Amusing Student Teaching Story
Sunday, September 9th, 2007 - 10:57pm
So, I'm currently teaching World History to Freshmen in the middle of rural Ohio. Yeah, that's definitely something to which "buh" is a pretty good response. For anyone considering teaching high school because you think the kids will be more mature, more interested in debate, being challenged, etc... Avoid the frosh as much as possible. Freshmen, I've discovered, are still pretty much middle schoolers. Fun times. 
Anyway, Friday's lesson was on the invention of the printing press and a discussion on its effects on history. Before I got into anything on Gutenberg and his supposed greed involved in his invention, I had the kids discuss, in groups, other inventions that had greatly changed the world. Flight, the telephone, the internet, and the television. It was during the last one, TV, that an amusing moment arose.
The kids talked a bit (after some coaching from me) about how the news, the sports world, etc... had changed. But, I figured I'd appeal to them in one last way: Music. I talked a bit about how channels like MTV have changed the music industry, and how being unattractive basically means you have limited access to the industry due to the lacking image an artist can have. Some of my students agreed with this... and then asked why MTV would affect that. I told them about EARLY MTV (which I'm barely old enough to remember, all my of my students weren't even borne when the channel was). As I described what the channel USED to be like, I said "That was when it actually deserved to be called Music Television."
Student response... "MTV stands for Music Television?!"
Seriously. I tried not to laugh too hard.
"Just remember that sometimes you need to allow problems to just roll like water off of a duckilama's back." ~Reaper
Congratulations. You've just succeeded in making me feel really old.
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Hehe. Damn whippersnappers.
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As someone who is starting their 6th year of teaching mostly freshmen (and seniors), let me just say that they don't get much more mature than that, regardless of how old they are
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A friend of mine (whose probably the last person in retrospect I would have ever thought would enter the teaching profession; him and the party girl who ended up joining the local police department) tried to talk me into volunteering to be a substitute teacher for econ/government at our old high school. I told him in no uncertain terms "no;" teaching at a high school in any capacity is far different than guest lecturing at a university. Primary difference being that college students want to be in class whereas high schoolers are forced to be there. It's all about the motivation.
Like your brother doesn't do that on a constant basis?
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come on down to Rat Boy's nest!
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Good god, yes. I wonder what that feels like...?
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Ummmm... it's my experience that college students don't even WANT to be there till like year three, when they're not forced to take boring pre-reqs and liberal arts classes.
But yeah, high school can definitely be tough to teach. One of my classes is ALL students who are basically waiting for the opportunity to drop out or move on to professional schools in the area.
Certainly doesn't help that my two MAIN periods of teaching (like I'm responsible for planning, creating materials, the works) are the first and last period of the day. Also known as the "i'm too tired" period and the "is it time to go home yet" period. Buh.
"Just remember that sometimes you need to allow problems to just roll like water off of a duckilama's back." ~Reaper
You can always tell them not to show up if they don't want to come (which I do, to great effect.)
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From my experience with university students only a small fraction of them want to be in classes. The truth in the matter is that students that are paying for their own education are guaranteed to truly care about classes. The rest, except for the fraction, think much less of college since Mommy and Daddy are picking up the tab. Remove the financial security blanket from them and suddenly the future and personal survival become extremely important to them.
As the for the MTV story, I can believe just about anything these days. I'm pretty sure they are teaching the same basic things in school but I don't think the students are actually comprehending them? It seems like even the most basic geography, history and science facts are absent from their knowledge base.
Prederick wrote:
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It hasn't been legal to do that in a long time (in my county).
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Nah, I've got more hair than he does. Kind of softens the blow.
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It's odd when you notice things that undeniably set you apart from the younger crowd. I'm coming up on my 25th birthday (hooray for lower car insurance!), and I have to admit, I'm starting to notice things like this. While I'm certainly not quite as old as most of the people around here, I still remember the old MTV as it was near it's end. I guess my favorite thing they did was the Weird Al hours. Damn those were the days. *sigh*
Anyways, I can't help but think that if I ever became a teacher, I'd probably attempt to strangle half the little bastards there. I didn't have the patience for those idiots when I was in high school, I doubt I'd have it now. Between wanting to trip those little hellions with the little roller-shoes, to wanting to force those wanna-be-thugs to dress intelligently (IE, pants go around the hips, not around the knees)... yeah, I wouldn't last long. The worst were the complete and utter retards that failed classes where, if you were just polite to the teacher, you'd pass. Our Physics teacher really didn't give a damn about normal testing/grading, and if you failed a test, you could come back later and retake it... as in, the exact same test. Hell, if you sucked up a bit, she wouldn't even make you take them. People still failed that class.
