Ok so last time I was releasing some stresss before my first day as a teacher in highschool.
Some time has passed since then. I started my second week today, and I already have a nice grasp of what will surely awaits me this year. I have only two class, on the same level (which is nice and sweet). They are in their first year in highschool, in France we call it "Seconde" ; so I have the "Seconde A" and the "Seconde B" class. I think this blog will give first a slight description of how the lessons are for each.
The Seconde A : the ones I started my beautiful career with. 34 pupils that I could set in 3 categories : the very good ones, the okayish ones, and the what-the-fu-are-you-serious-you're-doubling-your class-and-you-still-don't-know-how-to-place-points-in-a-graph ones. Notice that there aren't just "good" pupils. I wanted to start the course immediately, but my supervisor convinced me that I should do some days of reviewing basic thing such as distributivity, factorization and fractional "calculus"... They were not that bad in the vas majority, and I was starting to think this job would be nice. We started the course last week, and they seem to understand what we are doing - for those who wants to know what, we learn how to place points on a graph, to read coordinates, and the formula for the coordinates of the middle of a line as well as the formula for the length of a line (which is, I find it funny but I'll explain why later, just the formula for the euclidean norm of a vector). Nothing to crazy on Earth, I say.
They are mostly quiet and interested ; of course on some hours (the afternoon or just before lunch) they are more loud and it is harder to obtain a correct work setting, but nothing to horrible.
Then, I met the Seconde B. They are of the same age, same formation (middle school). Can you explain me why the effitty effe a entire HALF of the class CANNOT properly evaluate that 9/3 = 3 ? Can you explain me what is hard to do in distributivity, when you already spent TWO YEARS doing it previously ? Can you, I beg you, explain me WHAT is hard in copying THE EXACT SAME THINGS you just copied when you factorize ? Oh, and again : are you serious, you are DOUBLING ?? Is it normal that we spent ONE ENTIRE HOUR placing 4 points on some graphs, when I gave them like 34 times the method to do so ?
Also : they are loud. Very loud. They don't give a single damn about what I am teaching them. They don't get it, so guess what ? They chat. I fail to understand first how pupils with grade (in maths, but let's be honest, when I heard them speak or just read what they write, I think this was there mean grades) ranging from F to C- in middle school were accepted in high school. We are speaking of pupils that are supposed to have the same course as the seconde A. Gimme a fucking break. After 4 HOURS spent in factorizing like they did the 2 years (make it 3 if they are doubling) before, this is what I heard suddenly in my back :
"ERMA GEHD SIR, FACTORIZIN' IS FINDIN' THEM COMMON FACTOR, RITE ? "
...
Success ! You learned something today ! WHERE WERE YOU YESTERDAY AND THE DAY BEFORE AND LAST WEEK WHEN I SPENT LIKE 3 HOURS AND A HALF REPEATING THAT EXACT SENTENCE AND SHOWING IT ON EXAMPLE FOR LIKE 3449083 TIMES YOU F******* C***T !
No I did'nt answer that. But I thought it so loud that it might have been heard anyway. I was thinking naively that, ok, they don't like maths, I have to find some topics that can at least motivate the A LITTLE. I am not able to make them love maths, it's too late, but I can always try to give them a nice view of the obligated program I have to teach them. So this very morning, 8 am, I wanted to present the different sets of numbers, having them participate as much as possible, I was even hoping to have some questions "why is pi irrational ?"... It failed so much I just hope I'd wake up again and I stun them with more factorization, so they at least shut the fuck up.
Basically, 75% of them didn't give a single boson of a fuck for the entire hour, a girl asked me "what is the point ? ah, you introduce us to the € symbol ? Whatever.", and they even asked me if they were obligated to come the next time if I did this lesson. Ts'not with that I'll motivate them... But what will do ? I am supposed to follow the exact same scheme with both classes. One will surely find its content of knowledge, the other... I cannot even imagine to make them do things that could be interpreted as interesting, and they are already 3 hours late compared to the other class. Gureeeto.
