number four

This semester I’m taking a beginning French class.  When I signed up for the class it wasn’t because I really wanted to learn how to speak French, I mean, I did and I do, but I wasn’t really excited to be doing so.  It was more so the fact that I am required to learn a language and I didn’t want to take more Spanish.  So, I went into the class not really knowing what to expect, and knowing how to speak no French and came out of my first class really excited to learn French.  Not because I realized that I’m some sort of French ace, or that I fell in love with the language, but because of how excited my French professor was about all of us learning how to speak it.  I can tell how much she wants us to understand and how excited she is whenever any one of us makes any sort of small accomplishment.  I think that if my professor had turned out to be some sort of French dictator/authoritarian-type professor, my view and attitude about that class would be completely different.

September 23 Assignment: Authenticity

Authenticity, it’s really something that is difficult to fake.  It’s possible, but generally not a good idea.  In the classroom I believe that it’s important for the students to know that you really do care about them and want them to succeed, because I know, from being in school (college now, and high school not so long ago) that sometimes it really doesn’t feel like a teacher cares wether or not you do well in their class.  But the classes where you can see it, where you can tell how much that teacher really wants you to understand and get what they are teaching you? Those are the classes that you get the most out of, that you actually do learn because the teacher cares enough to make sure that you know what you need to know.  There are some boundaries though, authenticity in your teaching is great, but your relationship with students still needs to remain professional, which I could go on about saying that “this” is okay in this situation but “this” is not okay in this situation, but that’s the thing, it’s all situational, and those situations are generally ones that can’t be planned for, they just happen and you need to know enough, to have the common sense, to do the right thing when you face something that you can’t refer to a textbook about. Autenticity is great, and needed in a classroom for students to be able to take a teacher seriously.  But common sense, and knowing when something is overstepping a boundary, is also something that a teacher needs to have.

Compassion: When did the compassion of a teacher make a difference in your life?

        It is the day before thanksgiving break begins and I am leaving to go home that night with my older sister.  One of my professors has assigned an essay, I believe it was something like 3 to five pages, and to be honest, I wasn’t completely done reading what it was supposed to be on, but I was very determined to get it done. Because the next morning (the day before thanksgiving) I was scheduled for oral surgery to get all four of my wisdom teeth removed.  But, my professor had said that we could hand the paper in (post it online) as late as the following night, the night of the day I was having my wisdom teeth removed.  So, I ended up not finishing as I had hoped before I left to go home, but I was optimistic that I would be able to finish it before it was due.  I don’t know what I was thinking.  I guess I really underestimated what the effects of having invasive surgery would be, but long story short, I was out of commission for a few days, just trying to recover and just hoping to once again be able to eat solid foods.  Clearly, I had overestimated myself and was feeling very foolish, and not really being sure what to do about the situation, I did what was probably the worst thing I could do: I ignored it for the rest of break.  
So there I was, back from thanksgiving break, sitting in the study lounge of Brandt all night long, typing out this paper in a feeble attempt to somehow salvage whatever might be left of my grade for this class.  Three cans of red bull, and 6 and a half pages later, at the ungodly hour of 6:40 or so in morning I finally finished, with the sun just starting to come up outside. I sent it off to my professor, with an explanation that I can sum up as very, very apologetic, pretty much begging him to please at least read my essay.  I wasn’t feeling too hopeful at this point. My professor emailed me back, with a response that was nothing short of completely astounding, explaining that despite the fact that what I had done was (not quite in these words) very stupid and immature, that he would read it, grade it, and then take of 10% for how wholly unacceptably late it was.  I was astonished.  And entirely grateful. 

september 10 assignment

Respect can be very simple.  It just means, to me anyway, that to function in society and with others you have to be consciously aware of the fact that everyone else in the world has feelings, and opinions, and a past, and stories of their own. And that simply because something seems okay to you, that doesn’t mean it will be the same for everyone.  The dictionary defines respect, in terms of another person, as an act of giving particular attention (consideration), or high or special regard (esteem).  Both of those I believe play very well into what respect should look like between students and teachers, and really between all people.  Making the effort or just actively be aware of what you say and how you act is very important, because all people deserve to be treated with respect, just as everyone wishes to be respected themselves, they should in turn respect others.  This goes for students and teachers as well. In order for students to respect their teachers I believe it is equally as important for teachers to have the same level of respect for their students that they expect for themselves.  Without this established respect, the classroom dynamic can be completely thrown off balance, with either the teacher playing the role of totalitarian leader, a dictator of sorts, completely in control with no outside input from any of the students which, although some may argue that that is the best way to conduct a classroom, does not allow for the same level of learning and growth as a classroom in which students feel they can express their feelings and opinions freely and then discussion and eventually mutual understanding can take place.  On the other hand, a classroom where the teacher has lost control is never really a pretty sight.  I key to all of it is really just to establish the fact that the teacher really does respect and have the best interests of all the students in mind, that they are there to help and allow the students to succeed. Because in a world where young people are discredited almost immediately simply because of their age, an environment in which they feel as though they can have a voice and be important is a really vital thing.  So if the classroom has the potential to be that place for them, which I believe it should be since they are required to be there anyway, then it absolutely should be.