Week 6: If a student said she thought
you were the worst teacher she ever had, what would you say? If a student
fails, what would be your feeling or reaction? What would be your way of
dealing if half of the class failed in a particular test?
If a student told me I was the worst teacher she had ever
had, I would tell her that I am sorry that she feels that way, but that I am
happy there are other teachers she has enjoyed more. I would then ask if she
had a specific suggestion or reason for why my teaching style did not match her
learning style. I would do my absolute best to not take it personally, because
even if she feels this way, many other students might feel I was a great
teacher for them. Also, by encouraging her to give a specific reason, I could discover
whether she only felt this way because of the grade she received, or if there
really is something I can learn from disappointing her.
I have been
tracking my students’ grades very carefully all of this term. I am very aware
of which students are in danger of failing, and I have been in close
communication with them and their families about this issue. For this reason, I
do not feel that I would be shocked or feel that I personally had failed them.
The students who are failing are generally failing because they do not do the
necessary work, not because they are missing important concepts. I have bent late work policies to try and get
them to turn in their work and receive some points to boost their grades and I
have required them to attend after school tutorials to catch them up. However,
some students still continue to receive failing grades. Therefore, while I will
be sad that the students did not pass, I will not feel that I personally failed
them, because I have been doing everything I can to improve their grades.
If half the class failed a particular quiz or test, I would
look back over the assessment and see if I had included information which was
not covered well. However, if the information in the quiz or test seemed fair
and appropriate. I would find ways for the students to make up points with
another assignment.
Hi Shannon,
ReplyDeleteYou have a good perspective on these issues. Usually if a student tells you you're the worst teacher they ever had, the problem lies with the student and not with you - generally there is not much to be learned from the student because their reasons are shallow or they don't even know there reasons. However, by asking them why, it may cause them to do a little thinking about it, and just by you asking it may change their opinion. It has been my experience that students may dislike you one day and love you the next.
It's hard to deal with a student failing but, as you said you can't take all the responsibility on yourself. If a lot of students are failing - that is a reason to take a look at your policies and expectations. If it is because they don't do their work - and that is usually the case - you need to come up with a motivational way to get them to do their work.
If a large number of students fail a test, it might be the contents of the test or the directions. It would certainly be worth taking a look at the test.