I am no Onizuka. And I felt it the first evening. And the second. And the whole next week. Every evening, at 20:00 pm, I feel like shit. I feel so much anxiety I cannot even understand why. I have problem to eat, to sleep. I fear the next day, when I'll be in front of the kids. For the good class, I fear that I won't be good enough, for the bad one, I just don't want to see them because we both lose our time, and this time we lose isn't even pleasant. My supervisor tell me I want to go too fast with my classes, and when I show her an exercise I spent a entire hour on so they at least understand the most basic notions, I heard "Oh, you should not spent so much time, make it 15 minutes and move on". In 15 minutes ? Are you kiddin' me ? They cannot even draw a graph and write two sentences in 10 ! 5 pupils came at the end of the first lesson to ask me "to go slower because they didn't understand what they wrote". Okaaaaay... and what do I do for the 20 that have to wait you 10 minutes, and for the 5 that already finished the work I gave just after while you were still on the first board ? Oh, you bothered to underline every important word in red, green, and overlined them in yellow ? That's nice. Did you know ? You won't learn their significations better if you spent the whole time we train ourselves underlining, overlining.
It would be so much easier if I could find an interest in the content I am teaching them. We already spent 5 hours on factorizing (don't forget to add two years) with a class, and 4 hours on points/graph/middle with the other, and it is still sloooooow and uninteresting as hell. I feel so bad.
Now to the "funny" note, a vector is now officially defined as follow : let A and B two points of a plane ; the translation of A to B is the mapping of the plane that at each point C maps the (only one) point D such as [AC] and [BD] have the same middle. We call it the translation of vector AB. You'll see THIS definition in the book for HIGHSCHOOLERS. Brilliant. Wait, where is it correctly explained what a vector is ? Oh, you think they'll understand/listen when you'll show them the arrow on a screen ? And when they'll try to learn this definition, what will they remember ? Not a fuck they didn't give anyway. At least they have coordinate calculus for vector ! What ? No norm ? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME ? What is the point of giving the the length formula and NOT the norm of a vector ? Are you afraid they may UNDERSTAND THAT IN FACT IT IS LINKED ? Oh, I see, it was not good to bruteforce into their brains "a vector is defined by a direction, a sense, and a norm".
I'll do it anyway. When life gives you lemon, make lemonade.
On September 17 2012 23:59 divito wrote: Your demeanour doesn't seem to mesh with the idea of educating young minds. Why exactly did you become a teacher?
On September 17 2012 23:59 divito wrote: Your demeanour doesn't seem to mesh with the idea of educating young minds. Why exactly did you become a teacher?
Why do you say that? He sounds like he cares about getting the pupils interested and having them learn something - seems like a useful attitude for a teacher.
Now to the "funny" note, a vector is now officially defined as follow : let A and B two points of a plane ; the translation of A to B is the mapping of the plane that at each point C maps the (only one) point D such as [AC] and [BD] have the same middle. We call it the translation of vector AB. You'll see THIS definition in the book for HIGHSCHOOLERS. Brilliant. Wait, where is it correctly explained what a vector is ? Oh, you think they'll understand/listen when you'll show them the arrow on a screen ? And when they'll try to learn this definition, what will they remember ? Not a fuck they didn't give anyway. At least they have coordinate calculus for vector ! What ? No norm ? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME ? What is the point of giving the the length formula and NOT the norm of a vector ? Are you afraid they may UNDERSTAND THAT IN FACT IT IS LINKED ? Oh, I see, it was not good to bruteforce into their brains "a vector is defined by a direction, a sense, and a norm".
I'm trying to wrap my brain around this but I fail. I don't understand this definition of a vector at all. Right now I am doubting if I still even know what the fuck a vector is(I sure as hell should, maybe it's called differently). You sir, confused the shit out of me.
As a fellow math educator, I can understand your frustration. I agree with a lot of what you've written. Here are two points of advice (feel free to take it or leave it):
1. Don't rush through the important and foundational aspects of mathematics just to appeal to whatever curriculum you need to get through. Figure out what the students don't know (even if they can't do even super simple problems) and start there. Obviously, find a way to keep all levels of your students busy and learning, but you can't teach the hard stuff until they understand the easy stuff. You can't teach chapter eight until they know chapter seven, etc. Even if that means going over basic arithmetic.
