Continuation...
This morning's email turned the whole day on a sour note for me. It wasn't that anything bad happened, but I guess I was just feeling down in the dumps. I "reflected" (ha!) on my mood and my conclusion is that I'm taking this so personally because I guess I had an expectation of the values that teachers hold. The way that they are approaching this problem with our math prof isn't what I would consider appropriate or the best way of handling this situation. At least give her a better change by approaching her after class and talking more specifically about the things they think are not working for them in class rather than attacking her in front of everyone during class time (which is also wasting their fellow student's time). Anyhow.. back to my point: I'm disappointed and also disturbed that my colleagues to be are handling this situation like this and additionally very unhappy with their attitudes.For those who have absolutely no idea of what I'm talking about: my math prof for a class "teaching mathematics at the junior level" does not have English as her first language. This along with the fact that she only knew she was teaching this course 4 days before classes started made so that things were confusing. She has a hard time understanding the questions students ask and answering them so that people walk away feeling that they understand what her expectations are of them. My class (well, some of my class) has decided to show their feelings of frustration during class time by voicing their opinions about her curriclum and her teaching methods. They also have this way of grouping together and criticizing her one after another (it's very irritating and frustrating to those of us who are sitting there listening). I understand where they are coming from, but I completely disagree with the way things are being handled (as you can see from the above commentary).
Anyways, on a lighter note, I'll be attending a professional development workshop this weekend called "Curriculum for Peace and Global Institute". So far it sounds interesting and I hope that it's a positive experience.
I hope that the coming days will wash away this negative doom that seems to be hovering over my head. Mostly, I hope that the math situation can be resolved in a non confrontational manner that will benefit BOTH parties.
posted by jaryee @ 9:28 p.m.
2 Comments:
I wouldn't let this sour your ideal of the teaching profession. Just remember that teaching is no different from any other profession in this respect-- some people are good teachers, and some are not. It sounds like the people that you describe might not be great teachers (presuming that they succeed in their chosen career path, which hopefully is less likely given that fact), but you shouldn't let that sour you. I'd just take it as incentive to be a better teacher yourself, to act as a balancing force against them for any students that might have them. And it sounds like you're well on your way, given your outlook on the situation.
Thanks for the support Jordan. Your post means a lot to me :)
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