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So basically, this was my reaction in the last lecture I gave. Kids cannot properly add fractions, can't understand what "x < 3" means really, the average note for the last exam was around 4/20 (make it E-), and what do they do ?
They don't give an effity damn. They chat, they don't write correction nor the exercises we do TOGETHER, they can't hear me, sadly not over the sound of how awesome maths are, but over their own sound.
In the last entry, someone told me that I might not have "the right mindset to educate the young minds". Well, I think it's the opposite : their young minds are not in the correct mindset to be educated (by me in particular). Somewhere in their middle-school life, something IS missing. Sometimes I even think the missing link was primary cycle.
I got mixed feelings about this class, but none are really positive.
1) I don't see any future for them. They are young, but there are too much things they do not realize about basic behaviour ; I do not know how they could pretend to have a basic job later.
2) I feel sorry for them : obviously their environment is not as easy as the one for my "good" class. This is maybe the main factor of their problem, but what can I do ? I am no educator. This was their parents' job, or their middle-school/primary-school teachers'. Why do I have to accept these kids in class ?
3) They drivin' me mad. iMad. "u mad bro ?" "MAD WITH THE STRENGHT OF A THOUSAND SUNS" and I have to stay (relatively) calm. I can't make them understand how badly they're fucking their life with this attitude, because they don't listen to what I say. Is it because they hate maths ? Is it because of me ? Is it only because they are young and fool ? I can't have another hour with them like the last was : I just can't keep my cool if things get overboard again. If I let my wrath upon them, basically I tell them "ok you win, here is my full power." I may have silence for a moment, but I will lose the little respect they have for me.
Basically I feel like I spend my time for my classes like this : for the "good" class, I prepare activities, examples, I give them the best I can, and they learn new things. For the "bad' class, I anticipate the moment they'll crack and prepare some sanctions, threats, etc ; I already know we won't have time to do the most interesting examples, and that I'll spend an infinite-like part of my time with them saying the same things again and again and again on the basic notions.
I am tired, but I somehow gained hope last week that I could win this matchup. Stay tuned for more highschool action (I hope next time it won't be a [vent] entry).
 
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Don't worry you aren't alone I've done a lot of substituting work in high school and honestly I feel your pain.
I've had kids in grade 10 who do not even know their multiplication tables, and I mean like 4 x 8 = ? WELL FUCK BREAK OUT THE CALCULATOR!
Keep at it, I'm sure you'll get through to them eventually, maybe put a bit of the fear into them about how prospectless they'll be if they don't get serious.
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the main problem is usually the teacher who is unable to get the class silent.
no offense, but even in horrible classes there is teachers who get the class where it needs to be.
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On October 04 2012 21:23 KalWarkov wrote:
the main problem is usually the teacher who is unable to get the class silent.
no offense, but even in horrible classes there is teachers who get the class where it needs to be.
I strongly agree, but it is so hard when you have no idea whatsoever of what to do to obtain a durable silence. I tried stuff, some worked nicely for some days, other failed instantly... I still don't get durable silence, and I start to be short in terms of ideas.
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Please understand it's also partly your fault. You CAN make this class good. Especially if you can't even keep them silent.
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If you are the full time teacher for these kids (as in you see them every day) have u tried using a punishment and reward system?
I've known teachers that have used their own currency system to bring a style of order to their classrooms.
EG. Answering questions and starting productive discussion could be rewarded with 1 currency
where as disruptions such as talking or distracting other students could be penalized.
And at the end of the year (or semester) they can use the currency they have garnered to hold a mini auction and bid on stupid prizes like pen flashlights etc.
I've seen one teacher use a system similar to this to turn whole classrooms around to the point where he had some of the most troubling kids staying behind asking for study tips or cleaning his classroom to gain more of the currency.
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I also used to hate math with a passion when I was young. Teachers hated me, but I just could not bring myself to even give the slightest fuck about math. In other words, I can relate to these kids...
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It's a losing battle for you no matter what, and it's just something that many (I'd even go and say majority) of the teachers go through on a regular basis. How each teacher deals with these kinds of situations come with experience, I suppose.
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well, I think part of the reason for the lack of discipline is the subject they are learning. I remember back in my youthful days I was pretty much one hell of a rebellious and noisy kid, but whenever I was learning about something that interested me, I was able to sit down and do my work quietly. Maybe kids these days don't like math. I know for one I HATED math. So consequently there were a lot of unwanted noises coming out of me in my math classes.
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You should get a job that doesn't make you write vent blogs. Seems like you dont really like your profession at all, so why do you do it? Go teach at a university where students might actually care.
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You don't sound like a particularly competent teacher when dealing with people who don't enjoy your subject. Try to understand that you're not right, you're not wrong, you have an opinion based upon YOUR experience; they have an opinion based upon theirs. Try to empathise, if you can't empathise you're going to be an appalling teacher, get stressed out and run out crying.
Patience, empathy, tolerance... all incredibly important for a teacher.
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Well, uncooperative students are a bitch to handle, but it's your responsibility to do so. You have to find some way to grab their attention, and make sure their attention doesn't wander off somewhere else. If you're letting do whatever they want, then you already lost the battle. If their basic behavior is wrong like you said, then correct them. That's your role as an educator, to guide them along the correct path of life.
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I got one girl who's like 16 and can't do -3 + 4. I was in shock for 5min.
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On October 05 2012 01:04 Erasme wrote:
I got one girl who's like 16 and can't do -3 + 4. I was in shock for 5min.
You're a teacher?
also that would make me depressed.
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To all those guys on the high horses: do you actually have any idea what happened in the last ten years in european schools? If you don't, then it is likely that you have no fucking idea what is it abour and are talking down to someone who does not really deserve.
