Teachers' guidelines

A retired professor here has given a few useful points to teachers. I thought these could help others. It had appeared as a letter in the local paper.
* Do not go to class unprepared
* Do not teach just what the textbook contains
* Do not swear by the textbook, feel free to point mistakes, if any
* Do not degrade students by grading
* Do not discuss politics in classrooms
* Do discuss academic matters with colleagues in staffroom for professional growth
* Do not instigate students to serve your self-interests
* Be a student first and then alone a teacher
* Prepare students for life matter than for examinations
* If you enjoy teaching, students enjoy learning
* What is enjoyed endures; what is endured does not endure!

Good Wisdom, Dinu.

Dinu,these dos and donts are of great value for tachers like me.I thank you for this,and also i have kept these rules in mind,expecting to put them into practice in my teaching process.

Dinu - great message. I missed this the first time. Thank you Jianhua for bringing it back up. My daughter is in her first year of teaching agriculture education to high school and junior high students. I will pass this on to her. Some days she gets very frustrated - not so much at the student but at their parents and at the administration of her school. Last week during break at my work, we were discussing salaries. One woman said her son will soon be starting with a CPA firm at $50,000 a year. I stated my daughter is earning $26,000 a year plus free health insurance. She could not understand how my daughter would want to work for such a low salary. I stated my daughter could never sit behind a desk and loves to work with kids. Just last night my daughter called and was excited because she found a book on small companion animals at Barnes and Noble for .99 and was going to use some of the contents for teaching.

I especially agree with your statement "* Prepare students for life matter than for examinations" . This is why I don't agree with the mandatory testing of our grade school students and the publicizing of how schools rank based on that testing. Some students just do not test well. My daughter is an example. She had a very low SAT score. However, she graduated in the top 3% of the agriculture school at the University of Nebraska.

I have seen many persons known to me who were not at all good in scoring marks, but have made successful carreers in their own fields!! That goes to show that scoring marks is not the only thing. The hidden talent [let it be anything] that most children have must be brought out. That is the duty of the schools, yet, this point is missed more often than not. Those who have a bit of luck and take a bit of risk, given the talent, they have ended up a successful prople.

Money - yes - we all need it, but those who get greedy after it, will end up in another world! Greed diverts the mind to undesired destinations, though the path to it looks colourful in the process!

Confucius said "Choose a job you love, and you will have to work in your lives" ... meaning: you will never feel that you have to 'work'. It will be such a pleasure!

Dinu

This is not a critism because for the most part I think it's very wise advice. I totally agree about the standard tests and I understand that some people don't test well. I think I'm one that doesn't. I'm also absolutely NOT an educator and would fail if I attempted it. Consequently, I have tremendous respect for the teaching profession. What methods are there to determine how well a student is comprehending and retaining what is taught if we don't test? Everyone who has ever been a freshman in college can read and regurgitate but when we do that we tend to lose everything three minutes after finals. So, how does a teacher determine the student will carry the lessons learned onto the next semester, year or decade?

I also question whether or not I want teachers preparing my children for life. I think I would prefer the teacher to stick to the subject matter he has been assigned to teach. Algebra is probably not going to be a life lesson for a child who's heart and soul cry out for creative arts. It's necessary for the child to learn algebra for the sake of acquiring techical ability and basic logic skills but it's probably not going to be preparation for life except in those ways. If I were of an Eastern philosophy and the teacher were teaching "life lessons" based on Judeo Christian values, I'd be upset. Actually, I'm the opposite of that situation but you get my meaning. The point is, I want the math teacher to teach math and I want my child to be able to pass math exams because few colleges will accept him without that ability. I don't have a problem with my child gaining insight and education on other world views or cultures. I want him to learn those things at the college level and I want them to be presented as a class subject, not as a "life lesson". Perhaps my interpretation of "life lesson" is incorrect. When I consider that type of lesson I imagine it to be a lesson on personal ethics or values. Those things must be taught at home, not in the classroom. It's unfortunate, many parents these days leave it to the educational system to teach those things. It's innapropriate and I consider it child abuse when the parent neglects to instill values and ethics. I also don't think that my child, or yours should have to suffer through those lessons in school because some other parent has neglected his responsibility. So yes, Honored Instructor, please prepare my child. Prepare my child for the next stage of his educational life. If you, as a teacher, believe I have neglected to instill values, if you don't think I've given the child an appropriate world view, if the child is unprepared to live in our society, let's talk about it. Teachers shouldn't have to suffer a disruptive, disrespectful, destructive child. Teachers also should not be expected to teach those children the life lessons that will instill good behavior. I'm not smart enough to know how the parents who neglect to teach their kids values should be dealt with
so I'll get off my soapbox. I may have misunderstood the whole sentence. I just think a teacher's job is tough enough without parents expecting their children to be taught how to live in addition to reading, writing and arithmatic.
Don't hesitate to respond by telling me I'm a lunatic. This is just a touchy subject with me :>).
(Please pardon my spelling, there's no spell check here.)

I work with very young children and the best thing they can learn is how to learn and to love doing it. If they want to do the next thing and a bigger/better thing. That is the most important issue. They have to WANT to learn. If they know HOW to gain knowledge, they can learn anything.

I have worked with 10 yr olds who are convinced they are stupid and they are the hardest to teach. Learning was never fun or exciting for them. I have had some very loud colorful math groups but they could multiply at the end of it by golly. Of course they could not do fractions-they could not do 6x3.

PS I will behave and not give my views on "one size fits all" education.

This message was edited Feb 2, 2005 4:53 PM

I was a teacher for 33 yrs and I think you must have tests, but also use other things to judge growth. True some children do freeze on tests, but I found that giving them often and telling them to do their best - no one will fail by botching one test. If they failed every test - then there is a problem. Also maintain contact with parents - identify and let parents know of a problem early - tell them what you are doing to help and what they can do. Gosh, I do miss teaching!!! Just not all the administration stuff they throw at you. IMHO, reading and math are THE most important stuff for young children to learn...stepping off the soap box now...

"life lesson" - what the professor probably meant was 'common sense' in day to day matter - giving respect to elders, courtsey, showing love and affection to other human beings/living beings ...... In the name of 'modernization', these things are being ignored by the parents, in general. Both parents going to work - to earn and make ends meet, nuclear families - where elders are not found to guide with such commonsense matters. They have all added up in contributing nothing of that sort as the child grows. The lack of those is being reflected as they reach a stage in society. Certain things should begin at home and at a young age. These are all necessary BESIDES the academics. Scoring marks is important to have a career, but the education system on the whole ignores even the basics of 'life matters' as the school, aside from the home, is equally important as the teacher must act as the real guide. The child is not aware of certain things as the parents are too tired to spend time with the children as they return home from work. So, it is the school that has to chip in.