2. Find a way to generate interest and make the material engaging (and it seems like that's what you want to do anyway). Also, show that you're interested in the material as well. Your enthusiasm will often be contagious, and going off on little rants, stories, anecdotes, and talking about cool practical applications can help keep students on your side (rather than turn them against you and push them away from wanting to learn). Have open discussions, little projects, and anything else that makes it less of a lecture and more informal if they get noisy and hard to control.
It's not too late for them to start liking math. Not until I was 16 did I began to grow fond of math. Altough I always appreciated how logical everything seemed, many things just seemed useless. It was not until I saw some real world applications in Physics that I started too appreciate math more. Right now I really am starting to enjoy. Everything is so goddamn logical. It's definitely a hard subject which might be discouraging, i.e when I just can't prove why angle A is twice Angle B in whatever triangle, after thinking about it for half an hour, I just get so fucking mad.
After going through High School myself, I don't think I could cope with being a teacher in high school. Some people just don't give a flying fuck about learning, and there isn't much you can do about it. But I salute you for trying, and best of luck not going insane.
On September 18 2012 01:52 Laertes wrote: I think, as a student in high school with some amazing teachers, the best thing to do is to have passion and take pride in your work. Everything else will follow. If the teacher is excited about learning, so is the student. Every teacher in my school LOVES THEIR JOB. I go to a small special ed high school(For ADHD, ADD, Tourettes, aspergers, etc.) in NYC Queens, its called The Summit. The teachers there love their job,so I love mine, I LOVE MY SCHOOL, a lot of other kids there do too. We WANT to learn, because the teachers make the classes engaging and they are like parental figures as well as teachers. Everyone of my friends hates school, why? Probably because their teachers suck, I don't know how my teachers do it, they make me want to learn, and they aren't afraid to joke around or be friendly, they aren't just teachers, they are a part of my life. You have to approach the kids like they are kids,everyone loves a good teacher, and maybe you can do that for your students.
EDIT: To sum it all up, don't be afraid to HAVE FUN. And if your stupid current school won't let you do that, find one that does. Please, have fun with your job, it makes all the kids WANT to learn!
This, all my good teachers(rofl 2 out of 8) Are the ones who are truly passionate about what they do. I have this history teacher who just loves to talk, read and do anything related to history. His life is history. That passion is transfered over to his students. The sole reason I choose history as a subject was because of him. Last year I had a very good physics teacher. Who just loved to explain Physics. You could see it in his eyes. He would be constantly like, isn't this beautiful? The same goes with the math teacher I have right now. When someone solves a problem he proposes he just lights up because he is able to transfer some of his understanding and love for his subject to his students. These are exceptions however. All the other teachers I feel like I am wasting my time in class and I might aswell just read the book and study myself.
Above examples are also the classes where the students laugh the most. The physics teacher might make an ass out of himself by jumping of tables or simulating vibrations with his body, but it does help us understand. We might laugh at our history teacher because he tells all giddy how he got a new book on history. But you know what? You can tell they don't give a flying fuck. Because this is what they are passionate about and they know they are fucking amazing at it. Someday I hope I can be as passionate about something.
I am only studying to become a maths teacher, but the horror story of the OP is something I often have to go through my mind. However, in my mind (that is far from experienced with these matters) what darkplasmaball wrote should work quite accurately. You cannot go on with the mindset that they cannot understand even the simple matters that you keep repeating. If they don't understand, think of methods to simplify it even further. Think of games and real life examples to bring them closer to the subject. At some point give them a minute to talk the problem with their friend and what is difficult about it (after you've had their attention naturally) and then go through the 'hard parts'.
You're probably really smart (I'm assuming), and often I've noticed that inexperienced people have a hard time teaching less talented kids. Don't give up. As long as you CRAVE to improve, to get better, you will get there. You only just began teaching, perfection is not required of you yet. After 20 years it is.
After teaching a new subject, gather feedback after the lesson, maybe make them write feedback on what did they not understand. Try to give individual feedback during the lesson while they're busy working on the new subject or so. You must stay enthusiastic. It is contagious, like darkplasmaball said.
