Education Jobs

[Haykakan]

Re: Education Jobs

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!!! It's NOT rocket science!!!"
Man i felt like saying that a few times already lol. I worry more when they dont ask questions and i cant help but wonder if they are too scared to ask or if they realy do understand the material. Thanks for the tip Sip, i had already decided to do it all on the board just like you said but this class has a computer part to it plus all tests and quizes and homework is done on the computer so i had toteach them how to use the comp to. Kanada i like your drawing idea but my drawing is so bad it would probably confuse the crap out of everyone.

[Sip]

Re: Education Jobs

... I worry more when they dont ask questions and i cant help but wonder if they are too scared to ask or if they realy do understand the material.

Oh I totally know that feeling .. that's why pretty much EVERY sentence out of your mouth has to be in the form of a question. Even when you are introducing new concepts, try to keep statements to the bare minimum and then keep firing question after question. Even if you keep answering your own questions, that will really keep them engaged (well, some of them will be hopeless no matter what you do ).

But even if something as trivial as 2+2, ask them "... so what is this? Come on .. you mean to tell me there's not a single one among you that can even solve this at this stage in school?" Stuff like that .. just egg them on and crack jokes and get them talking and involved. That's the only way they will learn and not tune you out. MAKE them talk (to you) in class.

[Lucin]

Re: Education Jobs

Have you seen this film, lol. Not fair, all my profs in University could either hardly speak english, or were completely jurassic. Not a single attractive face to keep me awake . If anyone wants a life full of dull professors, boring lectures and a career full of meeting strange, anti social psychopaths... choose a career in Engineering. I guarantee you'll regret it, lol.

The funny thing was that he was the quietest guy in the class and I was not expecting that from him. You guys can be very sneaky sometimes.

I think some of it may have to do with how we present ourselves. If we're all business this creates a boundary, but at the same time students feel less connected and less like they can talk to us. I try to be very accessible to my students, so I ask them to call me by my first name, I make jokes, and share personal experiences when appropriate (e.g. using myself as an example in lecture), thus making myself more relatable. I feel like they are more likely to seek help if they need it when I'm less distanced and intimidating.

Being approachable is a necessity in the teaching field no matter how well-behaved the students are. But when it comes to being 'friendly' (as described above) I'm more cautious. I have a class of well-behaved people, so I feel comfortable with them calling me by my first name, addressing me in second person singular in that language (due to the little age difference), I tell them jokes every once in a while and I'm sometimes flexible with their demands and suggestions. On the other hand, I have another one who are a very 'yeresaradz' bunch, I rarely make them laugh, I do not allow them to call me by my first name, and I do not give in their demands, that has worked better for me. The culture and capacity of people vary greatly, in different countries, in big or small cities and on a smaller scale in families. With that said, how you present yourself and your attitude towards them can change from one class to the other.

[Siggie]

Re: Education Jobs

But even if something as trivial as 2+2, ask them "... so what is this? Come on .. you mean to tell me there's not a single one among you that can even solve this at this stage in school?" Stuff like that .. just egg them on and crack jokes and get them talking and involved. That's the only way they will learn and not tune you out. MAKE them talk (to you) in class.

I agree completely. I am always asking questions. I tell them from the first day that I will and I will wait them out. This way I don't actually have to waste as much time waiting til someone answers. That's one of the hardest things for teachers to do and they usually answer their own question. I don't do this though. I ask lots of questions and I expect them to participate. It not only ensures that they're paying attention, but it's better for retention if they come up with the answers themselves (called the Generation Effect in psych).

Being approachable is a necessity in the teaching field no matter how well-behaved the students are. But when it comes to being 'friendly' (as described above) I'm more cautious. I have a class of well-behaved people, so I feel comfortable with them calling me by my first name, addressing me in second person singular in that language (due to the little age difference), I tell them jokes every once in a while and I'm sometimes flexible with their demands and suggestions. On the other hand, I have another one who are a very 'yeresaradz' bunch, I rarely make them laugh, I do not allow them to call me by my first name, and I do not give in their demands, that has worked better for me. The culture and capacity of people vary greatly, in different countries, in big or small cities and on a smaller scale in families. With that said, how you present yourself and your attitude towards them can change from one class to the other.

