Many people have shared stories about teachers who touched their lives. If you haven’t read them, I urge you to take a minute and look at some of the heartfelt accounts on the earlier posts.
One trend I’ve noticed is that these “life changing” teachers tend to be folks who really got to know students individually, what was happening in their lives, and really put in the extra effort to make a personal connection.
One of the things about being a teacher at any level is that you see A LOT of people. My wife has over 100 high school kids each year. Given the limitations of time and space, is it possible to establish such a connection with all of them?
To give each child just 5 minutes of one-to-one attention each week would add up to more than 8 hours! That’s another full day every week. I wonder if that’s a reasonable expectation.
Your thoughts?
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I think there are varying degrees of what a student needs. SOme need nothing. Some are very needy based on several factors which I wont really go into in this context.
ReplyDeleteI think being available is important. I always encouraged my students to email me when I was a high school teacher. That way I was able to reflect back on what they said and help them grow and develop both in and out of the classroom.
"One of the things about being a teacher at any level is that you see A LOT of people."
ReplyDeleteWell, that's not necessarily true for those of us who have primarily taught one to one or one to two...as in my case with private art lessons, in-home/on-site design consultations, or patient teaching. I think one of the reasons I love this type of educational setting is because of the time that CAN be devoted to one student and the way that I also grow over time as a result of quality relationships. Mentoring and academic advising are other fields that allow for 1:1 time with individual learners. In addition, I much prefer smaller groups if I'm teaching a workshop or seminar...up to 10 (12 max). Knowing this about myself gives me a certain amount of confidence that I can and will be available to learners with different levels of need.
Good point Susan. Sorry for my sweeping generalization there.
ReplyDeleteThere are those of us who see many people at a time in large groups. Or, for that matter, most of my work is deployed as online training--that makes the personal touch...well, kind of impersonal.
You know when I first started teaching, I had the same concerns. I'm horrible with names, etc. But - I found when I have beginning of the term 'get acquainted' activities I have an amazing memory. I'm an active learner - so activities that have movement and uniqueness I tend to remember.
ReplyDeleteI'll have 100+ students each quarter and I will remember something long after (maybe not the name!). Now - I've taught at all three community colleges and worked with welfare folks; I'll remember a face - but not where, the former student/client will fill me in (I guess I make an impression too!)
I also wonder if being student-centered vs. teacher-centered plays a part. When you are lecturing to a large group and there is no interaction whats-so-ever, how would you know your students.
I think that this is a huge concern for instances when a teacher does in fact have numerous students and limited time to interact with all of them. I have been on the other end, one of many students wanting to see a professor in regards to an unclear assignment or upcoming test. The worst feeling was being rushed so that another student could also see the professor or feeling like I was in fact, just a number. The teachers that have impacted me never made me feel like just another student. I took a lot of their time, and they acted as if they had all the time in the world. These instances did tend to happen in settings with less students.
ReplyDelete“Given the limitations of time and space, is it possible to establish such a connection with all of them?”
ReplyDeleteIn some cases, it is impossible to connect face to face with all of your students. However, face to face is not the only way to connect, feedback on course work, emailing and the good-old phone are other options, to reach out and touch.
As someone mentioned earlier, not all students need or want to connect with the teacher. Keep in mind some are just there to pass the class and move onto other classes they are really interested in. I have had an experience with this where I reached out to a student in as many ways as I could becuase I was interested in getting to know her and her motivations. The more I tried, the more she pulled away. Some people just do not want to connect although I think we'd like to believe that they all do.
ReplyDeleteI have very little visual memory. I've taught week-long classes, walked past someone in the hall who's been in my class and don't even recognize them.
ReplyDeleteI think the learning setting makes a difference. I'm not one to get emotionally involved with people anyway. I think recognizing the humanity in people is important. Establishing a relationship with them is not.
What level of "connection" are we talking about. I think in any teaching or training situation you hope to connect or engage each individual in some way. My hope would be that each person takes something with them...even in a short training session.
ReplyDeleteI think that the content of what you are teaching would make a difference.
ReplyDeleteI was a biology major for my BS degree. I was more interested in engaging with my science professors because that is what I liked. I am not into english, literature, history as much. I did not feel as much of a connection to the faculty for those courses. It was not because of their personalities, it was my interests.
Each one of them is impacted in one way or another, even if it is in a negative or passive way. I think teachers/facilitators should make it fun, make it relevant, and show respect.
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