As for not being able to hold up to the talented class's standards, that is the least of your worries IMO. If you prepare well for the class and you know you have, there will be very few problems. More importantly though, a teacher (especially a new one) does NOT have to know everything. If you don't know the answer to something they ask, simply say 'That is a great question, I will find the answer and give it tomorrow'. And honestly, you won't need to do that too much if you prepare well. Like I said before, you are not required to be perfect or know everything. Just keep a learning mindset at all times, don't give up, try to find new ways to teach, try to find activities during the class to keep them engaged. Maybe even take a short break in the middle and talk about something completely different if you want.
Just keep your head up high and you'll get through this for sure Keep posting the blogs, I love learning about other teacher's experiences
Sounds like a rough group of kids OP. As a high school senior right now (but I never get in trouble/never talk/always respectful) I too get annoyed at the immaturity of fellow classmates. They don't give a shit about learning and I feel that it takes away from what I could learn when the teacher has to tell them to "quiet down" or "do your work". School is for education and it is a great thing that we (as people) have, and they are just disrespecting that privilage that they have.
Sounds like a bit of a rant for me too . Hope you find a way to get to your second class. What I'd do if I were a teacher would be like "Alright class, quiz today, quiz tomarrow, and oh look, another 3 quizzes". Then they'd start paying attention (or fail lol).
It sounds as though you're willing to teach them, but your frustration stems from your students (at least a few of them) not wanting to learn. Like when the one girl went, "What is the point [of learning this]?" I understand that you probably would blame yourself if your pupils don't succeed, but if you give 110% every day, and your students give you (like, on average) 30%, it's not your fault when they fail.
I'd also say that the reason why they don't know the basic stuff is because this apathetic attitude has been a part of them for a very long time in their academic life; it's the product of years of just not caring in the classroom. So you're pretty much having to do the job of the teachers who taught the grades before you 'cause these students chose not to learn anything earlier.
Merely my two cents to your quandary. I've no doubt your job is infuriating right now, and I hope and pray your classes show some appreciation for your efforts and are motivated to learn and succeed soon.
On September 18 2012 00:28 DarkPlasmaBall wrote: As a fellow math educator, I can understand your frustration. I agree with a lot of what you've written. Here are two points of advice (feel free to take it or leave it):
1. Don't rush through the important and foundational aspects of mathematics just to appeal to whatever curriculum you need to get through. Figure out what the students don't know (even if they can't do even super simple problems) and start there. Obviously, find a way to keep all levels of your students busy and learning, but you can't teach the hard stuff until they understand the easy stuff. You can't teach chapter eight until they know chapter seven, etc. Even if that means going over basic arithmetic.
2. Find a way to generate interest and make the material engaging (and it seems like that's what you want to do anyway). Also, show that you're interested in the material as well. Your enthusiasm will often be contagious, and going off on little rants, stories, anecdotes, and talking about cool practical applications can help keep students on your side (rather than turn them against you and push them away from wanting to learn). Have open discussions, little projects, and anything else that makes it less of a lecture and more informal if they get noisy and hard to control.
DarkPlasmaBall here to save the day once again! To all the educators out there, what do you feel is the best method of teaching math? I've had a myriad of teachers and only a few stuck out as truly knowing what they were doing, is there a standardized, popularized method?
Being a teacher in a mandatory education is frustrating for sure. The greatest pleasure I have had when teaching someone is one on one, or with people who pay to be there and don't feel like they have to be there. aka people who want to learn. In high school a lot of students feel totally powerless and are just watching the clock the whole day, meaning they learn almost nothing and get almost nothing done, whether you are a good teacher or not. To be honest, I sympathise, but it's a not a little known fact that the more education a populace has, the less crime and cruelty. So mandatory education has that benefit, and even if a lot of students are learning at a terrible pace, some of it eventually gets in.
But I feel your pain. It is the most distressing thing to watch a student waste away hours accomplishing 5% of an assignment you know could have been done in 10 minutes if they focused. And the more the system afford for this, gives more time per assignment, the less motivated they are to begin. Teaching people who are unmotivated is very depressing. Even if you are funny, students like you etc etc you're super helpful and available, you can't usually can't change a student who is just worn down by 6 hours a day of mandatory education.