Oh yeah, each class has a different dynamic and collective personality. I can understand that, but personally I haven't had any issues. I've had students try to bully me about grades, but that has more to do with their distorted ideas of what grading should be like and a sense of entitlement. I saw some study where they surveyed US students and most of them think that if they just DO the work they should get an A or B. Uhhh....no... that's not how it works.

[Haykakan]

Re: Education Jobs

Thus far the challange in teaching these classes has been the wide range in the learning abilities of my students. Some get it after i explain it once while others need 10 more explanations plus help plus extra time...

[Lucin]

Re: Education Jobs

Thus far the challange in teaching these classes has been the wide range in the learning abilities of my students. Some get it after i explain it once while others need 10 more explanations plus help plus extra time...

You just need to keep up with the pace of the average student in your class. Repeating more than that and wasting too much time on them makes the class boring and less fruitful for the rest. I was doing that too when I had just started and I was coming home too tired and voiceless.

I've had students try to bully me about grades...

It's true and I don't know why they try to do it with women more often than not.

[KanadaHye]

Re: Education Jobs

It's true and I don't know why they try to do it with women more often than not.

I used to bully most of my professors about grades and they were all male. I never had issues with female teachers, I was always their teacher's pet

[Haykakan]

Re: Education Jobs

I was lecturing today then we took a break. During the break i was approached by a student who told me that she was going to drop the class. I asked why and she said she didn't understand the material the way i was teaching it. I looked at her grades and she had a B+ in the class so i was like you seem to be doing well and have done all this work already so why drop now? She couldnt give me a good answer but droped anyways. Her husband is in the same class and has a bit lower grades but he stayed in. It is a puzzle indeed how the human mind works (or doesnt) sometimes.
I was hoping to see some students and teachers dressed up for halloween but was disapointed. I guess people are not in a festive mood this year and i can understand why.

[KanadaHye]

Re: Education Jobs

I was lecturing today then we took a break. During the break i was approached by a student who told me that she was going to drop the class. I asked why and she said she didn't understand the material the way i was teaching it. I looked at her grades and she had a B+ in the class so i was like you seem to be doing well and have done all this work already so why drop now? She couldnt give me a good answer but droped anyways. Her husband is in the same class and has a bit lower grades but he stayed in. It is a puzzle indeed how the human mind works (or doesnt) sometimes.
I was hoping to see some students and teachers dressed up for halloween but was disapointed. I guess people are not in a festive mood this year and i can understand why.

I tutored math in highschool ..... and the girls that I would tutor would know the material, be able to answer all the questions that I threw at them but some how still failed on tests. I came to realize that it just wasn't cool for them to be smart. Ah well, they were cute and popular... no need for brains I guess eh?

[One-Way]

Re: Education Jobs

You know, I had a couple questions but I don't have the time to make threads like I used to and really delve into it. I'm three years away from getting my BA. I was just wondering about teaching high school, because I am mildly interested in teaching. I'm just thinking about the possbilities right now, but can I do so with a BA or do I need some extra teacher certificate?

I'm looking to teach film/media classes, which is either the study of film (history) or production courses. So it's not your basic English degree, teaching English in high school. Do I need additional teaching classes or do I have to pass a test to be certified to teach? I'm wondering about both private/public schools in Los Angeles.

Also, how does it pay? I haven't really looked into it yet -- as I said, I was just thinking about this as a possibility. I'm sure it differs with what you teach, how many degrees you have, years of experience, etc. How much would I expect to make, let's say coming straight of university -- USC, School of Cinematic Arts, with no real experience. I hear it's low but how low are we talking?