Week "8"

What have people said that's interesting?

“If you would thoroughly know anything, teach it to others.”

-Tryon Edwards

          I don't necessarily think you're obliged to share knowledge, like 'Hey, you! You know more about cooking than anyone! You had better teach that to someone, or hey, you're just a grey matter hoarding jerk, aren't you?" But it is truly important to me, and maybe I've touched on this before, to know your subject matter. I know some coaches have to teach geometry and some history teachers may also teach psychology, but it's a true pain to sign up for a class with burning interest and then be taught with someone... not so interested. It's like trying to drive a train over snow-laden tracks. The tracks are there, of coarse, but they're kind of buried in thick, icy clumps of opaque white with no easy way through. That's my token, and there isn't much to it, not that that makes it less important.

What's happening in education?

http://news.yahoo.com/high-school-teachers-wish-parents-asked-conferences-155245643.html   

          Kelsey Sheehy of Yahoo! news recently broke down a list of what she thinks is the rising and most prevalent current problems in students with their parents in today's society, narrowing them down to a handy dandy list of 'things high school teachers wish parents asked in conferences'. I'm going to break her four points down and give my quick opinion real fast.
          Number One: Is my student giving his/her best effort? I think this one is, personally, a little stupid. I mean, I realize today's parents can be busy and neglectful, but you shouldn't need to ask the teacher if your child is actually working. If anything that's something they'd ask the parent. Do they put time into homework? Are you motivating your child? Do they act interested in the benefits of good grades or do they actively seek out-of-house activities and rarely spend time so much as touching their textbooks? How is a teacher supposed to truly know if your child is putting in the effort par? That's just my middle-class opinion.
         Numero Dos: What could my teen do that he/she is not already doing? I guess I get this one, but it's generally the same for any class of any subject in any age, and not necessarily for today's society, anyway: do the work. Bad grades, mad motivation, and bad ethics come from not listening like it's your job to, not doing homework like it's your job to, or not taking notes like it's your job to. And the parent has little real control over two-thirds of that list, so why should teachers want it asked of them anyway? Are the teachers doing a bad job now, not getting your kid to pay attention or put pen to paper?
         Number three: What can I do to make your job easier? I really don't get why a parent would ask this to a teacher. I mean, the problem, if there is one, is with the student. You can't step in the classroom for him. All you could really do is remind him to work or make sure he's motivated to study, and that should be a given anyway. Again, I'm cutting the rug a bit on neglectful parents, but this article is based towards them all, not just ones with slight issues.
         Finally, four: How are you doing? Sheehy explains this one as a need teachers have for warding off their unappreciated jobs, and I disagree. Teachers don't long for attention for whipping your kid into shape, not the picture-esque ones Sheehy is describing anyway. A good teacher doesn't need outside upkeep on their self-esteem; they work for the students, not to get, i don't know, lecture recognition or something. So, basically, I think Sheehy's "advice" is underestimating the tough and proud that are teachers. And the parents of today's young.

And what have I learned this weak?

          Wow, so much has happened this week. My main observation, as always, though, is in my peers ore than in my studies. As we're taught barriers and issues that can lurk in teens by our Teacher Cadet class, I've noticed more signs and situations unfold in my own student body: A girl friend quits an elective because her boyfriend was kicked out of it, suggesting a need for his affection through co-dependency she lacks in home life. A girl never turns work in on time and doesn't care because the boys around her find it a feisty  bold personality only built up by her meticulously maintained looks. In class, we were randomly given various barriers to build onto a character, as though we were given a new life, and I ended up being an anorexic high schooler who was the poorest in my school with never enough money to hang out with my peers and parents that worked too long to ever show they truly loved me. We were asked to make details for our new lives, hour by hour in the day, and I found my temporary, anorexic self to suffer from severe anxiety over feeling ostracized by family and friends. My desire to be accepted by all the rich kids turned into a need to be as attractive as possible to lure them in despite my circumstances, whatever price my health had to pay, all to avoid the fear of complete social isolation. The more I got into it, the more I realized how good I had it compared to other classmates of mine who were dealt lives with obesity or paralyzation or responsibility bearing down on them far beyond what their age could take. And still my temporary life was an awful mess. It's made me better understand the drop outs and slackers, not to the point of condoning it but to the point of identifying with it how you might identify with a family member going through addiction issues. My Teacher Cadet class has been very eye opening. For that alone it's been worth taking.