On September 18 2012 00:28 DarkPlasmaBall wrote: As a fellow math educator, I can understand your frustration. I agree with a lot of what you've written. Here are two points of advice (feel free to take it or leave it):
1. Don't rush through the important and foundational aspects of mathematics just to appeal to whatever curriculum you need to get through. Figure out what the students don't know (even if they can't do even super simple problems) and start there. Obviously, find a way to keep all levels of your students busy and learning, but you can't teach the hard stuff until they understand the easy stuff. You can't teach chapter eight until they know chapter seven, etc. Even if that means going over basic arithmetic.
2. Find a way to generate interest and make the material engaging (and it seems like that's what you want to do anyway). Also, show that you're interested in the material as well. Your enthusiasm will often be contagious, and going off on little rants, stories, anecdotes, and talking about cool practical applications can help keep students on your side (rather than turn them against you and push them away from wanting to learn). Have open discussions, little projects, and anything else that makes it less of a lecture and more informal if they get noisy and hard to control.
DarkPlasmaBall here to save the day once again! To all the educators out there, what do you feel is the best method of teaching math? I've had a myriad of teachers and only a few stuck out as truly knowing what they were doing, is there a standardized, popularized method?
Thank you for your kind words, although I'm not sure if I deserve the compliment
I'm trying very hard to directly answer your question of "what do you feel is the best method of teaching math" even though any experienced educator will tell you that there's no magic bullet to teaching any subject (or else every teacher would be teaching the same way and every student who tried would be getting straight As on tests and perfect scores on standardized assessments). Heck, even if you pick a single topic in a single math course (slope of a line, or derivatives, or Pythagorean theorem), there's still no established "best" way to introduce or teach these topics. There are too many variables to take into account: every student learns differently, every class is different, and every year is different. Heck, some math courses require different approaches too! I've also seen some teachers use group work effectively, whereas others have thrilling and engaging lectures. Some teachers implement computer technology successfully, while others use hands-on projects to great success, etc. I can't even say, "the best way is doing all of these", because sometimes you just don't have the resources or the mindset to use some of them effectively (although that doesn't mean you can't try it on occasion).
But I don't want to just leave it at "there's no *one* right way", even though that's really the truest answer (at least, certainly for math... I'm not experienced in any other subject). So to elaborate, I'd say that the question you should be asking yourself is: "What are the most important things a successful educator needs to be able to do"?
If I were to pick 3 answers to that question, 2 of them would be my previous tips that you replied to (generating interest and recognizing that students need foundational knowledge before giving them more advanced material). The third would probably be that you need to be willing to learn and adapt your teaching methods as an educator. There's a term that we use called "pedagogy", and it refers to your style and understanding and overall methodology of teaching... and it needs to evolve over time. Some of the worst teachers are those who have been teaching for a while but have refused to make any changes in their teaching style. Some of the best teachers learn from their previous experiences, figure out what works and what doesn't, and then apply new changes in the years to come. In short, you need to be willing to grow as an educator. You'll be surprised at the questions that students ask, and the approaches that they may take to come up with an answer that you haven't thought about before. Maybe you'll use that in the future... regardless, keep it in your arsenal of strategies.
Of course, those are merely my opinions from my experiences as a math educator, and I'd be happy to hear what others have to say on the topic as well
Wow, reading this blog brought me back to my high school days (only last year hahaha!).
I had a teacher; who was 'fresh' out of university, had a teaching degree and I assume a maths/science related degree also. She was teaching a Year 12 (final year, my class) class. Half of my class were retards despite the school being of above average standard.
She would spend so much time on one topic because the class (the majority) would not understand simple algebra. Thus, when the test came half the class failed and we were reduced to such intense maths classes that the few who actually weren't retarded were allowed to go to the library and were given free time (supposedly to study).
But I could clearly see the rapid transition from first day teacher, all excited, happy and enthusiastic to mid term 1 teacher who was about to blow her brains. Felt so sorry for her.