So let me put this in short: today's elemntary school is hell. In half of the classes of 10years-olds, there are childern behaving like mad, running aroudn in the middle of the class, sitting on tables, swearing, hurting others and generally not giving a shit about the lesson. It is really beyond imagination, at least for my generation of people used to an almost absolute discipline at school.
The main reason is in the changes in society (for the worst) that we are seeing and thus the changes in parenting. The childern, coming from their homes to the school, have no notion of discipline. It is not their fault, just nobody ever told then what discipline is. Then, when the teacher wants to change that, they go, cry to their parents and these parents go and scream at the boss of said teacher. When I was in scholl (yeah, I know what a cliche is that) and got bad marks, or, god forbid, a note from the teacher about my behaviour, my parents would straighten me up (no physical beating, just a lot of other shit). Nowadays, they go and straighten the teacher - or do not give a shit at all.
The result is that the half of the children are unctrollable, self-entitled idiots. I honestly dread the time when the generation of today's 10 year olds grows up and runs the world. The sad thing is that it is not their fault, they are not collectively mentally handicapped. It is just that the human brain cannot evolve for a correct function in contemporary society unless it is kept in order. Another result is more and more young teachers quitting after a couple of years in the job, resulting in teachers bascially dieing out.
So please, next time you think you now better than a teacher, think twice.
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On October 05 2012 01:18 PassiveAce wrote:Show nested quote +On October 05 2012 01:04 Erasme wrote:
I got one girl who's like 16 and can't do -3 + 4. I was in shock for 5min. You're a teacher? also that would make me depressed.
I'm a poor student who teach maths. :p
Tbh she simply can't get priority right.
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What level do you teach at? Lycée/Collège?
A good friend of mine described his own math teacher that he had in 3eme (9th grade for you yankees). Basically the teacher would distribute detention like flowers. For example
"Who knows the answer? those who do raise their hands." then he'd put those who didn't raise their hands in detention. those who would talk in class were given detention. if the kid was upset about "wait, but Mr, !!", the teacher would just say add another hour.
during detention, the teacher would do math exercises so that those detained would understand math.
if the kid is really being an asshole and disrupting the class, you can just kick him out. do it enough times and he'll just shut the fuck up. he SHOULD.
where exactly do you teach?
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On October 05 2012 01:27 opisska wrote:
To all those guys on the high horses: do you actually have any idea what happened in the last ten years in european schools? If you don't, then it is likely that you have no fucking idea what is it abour and are talking down to someone who does not really deserve.
So let me put this in short: today's elemntary school is hell. In half of the classes of 10years-olds, there are childern behaving like mad, running aroudn in the middle of the class, sitting on tables, swearing, hurting others and generally not giving a shit about the lesson. It is really beyond imagination, at least for my generation of people used to an almost absolute discipline at school.
The main reason is in the changes in society (for the worst) that we are seeing and thus the changes in parenting. The childern, coming from their homes to the school, have no notion of discipline. It is not their fault, just nobody ever told then what discipline is. Then, when the teacher wants to change that, they go, cry to their parents and these parents go and scream at the boss of said teacher. When I was in scholl (yeah, I know what a cliche is that) and got bad marks, or, god forbid, a note from the teacher about my behaviour, my parents would straighten me up (no physical beating, just a lot of other shit). Nowadays, they go and straighten the teacher - or do not give a shit at all.
The result is that the half of the children are unctrollable, self-entitled idiots. I honestly dread the time when the generation of today's 10 year olds grows up and runs the world. The sad thing is that it is not their fault, they are not collectively mentally handicapped. It is just that the human brain cannot evolve for a correct function in contemporary society unless it is kept in order. Another result is more and more young teachers quitting after a couple of years in the job, resulting in teachers bascially dieing out.
So please, next time you think you now better than a teacher, think twice.
I went to primary school in the late 80s, early 90s (yes, I'm that old) and I wouldn't wish that on anyone. Yes, we had discipline. We also had absolute silence for our 50 minute classes and corporal punishment (not after the fall of communism though). It wasn't an environment that fostered a love for learning and knowledge.
Guess what, we had generations who were taught obedience to authority and the idea that might makes right. It didn't turn out too well. I doubt a generation of self-entitled idiots will do much worse.
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Have you heard of self-fulfilling prophecies, or the pygmalion effect in teaching?
Here are some interesting links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pygmalion_effect
http://www.cehs.ohio.edu/gfx/media/pdf/kelsey.pdf (40-something page paper)
http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/teaching_now/2011/04/gifted_as_a_self-fulfilling_prophesy.html (the opposite applies too, students treated as incapable, surprise surprise, remain that way).
I'm going to qualify my next statement by saying that although I've never taught a math class myself, I have taught dance classes, I have seen this bias, and have some teaching experience (tangential as it may be, I wasn't the only one teaching those kids). Here it comes:
I think your attitude towards your students is complete shit and you need to look at yourself first before you start piling all the failures at their feet.
You just started teaching this year, this is your first class (I've browsed your previous blogs). Sure you might expect your students to be capable of more given that they've been taking math classes longer than you've been teaching them, but for fuck's sake, you've been teaching for LESS THAN A MONTH, with no prior experience. Starting from the assumption that your students are the stupid ones when you're operating with so little experience and knowledge yourself just stinks of incompetence and a terrible attitude of passing the blame along.
Yes there are going to be students, even classrooms and schools of students that are unruly as all hell, I don't know what's been happening in French schools, but it's still your responsibility to bring order to your classroom
My advice to you is to read up more on pedagogy, take seminars, examine your own teaching habits compared to what other teachers in your school are doing, ask others for help. Just do everything you can to make sure you're actually capable of teaching and building a good classroom environment before you go shit-talking your students on the internet.
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EPT
