Glad to hear that you plan on teaching. It can be a bumpy, yet rewarding journey. There is no formula, or maybe actually, too many formulas to actually generalize what works. That's the art of teaching I guess. Knowing your audience is definitely primary to figuring out your strategy. I don't know you too well, so I knocked out as general a plan that I've found to works for me right now. Best of luck to you. Firstly, in order to win over the parents and students, you'll want to fully recognize that change will come slowly. It's like watching a tree grow in your yard that you planted as a kid. It seems like nothing is happening until one day, you gain a new perspective and find the little tree has a trunk you can barely wrap your hands around. Secondly, you'll need to up expectations by educating them on the importance of their endeavors. For example, you might set up a study into fractions, "Have you guys ever realized what portion of the hours of your week you spend, sleeping, in school, etc... Let's check that out." Relate the subject to what they know. Thirdly, generate interest and enthusiasm through open dialogue with the subject matter as the center. This is generally more difficult in math than say science which is likely to be immediately relatable. I find that for math, continually relating, "Math is just patterns and puzzles about the world that people have discovered. Today we're checking out how _________ pattern works. What do you guys know about it so far?" From there, I'd say, always have a clear and fair instructional system and give them lots of feedback. Students, especially my middle schoolers, as they are working to take full responsibility for their learning, when frustrated, will look for excuses out of their responsibilities in learning. By having a system that is clear and fair, they will less likely to take the easy way out, and then learn to adapt to the expectations you have of them. Thanks for asking the question. It's nice to rethink my reasoning for my teaching.
Glad my question helped, and thanks for giving me some guideline. I find it difficult to work without even a faint idea of what I'm supposed to do, and to have some ground makes it seem far more tangible. Man... Patience. Always had problems with it. Though I'm growing into a better model of thinking, I'm sure it'll still be difficult for me to grasp the consequential nature of learning and teacher-student interactions until a few years later, when I do see the trunk grow. Any advice you have on keeping my mind on target through the daily drag? I can relate to that. It's much easier to grasp something you can relate to, and for me, it's like telling a story. I've been doing this for a long time, so it shouldn't come as a problem. I am, after all, going to teach languages: they are what makes stories, so as you learn the language, you learn how to tell a story, and the importance of that... Well, I'm sure I'll be able to relate the kids to that. :) That's where things get blurry. Where do you draw the line between having a dialogue and having to teach the curriculum? From what I hear, it's a big deal, to finish the curriculum before the end of the year; and of course, I don't want not to teach them something if the subject is concerned with it. And yet, dialogue is extremely important. So, how do you make it work, and how you do reign in a discussion gone rogue? Are there any examples you can give, good or bad? Again, it's about tangibility for me; to learn where to go and what to refrain from. I have a vague idea about it - I did have some good teachers at school - but I'd like some concrete examples. It probably depends on the person as much as most everything about teaching is, but - how do you reign in the pupils who fall angry at being tired of failing to learn or understand something? Simply explaining it won't do, because that's not the point, important as it may be afterwards. How well does talking straight ("I know you feel frustrated because you can't understand it...") work, in your experience? What else might work well? Again, thank you for answering that. The more I learn before diving into the world of teaching, the better.Firstly, in order to win over the parents and students, you'll want to fully recognize that change will come slowly.
Secondly, you'll need to up expectations by educating them on the importance of their endeavors.
Thirdly, generate interest and enthusiasm through open dialogue with the subject matter as the center.
From there, I'd say, always have a clear and fair instructional system
By having a system that is clear and fair, they will less likely to take the easy way out