Yeah, some classes are just terrible. I don't actually mind kids not understanding, as I can go slow and explain- its when they don't want to even be studying, but have to that it seems pointless for everyone concerned.
Having said that, the worst thing you can do is go in there with a negative mindset - as it rubs off on the kids in a vicious circle. You probably need to make a completely different lesson plan for the low level class, building things up very simply, and with stuff to keep their attention. I guarantee there'll be some kids who you'll be able to help a lot.
Yeah I would never want to teach anything before college. Just from being a student in highschool/middleschool (obviously everyone has) I always felt bad for the teacher because of how many idiots there are. From my college classes the teachers seem to enjoy teaching and there aren't any annoying idiots who are bothering everyone.
Great thing is if someone is going to be annoying they can just be kicked out (haven't had this happen in any of my classes). People are there to learn. Also I find it funny how all my college teachers so far talk about why they would never do high school/middle school because they would want to shoot their brains out lmao.
In short I feel for you, just from being in class I would be extremely frusterated to teach pre college xD (well i'd hate to teach ever but if I had to I would only do college )
On September 18 2012 00:07 Kuja wrote: I dont think you get the point of a vent blog.
Oh I think I do. The point would be to be in a profession where you wouldn't require a vent blog.
On September 18 2012 00:08 Jumbled wrote: Why do you say that? He sounds like he cares about getting the pupils interested and having them learn something - seems like a useful attitude for a teacher.
There's a big difference between getting his pupils interested in lessons and learning from them, and berating them on a forum in a "vent blog" because their level of understanding and knowledge isn't where he subjectively thinks it should be.
He's there to teach, and if he has to treat 30 kids 30 different ways based on their level, that's his job. I've done group tutoring and helped with classes in my old high school, and sure, it's easy to sit up there, belt off some material, take questions and call it a day. But to actually understand that not every kid is going to understand it, or that they'll have their own myriad of issues with the material is a given.
On September 18 2012 00:07 Kuja wrote: I dont think you get the point of a vent blog.
Oh I think I do. The point would be to be in a profession where you wouldn't require a vent blog.
Does such a profession even exist where every part of the job is so perfect that you never get frustrated and want to let off some steam? Whether it's because of your boss or the workload or your coworkers or anyone else you interact with while you're on the job, surely you're going to have plenty of tough and disappointing days at any workplace. Blood, sweat, and tears.
That being said, some people handle that frustration differently. Some people go for a run. Some people play a few games on StarCraft. Some people vent face-to-face with a friend or family member, maybe at home or going out to eat or for drinks. And some people blog about it. I'm not saying that every day should be like this (you really should have more good days than bad)... but I do know that the first year or two of teaching is absolute hell, and that you're going to need some sort of outlet. It's better than going crazy
On September 18 2012 00:08 Jumbled wrote: Why do you say that? He sounds like he cares about getting the pupils interested and having them learn something - seems like a useful attitude for a teacher.
There's a big difference between getting his pupils interested in lessons and learning from them, and berating them on a forum in a "vent blog" because their level of understanding and knowledge isn't where he subjectively thinks it should be.
He's there to teach, and if he has to treat 30 kids 30 different ways based on their level, that's his job. I've done group tutoring and helped with classes in my old high school, and sure, it's easy to sit up there, belt off some material, take questions and call it a day. But to actually understand that not every kid is going to understand it, or that they'll have their own myriad of issues with the material is a given.
if i taught middle school math and i had kids who couldn't properly do 9/3, i wouldnt even be able to post a vent blog because my fingers would have angrily mashed my keyboard to shit.
and yeah wtf kind of crap is that, everyone, no matter what you do, is gonna have a bad day at some point
On September 18 2012 22:12 DarkPlasmaBall wrote: Does such a profession even exist where every part of the job is so perfect that you never get frustrated and want to let off some steam? Whether it's because of your boss or the workload or your coworkers or anyone else you interact with while you're on the job, surely you're going to have plenty of tough and disappointing days at any workplace. Blood, sweat, and tears.
