Yes! Rather than seeing students as ‘bank accounts’, perhaps if we saw them as investments where we are able to reap benefits (learn from them as well), depending on how well we taught them, the results might change.
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Author: Iris
Comment on Curiosity requires moral courage by Iris
I like that you point out the importance of curiosity. I think that as teachers, we urge students to get what we are saying and just accept it without encouraging these students to question why the answer is so. This might have something to do with how the teachers themselves were taught or how they learnt the material. If teachers fail to unlearn their already learned methodologies, they fail to encourage students to do any different from what they did.
Comment on From Drones to Organ Donation We Cover it All by Iris
As much as I envy your job right now, I totally do understand how challenging it is to regulate class debates. Even more so now, topics that students might be interested in, could quickly escalate into full blown out classroom wars. Perhaps, a better approach is to let your students submit topics they might want to discuss in the next class to you, then you filter these topics and then ask students to rank the filtered topics to show what they want discussed in class. This might save you from being put in uncomfortable mediator positions.
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Comment on WHO TEACHES SMALL ANGELS? by Iris
This post indeed makes me realize how hateful the world has become and is becoming, because of how we are brought up. When I was in my country, I will see middle eastern tourists with beards and the women with veils and I would exclaim how beautiful their culture is. This is because, I was brought up thinking that everyone has a culture depending on where they grew up and this made us all unique in different ways and even made the world more beautiful. The last time I went to Kroger with my Egyptian friend, an old lady asked her what she was doing in a Christian country? How this old lady could ask that question simply beats my mind and to justify it with Christianity,further worsens the case. Who taught this woman to be that divisive? Her parents or her neighbors? And how come the first thing that comes to my mind when I see someone different is ‘unique’? Is it that I am also unique as I am an international woman of color in America, or is it that I was brought up differently?
It hurts to see the future ones, raised with this much hate. So much hate that she will feel entitled to approach you and dare to beat you. This is indeed very sad. Embrace your uniqueness, Shi!
Comment on “I thought he was going to hurt someone” by Iris
This is a really well thought-out blog! Thanks for sharing your ideas on easing the awkwardness on first day of classes. This is a strategy I might use for a long time in the future. Do you think that letting students mention their legal names and the names they want to be called, will be even less awkward?
Comment on Breaking the Ice by Iris
I like your method of breaking the ice. Yes, calling people by their names, instills some sense of warmth in them. It is amazing how far reaching very simple little gestures can do. Keep up the good work.
Comment on Breaking the Ice by Iris
I like your method of breaking the ice. Yes, calling people by their names, instills some sense of warmth in them. It is amazing how far reaching very simple little gestures can do. Keep up the good work.
Comment on What’s in a name? by Iris
I do identify with your I, which happens to be the first letter of my name. Like you, I understand that everyone has flaws and my aim is to nullify the flaws of my students as much as I do, mine. In this era where everyone is seeking perfection, it is refreshing to see some others embracing their imperfections and working on them.
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Comment on What Harry Potter Taught Me About Teaching: Be a McGonagall, not a Lockhart. by Iris
Harry Porter for the win!! To say I love it, is an understatement! I agree that Professor McGonagall is strict, she reminds me of my class 2 teacher, Miss Estella. I was the Hermione of the class, but even I got my share of backlash from her. Miss Estella made late-blooming students like Longbuttom feel just as important while sieving out the Harry Porters for specific roles from the moment she laid eyes on them. She put me in the midst of class 6 pupils as a runner when no one saw any speed in me, and boy, did I fly just like Harry Porter after that ball. Although I do not want to be a Professor McGonagall, more like Professor Dumbledore, I believe such teachers have their place and role. Great piece!
Comment on Is Getting to the Finish Line Enough? by Iris
I really like this statement ‘Let them touch history’. I agree that it is very important to give students a context in which to understand the material better. If they can relate to it, they stand a better chance of understanding it and doing better in the class.
