"I Am NOT That Student!"

You know one of the things that drives me up a hill, over the bend and into a tailspin of displeasure? Teachers that feel that all students are lazy, not motivated, and for lack of a better word, drones.

I seriously take offense to that, and continue to disagree and fight to prove that stereotype wrong. I can't see why, for a few students 'acting out' that all students would have the title of 'slackers'. I've taught before, grade 4s to be exact, and I'll tell you now, I had 2 little hellions, well at least when they were together. They were both given previous titles, such as 'ADHD' or 'other behavior issues', (which is another topic which I this is used incorrectly and could go on and on about, but won't, at least not here.) and I think it may have gone to those poor kids heads, almost like a mini ego that has been encouraged. Whatever it may be, I dealt with the two of them in the best manner that I knew possible, and by the end of the year, I had managed to gain some of their respect, which I find a big accomplishment. That aside though, in no way did I treat the rest of the class as mischief makers. Not in the least. So if someone can gain 4th graders respect, then why not post secondary students too? Maybe they aren't prepared for it, maybe they aren't in sync with themselves, it's hard to say. I was once told that it's because the teachers who have been around that long have been in so many words, 'jaded'. I don't think that this should be an excuse. Look at it this way, just because you fell off your bike, 5, 6, 7 or even more times, doesn't mean that you should never ride your bike again. It means that you look back at the cuts, scars, bruises and bumps, when you can finally bike down the street, and say, "Look at how I got here, I made it." I think that's the way it should be. Not looking at the 'lazy' ones and make them decide how your career is going to go, but you do let them influence how to be better next time. Again, with the bike analogy, if you sit on the bike backwards and fall off, and don't learn from your mistakes, then you don't learn. You can't fix your mistakes and make yourself better next time, and that's how we get 'jaded' or 'hardened' so quickly. Maybe sometimes teachers forget that they are still human (despite what we all thought in elementary school), and they can still learn and be taught, especially by students, and I think they forget that. Well, not so much that they can learn, because they all attend PD events, but who knows, maybe they don't actually take anything away, I'm not sure, I'm not a teacher, so I can't judge them. However, I can, and have the right, to demand that they work on realizing that all students are not the same, and that there are many more that want to learn than don't.

As I think more about PD, I sometime reflect back to when I attended my local church's youth group, and the one or two weekend retreats I took. Professional Development is a lot like that. Let me explain though...
When a someone goes to a religious retreat, they get together will all sorts of other people who have the same beliefs and thoughts that you do. You listen to music, and pray and readings and that and by the time the weekend is done, you're completely stoked, ready to hit the world and take everyone on. Then, after about a week or two of coming back into reality, most people give up, and go back to how they were at the beginning, falling into their old pattern of methodologies and what not. I think this may be the same thing with PD. Some teachers come back stoked, but lose the flame quickly, but others keep the flame going. These teachers that do so are the ones that students adore and enjoy, as well as the ones that end up with nominations.

I guess that's just my take on things, as a student. I think that teachers should be more open and caring to their students, and they would see that their students are more than happy to do what they have to and get their work done, leading to a very happy environment that benefits both students and teachers. I would also like to mention that this spiel isn't aimed all teachers, because that would be hypocritical of me. I'm just trying to point out my opinion on how things could be so much easier for everyone if everyone just took the time... though I know that's asking a lot. Again, this is just my opinion as a student, and I felt it was worth giving out. Hopefully it ends up being somewhat insightful, and less of a rant. :)

A bientot!
Rebecca