That being said, some people handle that frustration differently. Some people go for a run. Some people play a few games on StarCraft. Some people vent face-to-face with a friend or family member, maybe at home or going out to eat or for drinks. And some people blog about it. I'm not saying that every day should be like this (you really should have more good days than bad)... but I do know that the first year or two of teaching is absolute hell, and that you're going to need some sort of outlet. It's better than going crazy
I'm not saying you can't let off some steam or get frustrated with work; there will always be bad clients, horrible bosses, or tasks that annoy you. However, if you are having such drastic feelings (like the OP) about your work, then something is clearly wrong. Whether that's with himself, his placement or the kids, doesn't matter.
And really, I'm more concerned with the content of his frustration than being frustrated at work. He's there to educate minds that are malleable, inexperienced, and without the knowledge he has obtained. It's not fair to put those values he's listed in his blog on those kids and in such an intense way; everyone is different. Understanding that things with some students will be slower, and some will be faster is part of teaching.
If I ever had the feelings he had over one of my clients taking computer lessons, I'd definitely re-evaluate what I'm doing and why I'm doing it. There are some clients that pick stuff up quickly, and others that take me repeating the same thing 30 times in a one hour session. Does that annoy me sometimes? Sure, it'd be weird and probably a psychological issue if I didn't. I do, however, understand that there are people out there that approach things differently, that aren't tech-savvy, or just have a slower time absorbing something foreign to them. There's no logical or rational way I could ever hold that over them, especially not in an emotionally unstable way as the OP does.
On September 18 2012 22:12 DarkPlasmaBall wrote: Does such a profession even exist where every part of the job is so perfect that you never get frustrated and want to let off some steam? Whether it's because of your boss or the workload or your coworkers or anyone else you interact with while you're on the job, surely you're going to have plenty of tough and disappointing days at any workplace. Blood, sweat, and tears.
That being said, some people handle that frustration differently. Some people go for a run. Some people play a few games on StarCraft. Some people vent face-to-face with a friend or family member, maybe at home or going out to eat or for drinks. And some people blog about it. I'm not saying that every day should be like this (you really should have more good days than bad)... but I do know that the first year or two of teaching is absolute hell, and that you're going to need some sort of outlet. It's better than going crazy
I'm not saying you can't let off some steam or get frustrated with work; there will always be bad clients, horrible bosses, or tasks that annoy you. However, if you are having such drastic feelings (like the OP) about your work, then something is clearly wrong. Whether that's with himself, his placement or the kids, doesn't matter.
And really, I'm more concerned with the content of his frustration than being frustrated at work. He's there to educate minds that are malleable, inexperienced, and without the knowledge he has obtained. It's not fair to put those values he's listed in his blog on those kids and in such an intense way; everyone is different. Understanding that things with some students will be slower, and some will be faster is part of teaching.
If I ever had the feelings he had over one of my clients taking computer lessons, I'd definitely re-evaluate what I'm doing and why I'm doing it. There are some clients that pick stuff up quickly, and others that take me repeating the same thing 30 times in a one hour session. Does that annoy me sometimes? Sure, it'd be weird and probably a psychological issue if I didn't. I do, however, understand that there are people out there that approach things differently, that aren't tech-savvy, or just have a slower time absorbing something foreign to them. There's no logical or rational way I could ever hold that over them, especially not in an emotionally unstable way as the OP does.
I think a lot of teachers become quickly disillusioned once they finally stand in front of their own classroom. They have big dreams of molding the absolute best minds, and that they'll become so much better than the teachers they had, and every kid will appreciate what's being done for them... and then they actually try teaching, and they have no sense of classroom management, and they hadn't considered the fact that half the students don't know their ass from their elbow. It takes a lot of getting used to, and the shock should wear off, but if it never does, then I agree with you that putting up with the politics and other things (which are often trivial bullshit) that come from teaching (the curriculum and time crunch, the students mouthing off, the parents, the endless lesson plans and grading papers, etc.) might not be for you.
