I found chapter two of Teacher Man to be drastically different from chapter 1. In chapter one there was an overwhelming sense of humor. In chapter 2, Frank McCourt presents a picture of sadness of sorts. He tells of how schoolmates always picked on him and caused him to get into fights. He always came home with bloody shirts. He tells of his days learning about Catholicism and his being reprimanded for being a "very bad boy". Also, he puts great emphasis on the struggles he and his family were faced with. He explained how rough his mother had it raising her children. She seemingly had to fight for everything she got for the family. She had to bargain through the street shops of Limerick in order to prepare her son, McCourt, for his trip to Ireland. And chapter 2 wraps up with Mr. McCourt back in the classroom fielding questions from the students on why Shakespeare's writing's are difficult to follow. By not being able to answer the question for his students, McCourt shows us again, what struggles we will be faced with when we are teachers ourselves. Overall, I feel this chapter did well in tugging on one's heart strings, even if that wasn't it's intent.
Discussion Questions For The Group on Chapter 2:
Think about some questions your students might ask you in your teaching field. What happens if you don't know the answer? How do you respond to your students? And how do you prepare for the criticism that might arise from not knowing the answer to their questions as the teacher?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Think about some questions your students might ask you in your teaching field. What happens if you don't know the answer? How do you respond to your students? And how do you prepare for the criticism that might arise from not knowing the answer to their questions as the teacher?
With respect to grammar, I think I will always be able to answer my students' questions. However, as an ESL teacher, my job is not only to teach grammar but to introduce students to American culture as well. So, while we are all experts on our own cultures, I'm sure there will still come a time when I will be asked a question that I don't quite know how to answer. When that time comes, I will probably do what I did in my SAT class. I'll offer my best guess and then tell the students that I'll get back to them on that (and I'll actually get back to them, too). As a first time teacher, I think unexpected questions are bound to arise. Luckily, as you gain experience in teaching, I think you tend to recognize the typical questions that students ask, and you thererfore find yourself answering fewer and fewer unexpected questions.
When I taught my first SAT class, I did get some criticism for not knowing how to answer two questions that came up during the math sections. Math was my worst section on the SAT, and while I knew how to do the problems presented in the book and on the tests, I wasn't able to answer two questions that deviated from our texts. This resulted in the kids giving me stares, and one kid saying that she'd ask me questions only if they related to the reading and writing sections. At the time, it was kind of a blow to my self esteem, but I later realized that those questions helped me to improve my teaching. I was better able to teach my second class because I had to look up answers to unexpected questions from my first class.
Great question, James. There are questions in music that I will always have the answer to. Questions related to theory, instrument methods, and basic content knowledge (much like Laura's statement on grammar) are easy to answer.
One of the great things about music is that so much is based on personal interpretation. So, for the less concrete questions, such as questions regarding expression, I'd be basing my answer on my own musicality.
Now, for questions that I absolutely don't know the answer for, I feel giving my best guess, and promising to research and find the correct answer would be the best way to go. I could see having to defend myself in this position, but not everyone has the right answer all the time.
We're all going to face the unexpected questions. Being as literate as possible in our fields is the best way to be prepared for these situations.
What happens when I don’t know the answer to one of my student’s questions? I think there a very easy answer to this discussion question. Yes, we are supposed to be experts in our given fields and yes we are supposed to know all about our subject area. However, it is also important for our students to know that we are in fact human and are constantly learning just as they are. If I don’t know an answer to a question one of my kids has asked, then I simple state that I have no idea and want to know for myself. I will do the research or ask a friend in the field what they think of the question and then get back to my student. This way, my student knows that learning never stops and that I am willing to learn to become a better teacher for them.
Post a Comment