Do What I Say Not As I Do

In my brother's 9th grade year, his new English teacher was currently getting her PhD in English while teaching his class. She was so engrossed in her own education, that she forgot how difficult her assignments were for her students. Although many of the students were able to rise to the occasion, they did so at the point of nervous breakdowns (private school kids can't accept failure). She forgot to put herself in her students shoes and reflect on how the assignments were effecting them. This is not to say that I think this teacher had already learned everythign there was to learn and couldn't possibly remember what it was like to be a struggling 15 year old English student. However, I felt that she relied to much on the level she had attained and lacked the ability to look at the basic skills that got her to that point.

Quite possibly, this teacher skirted over the basics when she was younger, understanding them for the most part but perhaps never fully grasping them. It never hurts to go back to the basics and see how you make connections in your mind and try to relay them to students.

Teachers constantly need to go through self-reflexive re-evaluation processes of their teaching methods. It can't hurt to actually poll your students to find out what is effective and what isn't.

I think a good attitude also goes a long way. I find that negativity and undue criticism wear away at the teacher more than the student. Constantly focusing on a students lack of moral rectitude will probably eat away at the teacher with the soul rather than the student who doesn't have one.

So, to better yourself as a teacher requires a bit of humility and an attitude that's able to just let things go every once and a while. For those who are thrust into teaching for the purpose of achieving funding, this next part might not be so applicable. But I think that if teaching is your calling, you become a better teacher by reflecting on what you can positively contribute to the overall system of knowledge and to students' personal academic growth.