But that's not to say that you can't find a way to center your educational profession around the little things that students say that are incredibly insightful, or when you get some feedback from a parent that lets you know you're doing things well. A lot of times, that's what makes the profession worth it. And every other teacher is willing to put up with all that other bullshit; it's a matter of getting through the beginning and having it become your lifelong career, rather than just another job. (I believe even in my state of New Jersey- one of the best educated states in America- half of all teachers quit before their third year. So it's common for new teachers to misunderstand what they're getting into.) But everyone's different. It's about what you think you can put into the job, and how much you're willing to take before you crack
Now to the "funny" note, a vector is now officially defined as follow : let A and B two points of a plane ; the translation of A to B is the mapping of the plane that at each point C maps the (only one) point D such as [AC] and [BD] have the same middle. We call it the translation of vector AB. You'll see THIS definition in the book for HIGHSCHOOLERS. Brilliant. Wait, where is it correctly explained what a vector is ? Oh, you think they'll understand/listen when you'll show them the arrow on a screen ? And when they'll try to learn this definition, what will they remember ? Not a fuck they didn't give anyway. At least they have coordinate calculus for vector ! What ? No norm ? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME ? What is the point of giving the the length formula and NOT the norm of a vector ? Are you afraid they may UNDERSTAND THAT IN FACT IT IS LINKED ? Oh, I see, it was not good to bruteforce into their brains "a vector is defined by a direction, a sense, and a norm".
I'm trying to wrap my brain around this but I fail. I don't understand this definition of a vector at all. Right now I am doubting if I still even know what the fuck a vector is(I sure as hell should, maybe it's called differently). You sir, confused the shit out of me.
Seriously. I'm in Second Year Engineering at a pretty good Canadian University and I consider myself pretty damn good at math, and I don't even get this definition of a vector. And these kids are learning this first year of high school?
Now to the "funny" note, a vector is now officially defined as follow : let A and B two points of a plane ; the translation of A to B is the mapping of the plane that at each point C maps the (only one) point D such as [AC] and [BD] have the same middle. We call it the translation of vector AB. You'll see THIS definition in the book for HIGHSCHOOLERS. Brilliant. Wait, where is it correctly explained what a vector is ? Oh, you think they'll understand/listen when you'll show them the arrow on a screen ? And when they'll try to learn this definition, what will they remember ? Not a fuck they didn't give anyway. At least they have coordinate calculus for vector ! What ? No norm ? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME ? What is the point of giving the the length formula and NOT the norm of a vector ? Are you afraid they may UNDERSTAND THAT IN FACT IT IS LINKED ? Oh, I see, it was not good to bruteforce into their brains "a vector is defined by a direction, a sense, and a norm".
I'm trying to wrap my brain around this but I fail. I don't understand this definition of a vector at all. Right now I am doubting if I still even know what the fuck a vector is(I sure as hell should, maybe it's called differently). You sir, confused the shit out of me.
Seriously. I'm in Second Year Engineering at a pretty good Canadian University and I consider myself pretty damn good at math, and I don't even get this definition of a vector. And these kids are learning this first year of high school?
It's a generalization of vectors so that the definition can not only act as a catch-all, but it becomes easier to work with in analysis/abstract mathematics so you can pull out proofs/rules/theorems more easily, then reapply it to whatever subject you're working with that requires vectors. Norm is just group-theory talk for magnitude of a vector. The grammar for his explanation of the translation is kinda messed up though...I really don't think you need to go into mapping to explain what a Euclidean vector is...
i'm frustrated with the pace of classes at a top tier business school, i couldn't imagine being one of the smarter kids in your class being brought down by kids who don't even want to be there.. I really don't know how i managed to get through highschool and stay sane, i guess it has a lot to do with massing ladder games on iccup..
In my opinion, all of my maths teachers sucked but one. He was some 45 year old maths nerd who had a real passion for maths and tried to share it with his students. He also had high expectations and would give pop tests super often. Everyone hated him except me
Most people didn't give a damn about the class, because they would pick the biology major, and the latter weights heavier than maths in the French baccalauréat (final high school graduation exam), so you can graduate high school with an F in maths...
On September 17 2012 23:59 divito wrote: Your demeanour doesn't seem to mesh with the idea of educating young minds. Why exactly did you become a teacher?
I dont think you get the point of a vent blog.
Is that what this is? I had a hard time reading the blog.