The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

We all have had good teachers, bad teachers and ugly teachers.  (Not sure what makes one bad and another ugly but the title was catchy.)  Regardless if they are good or bad, we can always learn from them.

Following is a video I created for an education course I am currently taking.  It describes the best teacher I ever had.

As for the worst teacher I ever had, I cannot remember.  I can, however, describe the worst teacher my son has ever had. She was a veteran teacher who had not kept up her craft.  She taught at a prestigious school but chose to rest on her laurels.  She yelled at the children, and worse, used intimidation as a classroom management technique.  During that year, my son would come home saying things like, "I'm no good."

In my humble opinion, I also felt she forgot what it was like to be a child.  She expected little children to sit still and listen to a talking head for long periods of time.  And rather than encourage creative and "wild" ideas, she forced the children to conform to a preconceived standard or answer that she thought was right.  It was a tough year but we survived.  Thankfully, I had the opportunity to share feedback and she received it quite well, considering the message.

DOs of teaching:
1. Set high goals for your students...see their potential.
2. Tap into their passions.
3. Manage classroom behavior while encouraging wild ideas.
4. Make sure that all students are keeping up with the coursework.

DON'Ts of teaching:
1. Use intimidation as a classroom management technique.
2. Dumb down your lessons.
3. Smash creativity out of your students by spelling out every aspect of the assignment for them.
4. Forget that learning should be fun!