This week is the last week of teaching. I'm not sure who is more relieved me or my students! But considering how things were last week I was able to keep things very light in terms of work load. (My policy of assigning grammar as homework pretty much allowed me to keep ahead of the schedule. For the first time I can remember I'm not rushing through the last unit before the final test)
All my classes ended early as we finished off the last unit so students were able to concentrate for a shorter time which I think contributed to a better quality of classroom life. There was also not much to talk about this week as I've been so busy with other things I didn't bother trying any different with my students this time around.
? What about the q everybody else is answering: what have my students taught me?
ReplyDeleteOops! Somehow I missed your previous email. Well, not to worry I will reflect on that now.
ReplyDeleteMy students have taught me a couple of things about myself this semester. The first thing I've learned is that I'm not really "the cool teacher". I might have had aspirations to be that guy but at a certain point you got to realize that your true strengths as a teacher often don't match to the images a teacher has about what a good teacher is. In my case, I've always admired teachers who are good entertainers. And though I'm very confident in class, It's pretty clear to me that I'm not an entertainer. I realized that as I was trying to get students motivated to participate in group work activities. (Which in turn was a big part of my teaching adjustment this semester. So that actually exposed some of the weaknesses in my teacher identity.)
Another thing I learned about myself from my students is that being analytical (as I am) has certain advantages. For some reason students respond well to logic and with the new MIC techniques I've been practicing I've felt that students are paying much more attention and giving me more respect. I dig that. I will certainly play more to my strengths next semester.