And I agree... first and last periods held the least of my attention, especially in my senior year. First period I was a physics lab assistant, which pretty much meant I was sleeping in the storage room (and getting an A+ for it), and my 7th period was study hall, so I'd normally just go home and sleep. Come to think of it, I think I slept more that year than I studied. :\ I was on the honor roll, too.
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I kinda know how you feel, Demos. Back in college, I worked for three years as a TA, teaching elementary physics to miserable children pretending to be scientists and engineers, who whined when presented with anything more difficult than a standard algebraic equation. You should have seen the downright bitchfest I had to put up with when we did the most basic of derivations, as if it were my fault that physics and any application thereof were based entirely on mathematical principles. It didn't instill much faith in me concerning the next generation of American engineers.
Interestingly, my father has taken a new tack in "dealing" with my "writing phase" (as he has called my chosen career path from time to time): He's begun pestering me to become a teacher. Aside from the obnoxiousness of it all, I can't understand why he sees me, of all people, as a teacher. While I sincerely admire what people like SommerMatt do, if it were me, the first little teenage-mutant bastard who spoke out of turn in class I'd probably strangle into next Tuesday. I think Sommer has the patience of a saint. Or the heavily medicated.
Teaching's definitely not for me.
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I was TA for physics as well... but I got to teach the non-calc version... so it was only algebra-based. This was for the non-engineer students... say like architects and biology majors(future med students)... so now every time I go into a funky building or see my doctor I wonder if they were like the students I had... and fills me with complete trepidation.
Inventing zany antics at a police academy is hardly greedy. I posit that it was a gift to us all.
... sorry.
I saw that Headbanger's Ball was on Saturday night, and was tempted to watch it for old times' sake.
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Can't really blame them. The channel has piss all to do with music these days.
What, your login name here doesn't do that already?
Fedaykin98 wrote:
wordsmythe wrote:
I actually dated a woman who didn't realize that the Shat ever did anything before Denny Craine on Boston Legal.
I wanted to cry.
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Well, it would if it were reallyoldmanscene24. As it is, it just makes me want to ask everyone three questions and throw them from bridges.
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Blue - no, yellow! Ahhhhh!!!
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Glad to hear that I'm not the only one who's experienced that.
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I loved teaching HS.. Juniors were the best, followed by Sophomores, then Seniors, and finally Frosh.
Coupled with the fact I was in an urban school district with the demographics of 96% hispanic, 2% black and 2% white, leading to no real cultural diversity (which makes teaching much more enjoyable on certain fronts) it was a bit tough. Of course, I got added rep for being a coach, which certainly kicked ass.
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So you had to go to class? Or was the instructor not allowed to mention that you didn't have to go? Weird in either case.
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I can see how you would be confused about that, so this fix is gratis.
The worst part (OK, maybe not the worst) of this is that I guarantee they laughed in Family Guy when Stewie asked "What do you think of this 'music television'?"
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Both and it's been the law since forever and a day.
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It's one of those laws that everyone ignores. As a teacher, you probably can't announce, don't show up to my class, but you sure can insinuate it. And I know in HS, I didn't go to class on many an occasion.... that's what the cafeteria was for, wasn't it?
I know there are some really good teachers out there, but working with teachers of all different ages from all parts of the country (United States), rich and poor on a daily basis makes me feel much more sympathy for the students than the teachers. Yeah, some kinds are frackin' idiots, but so are quite a large population of their teachers.
Fletcher wrote:
In our college, all 100 level courses were required to take attendance. *sigh*
Fedaykin98 wrote:
wordsmythe wrote:
I considered high school teaching, but realized I'd have to deal with students who act like I used to.
Elysium: The democratization of the web ... has installed an illusion of a digital first amendment that protects speech no matter how poorly spelled or stupid.
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A college class with attendance is not a college class. I had several classes that "took attendance" and they were always joke classes.
Fletcher wrote:
wait this is a Demos thread right?
so...uh....did you hit it?
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