I often have a lot of negative things to say on this blog, but I actually really do like being a teacher. Perhaps I would like to have more control over the content of my class, but I really do like being in front of people and communicating with them. I especially like the point of the semester where you can talk to your students about their lives and joke around with them. I think it takes awhile for me to become comfortable with my students because I try and put up a wall so that they don't think that I am their friend. I enjoy being friendly and getting to know them, but I don't want them to think that I am going to give them good grades simply because I like them. Many of my peers seem to think that it is ok to hang out with undergrads. I find this to be a bit weird. These kids are not my friends, they are my students and that is an important distinction.
While I am all for breaking down hierarchies in education I still think in a college environment one has to be very careful. I do not want to hang out with my students. I don't need the reassurance that I am cool. Perhaps it is a bit different in grad school, but still there are some walls that need to remain.
However, you can still be a mentor to these kids without being best of friends and I really like being in that position.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Teaching While Being a Graduate Student
I know I have talked about this before, but I keep thinking about how hard it is to give my full attention to a class when I have so many other things going on. Especially when it is a pre-fabricated cookie cutter class. I feel like I am just working with the system, being part of the factory mill that is undergraduate education. If you speak up about the system, people take it personally and become offended and nothing gets changed. You can subversively add some interesting things here or there, but the reality is that you are teaching a class that really doesn't have much substance. Now, the powers that be would argue that you are given a lot of freedom to make the class whatever you want it to be, but they would be wrong. I feel like some live in this delusional world where everything is great and never needs to be changed. Critism is only allowed if it isn't about the system itself. I guess that I have become frustrated with the academic structure of BG.
Recently I read a book about FDR and how he managed to changed the structure of American government because he had the War and economy on his side; people were desperate for change (granted he did a lot of illegal/unethical things). Now we are in a similar situation with the colapse of higher education as we know it, but we are not willing to take chances, to change the way we look at education. We would rather go down with the ship with our hands in our pockets than actually try and push the system. I am frustrated because here is the perfect chance to really change the world, and we aren't doing it, myself included. I mean, the likelyhood of me getting a job in four years is pretty slim. My friends department is shutting down around him, cultural studies is being put on the back burner, and we (young CS academics) are mostly screwed, so why not buck up against the system? Perhaps it is because our assistantships are always held over our heads?
Perhaps I will teach this class differently next semester.
Recently I read a book about FDR and how he managed to changed the structure of American government because he had the War and economy on his side; people were desperate for change (granted he did a lot of illegal/unethical things). Now we are in a similar situation with the colapse of higher education as we know it, but we are not willing to take chances, to change the way we look at education. We would rather go down with the ship with our hands in our pockets than actually try and push the system. I am frustrated because here is the perfect chance to really change the world, and we aren't doing it, myself included. I mean, the likelyhood of me getting a job in four years is pretty slim. My friends department is shutting down around him, cultural studies is being put on the back burner, and we (young CS academics) are mostly screwed, so why not buck up against the system? Perhaps it is because our assistantships are always held over our heads?
Perhaps I will teach this class differently next semester.
Group Work
I have never had a group assignment in a class I have instructed by myself before. I have TAed for classes where groups had to make videos and whatnot, but I never really had to facilitate the actual project. In comm 1020, I get to do this for the first time and I am somewhat pleased with the results. I have had 3 groups present and, for the most part, they have put a lot of work into it. However, I found out after the presentation that one person did not contribut to the group. I had to inform their members that they should have told me earlier in the game because there really wasn't much I could do about it now.
I really dislike assigning group projects. Perhaps this is something uniquely american, but I feel like they are just a waste of time. I was always put into groups where I would do the most work and everyone else would get the credit and yes this is how real life works, but school really isn't real life. I think low stakes group work is great, but big graded projects are just silly. It means more busy work for the instructor, more work for the students and not really a lot they take from it other than "boy I hate working in groups". I would much rather have more individual presentations. Also, trying to grade a group project is like hell on Earth. How does one fairly grade a group of 5 people? Also, with speech presentations, how do you even remember what people said?
It is a frustrating situation.
I really dislike assigning group projects. Perhaps this is something uniquely american, but I feel like they are just a waste of time. I was always put into groups where I would do the most work and everyone else would get the credit and yes this is how real life works, but school really isn't real life. I think low stakes group work is great, but big graded projects are just silly. It means more busy work for the instructor, more work for the students and not really a lot they take from it other than "boy I hate working in groups". I would much rather have more individual presentations. Also, trying to grade a group project is like hell on Earth. How does one fairly grade a group of 5 people? Also, with speech presentations, how do you even remember what people said?
It is a frustrating situation.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Review Guide
For the first time ever I gave my students a study guide for the test. In years past, I have never made one because I thought it was the students responsibility to study on their own. Perhaps the fact that somebody else made the study guide helped me into the decision, but I am still kind of wary of it. I figure that I could use this as a time to experiment to see if it actually helps kids do better on the midterm. Somehow, I still feel like it isn't going to do any good because these students don't read/know how to study for a college exam. I have only done Popular Culture exams in the past, but I don't really expect anything different from these. I would love to be proven wrong and I hope that this attitude doesn't somehow influence the way I teach. I do think that I have dumbed down my lessons over the years simply so that people could pass the test and the class. One has to keep in mind their audience while teaching and Bowling Green students are not the most inspired I have been around. Another side of it is that the majority of students that take these classes will never use any of the information again, no matter how hard we try and make it relevant to their everyday life. So, why is it important for them to do well in a class they don't care about? I grew up thinking the opposite of this and wanted to excel in all my classes, including the ones that I didn't like, but perhaps I have to be open to newer ways of thinking about education.
We will see what happens with the study guide. Perhaps I will use it from now on, but somehow I doubt it. I really don't feel comfortable being part of the reason why higher education is turning into elementary school. I really would like to work for a place that pushes student to do their best. Failing shouldn't be an option. Failure should mean dropping out unless their is some emergency.
We will see what happens with the study guide. Perhaps I will use it from now on, but somehow I doubt it. I really don't feel comfortable being part of the reason why higher education is turning into elementary school. I really would like to work for a place that pushes student to do their best. Failing shouldn't be an option. Failure should mean dropping out unless their is some emergency.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
teaching philosophy
After spending some time thinking about why I teach the way I do, I have concluded that my family is very central to the way I teach. In class I often refer to experiences I had with my family and relate them to communication. I think it is really important to give personal stories to students in order for them to better connect to some of the ideas we teach. Also, it helps them to realize that you are a human and that perhaps if you relate some of these issues to your life, then they can do the same thing. The more personable you are as a teacher, the more likely the students may be to realize that education is not just a one way flow of information. I think it is important to push education to a new level where everyone admits that everyone, including the teacher, can learn from these lessons.
I have had some trouble with this in my current class because not many people participate. However, recently I had them all bring in news articles and give impromptu speeches. It seemed like the kids really liked learning about what was going on in the world and that they were much more vocal in terms of responding to the presentations. I think that because the articles were mostly about events that mattered to the students, they really have some connection to it and enjoyed talking about it. There was one article about the girl who died after she was given the cervical cancer vaccine that really got a response. I think I need to think about how I can further connect this class to their lives.
I have had some trouble with this in my current class because not many people participate. However, recently I had them all bring in news articles and give impromptu speeches. It seemed like the kids really liked learning about what was going on in the world and that they were much more vocal in terms of responding to the presentations. I think that because the articles were mostly about events that mattered to the students, they really have some connection to it and enjoyed talking about it. There was one article about the girl who died after she was given the cervical cancer vaccine that really got a response. I think I need to think about how I can further connect this class to their lives.
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