I'm sure some will ask which ones I agree with, and which ones I do not. OK, here goes.
Agree:
- Never forget that you don't teach in a vacuum.
- Be skeptical of everything you heard in ed school.
- Go find a good, experienced teacher, and ask him for advice.
- Grade as objectively as possible.
- Assess your students' performance frequently.
- Critique yourself--harshly.
- Classes gel as entities.
- Treat your students with respect.
- Be an authority figure--and set an example.
Disagree:
- Stick to your topic. While that's generally good advice, it sometimes conflicts with the very first piece of advice he offered--that of remembering that you don't teach in a vacuum.
- Your students are paramount. Again, generally good advice, but not always. As I tell parents on Back To School Night, my own son comes first, their kid comes second. I think they understand why it has to be that way.
that explains a lot lol
ReplyDeleteRightwingprof's agenda on "Stick to your topic" was to silence "lefies." I'm sure he softens the stance when it would interfere with The Mission of The Right.
ReplyDeleteSo no worries; no doubt Rightwingprof's OK with high school math teachers espousing the virtues of Ronald Reagan, singing the praises of All Things Republican, countering the Scientific Conspiracy that is "global warming," and bashing labor unions... between lessons on polynomials and the quadratic equation.
I see "anonymous" can't read, and lives in a twisted fantasy world.
ReplyDeleteOf course, we knew that already.
To boil it down: Shut up and teach.
Actually, anonymous, if you had EVER bothered to read rightwingprof, as I have, you would know he is very content centered in class and does not see them as "social experiments" for either side of the spectrum. Teach them what you're supposed to, by the standards, and you'll be fine. It's what you were hired for. You aren't there to indoctrinate them (the students) in ideology of either side.
ReplyDeleteSo, stick to your subject and standards.
What Mr. Miller talks about in class-whether it be on topic or not-is what keeps the class interesting. Personally, I don't want to learn about math for an hour or two, and I look forward to going to a class where the teacher can tell funny and interesting stories instead of shoving math down my throat. He knows when there is a time for fun, and he knows when he needs to teach math.
ReplyDeleteSo, ultimately, sticking to the topic would make school a helluva lot more boring than it already is.
Are you saying math is *boring*???
ReplyDeleteThanks for the vote of confidence. Have you done your assignment? =)
Other tips -
ReplyDelete1.Stay out of the Teachers Lounge
2.Avoid political conversations in the Teachers Lounge
3.Question everything the local school site union rep tells you