Articles for Teachers
Something to think about are the beliefs and attitudes that a teacher has.
At the core is a teachers beliefs and values. This in turn affects the attitudes and the intentions of a the teacher which in turn affects the decisions and actions that the teacher makes in the classroom.
If all of these attributes are fundamentally sound, then recipe for learning in the classroom will be much better.
We always see on the news about some teacher who winds up being fired or thrown in jail for what they have done in the classroom or crossed the line with a student. This, I believe, all stems back to the core values of the teacher.
If you as a teacher can be honest with yourself and willing to accept self criticism and criticism from you superiors your can take the necessary steps to be the best teacher you can.
I still chuckle at something a teacher said once. "All teachers suck when the first start teaching. Hopefully with experience they will suck less and less."
But looking at your own core values you have to think about how the beliefs and attitudes affect the teacher's actions in the classroom?
Although this article is coming from the point of view and geared toward and ESL Teacher. I think that it can be more broadly view for a teacher of any subject matter.
The following are some questions that I was thinking about as an English teacher.
Why would a teacher plan a lot of student to student communication activities during a lesson?
The students get the opportunities to speak to each other.
Students learn by doing thing themselves
These kinds of activities promote more fluent use of English
Students get to know the other Students better
Students get more talking time individually rather that the whole class doing something together
The student get practice listening to someone other that the teacher
Why would the teacher use tape recordings of native speaker conversations?
the student needs to practice listening their listening skills.
the student needs practice listening to a different voices and accents
Why would a teacher play games in which students move around the classroom.
Student needs a changing of the pace and mood during the lesson.
Games add a different dimension and variety to the lesson
It is difficult for students to sit for a long period of time
physical activities awaken the mental power of the brain.
If you are going to be teaching you will be in the continuous process of learning yourself, trying new ideas and adding to your bag of tricks in the classroom.
Bibliography: Learning Teaching: Jim Scrivener: copyright 1994: Page 12
Karl Johnson teaches English as a Second Language in Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam. For more information, contact me to find out how you can teach ESL. I'd be happy to help you with more information.