A teacher's mood has a distinct effect on the way she grades an essay. She's much more likely to let things slide on a good day...
Students who actually try hard all the time are rare, and the few who do are really appreciated.
One little "this is dumb" is sometimes interpreted as "you are a complete failure, and your life's work amounts to nothing."
A student who makes a mental leap all on his own, such as the one made today in my 7/8 Lit class, is like a life ring out of that meaninglessness.
The end of the quarter is incredibly stressful, since everything that has been procrastinated on (i.e. grading) is suddenly due all at once.
Teachers actually talk about more than teaching in the teacher's lounge.
"What do you think?" sometimes means "I'm going to stall for time while I think up a good answer."
Other times it means the teacher has a rock-solid answer, but wants to give you the joy of figuring it out on your own.
She's probably not going to let you know which.
Teaching takes a ton of emotional energy because teachers actually care a LOT about how their students do.
It's totally worth it.
3 comments:
YEssss.... veedy interesting, no? I can start to relate to some of the points, including the "It's totally worth it." Yay for teaching!! :)
I LOVE this list!!!
I still find it hard to believe that my high school teachers ever talked about anything other than us, in the teacher's lounge or anywhere else. They were just TEACHERS, you know?
: )
Funny side note: When I first read the one about the words "This is dumb" making you feel like a complete failure, I misunderstood, and thought, "Wow, I'm really surprised Andrea told her students something they did was dumb. 'This is dumb' seems like a pretty harsh remark to make on someone's work."
Oh, heh-heh, NOW I get it! : )
(Deleted comment above was mine too--Whoops!)
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