one that, I am sure, many of us share. It brings to question, what will motivate my own students and how can I help them succeed in my classroom without feeling like they have to conform to the teacher's bias or opinion? Good thoughts!
ReplyDeleteTo me, this posting relates to the idea of power in the classroom. It is an interesting juxtaposition to the topic we are talking about this week: critical literacy. I think that critical literacy cannot work in educational structures where the teacher yields too much power, and it is only his/her voice or perspective that counts, and not the students'.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, you brought up a good point (at least in my mind) that teachers can swing too far the other way. I have had professors who did not want to be too authoritative and so they did not give us grades on our papers. But then, when the university asked them for a final course grade, some students were shocked because they ended up getting a B and they did not know why.
I also think our own individual personalities as people enter into the mix. In a huge way, teaching is an enactment of self, and we have to teach in ways that have integrity with who we are, who we want to be, and how we see the world. That is probably one of the most important things to keep in mind: Teach in a way that makes you feel good about being in your own skin.