a thoughtful web.
Good ideas and conversation. No ads, no tracking.   Login or Take a Tour!
comment by user-inactivated
user-inactivated  ·  2871 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: An Axiomatic Approach to Algebra and Other Aspects of Life

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.

    Firstly, in order to win over the parents and students, you'll want to fully recognize that change will come slowly.

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?

    Secondly, you'll need to up expectations by educating them on the importance of their endeavors.

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. :)

    Thirdly, generate interest and enthusiasm through open dialogue with the subject matter as the center.

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?

    From there, I'd say, always have a clear and fair instructional system

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.

    By having a system that is clear and fair, they will less likely to take the easy way out

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.