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ESL forum >
Techniques and methods in Language Teaching > should a teacher be honest about my feelings with students?
should a teacher be honest about my feelings with students?
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Panteleimon
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should a teacher be honest about my feelings with students?
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should a teacher be honest about my feelings with students? For example, in case of teacher �s disappointment from the student �s lately increasing indifference towards english. I do not only blame the student but i blame myself too but is it helpful sharing such feelings with your student?
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21 Feb 2013
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MoodyMoody
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I would share observations with the student: "you haven �t participated in class as much lately," "your work has more mistakes in it," "it looks like your mind is elsewhere." You might also ask, "is there anything going on?"
It �s quite possible that your student �s "increasing indifference" might be a result of preoccupation with other problems, such as parents � unemployment (an even worse problem in your country than mine), a death in the family, or being the victim of bullies. Your student could be suffering from depression or even bipolar disorder.
Or it could be that your student had unrealistic expectations or that your teaching style doesn �t fit his or her learning style. I �d try to base my reaction on what the student told me. I would express disappointment only if 1) the student is 12 or older and 2) if I felt that the student wasn �t doing as well as possible under the circumstances. |
21 Feb 2013
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Panteleimon
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1000 thanks (as we say in Greece) about your comments.
I am a volunteer teacher in my parish and he came very excited. He started very well but then as a first year in junior high school (or otherwise called gymnasium in Greece) he got into harder subjects and more exams and put more focus on the school subjects.
Indeed, his parents face great salary cut (with his mother taking care of the other 3 teenagers and 2 unemployed 18 and 20 year olds). I don �t think he is bullied since he takes care of his younger brothers. Due to that he has developed a strong personality and can reply verbally or physically if threatened despite strength or body differences.
My student may have had unrealistic expectations from me since we had developed a kind of friendship in which i try to keep some boundaries and not our friendship to be a reason to do less before he started the lessons.
He is 12-13 years old so I may not express dissapointment because he might already face much of that within home. I �ll try to ask him if there is nothing wrong that holds him back from improving in English and try to motivate him. Now that you have opened my mind maybe the reason is my style and his school subjects. I �ll let you know of the results. |
21 Feb 2013
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MoodyMoody
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That clarifies the situation for me a lot. As I see it, if he decides to continue with his lessons (and that sounds like a big if), you should ask whether he prefers to focus on English for fun, as a kind of escape, or in conjunction with his other subjects in school.
If you teach for fun, you can listen to pop songs in English, watch You Tube in English, or possibly read popular books like the Harry Potter series. If he has outside interests, such as sports, you could focus on the English for that.
If you teach English for content, that would not only teach English that would be very useful academically, but would also help reinforce the other subjects he �s learning in school. Science classes would be great, since so much scientific vocabulary comes from Greek.
In a volunteer tutoring situation like yours, the two of you have a lot of flexibility in content and approach. Take advantage of it! |
21 Feb 2013
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Panteleimon
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thanks that �s great. I already know the staff you r telling me from my studies. But sometimes when you r the main person in a difficult situation, your mind gets blurry and a good advice helps you reopen your mind and think about good theory you already know and apply it back on the lesson rather than having it locked up in the mind �s wardrobes. Thanks, P. |
22 Feb 2013
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rhman
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hi Panteleimon, As a teacher we never tell our Ss about our feelings , but we try to find the reasons behind their actions and try to solve. In another word if the Ss don �t respond or show indefference , it means there is a problem in the activities you do with them(( may be very hard or very easy or boring), may be you couldn �t dress their learning needs and learning style. Teachers are a very like chiefs do their best to offer the teaching in a very desirable and attractive way that force the Ss to learn without feeling that they are learning. We cannot say that this S has got home affairs and that has got social affairs ,as a matter of fact all of us have affairs but we cannot stop learning. ss come to schools to learn and it �s our job or let me say challenge to to make learning happen. Now think about how to make the learning (because we have to teach learning in the first plae )an enjoyable processe .
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22 Feb 2013
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Panteleimon
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thanks rhman.
I liked the view you shared that learning should keep on happening despite our affairs. I am already working on it to make my teaching subject more enjoyable and desirable.
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22 Feb 2013
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