Hi All,
The students I find the least struggle with teaching is the students who are inquisitive. Getting the kids to ask the questions is half the battle. The kids who genuinely want to learn what I'm teaching and ask questions are really easy for me to connect with. These are the kids that make me excited to come to school each day.
The students that I struggle with teaching are the ones that don't attempt to answer. I have a couple kids in my class who just sit and look at me when I ask them to sound out a word. I also have kids that regardless of the subject I am teaching, just take guesses. It is really difficult for me to meet the needs of these students with teaching strategies because I feel like I'm just doing half the work. I find myself getting frustrated. I consistently remind these students that they have to work to learn and to use their skills to come up with the best answer that they can.
Julie
Curious kids are always a joy to teach. And I feel your pain about the students who don't want to "meet you halfway". I used to have a sign in my classroom that said, "School shouldn't be a place where students come to watch teachers work". It had significance on a lot of levels (depending on the day, and who was reading it), but in the case of what you posted in response to this prompt, I think the quote can relate to those kids who aren't trying--who are waiting for the teacher to do the work.
ReplyDeleteHere's the big question: What makes some kids inquisitive and others not (and I know that sometimes it's subject-specific)? Do you ever feel motivated by the "non-responders" to figure out what makes them tick and how you can tap into that source to get them fired up about learning?