I was sharing my aspirations for my future of becoming a
high school English teacher. I received the usual shocked face with the “good
luck” and “you’re crazy” following.
I was then asked, “So… what will you do if a student says
they don’t want to do it?" (referring to a lesson in my classroom, I’m
assuming)
So, I wanna tell all of you something. Here is my response to the
many usual questions and reactions I receive about my future aspirations:
First, if a student says they don’t want to do something, I
will assess the situation. And here is a little tip: HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE
STILL PEOPLE TOO, YA KNOW! Sometimes you’re having a really crappy day,
sometimes your brain just isn’t in it and its focusing on something way bigger
than the bell ringer for the day, and just like every other human on earth,
sometimes high school students are just unmotivated and don’t want to do
anything at the moment. And that’s okay. If a student 'doesn't want to' it does NOT mean they are a bad child, a lazy student, a typical teenager. I hope to know my students well enough
to realize if they need to take some time to themselves; and if that’s gonna be
in my 50 minute class period that day, then that’s okay. I also hope to have a
well enough relationship with my students that if any of those things above are
going on with a student of mine then they can come to me directly and
personally, and let me know. So I can say, “go in the back and put your head
down/draw/write/take some time alone for today”. I mean come on, they’re high
schoolers, young humans, and one day or one 50 minute class of being
unmotivated aint gonna kill them (or me as a teacher.. it's okay).
Second, I quickly learned that the relationship and
connection you have with your students is more important than jamming knowledge
and facts into their brains. And here is another little tip: OH, HOW TIMES HAVE
CHANGED. And that’s okay, too. It’s important to establish and grow trust and
respect in a classroom. That is actually not saying to demand respect because
the teacher is the authority and a dictator and that is how things need to be
in a classroom. No.
Yes, the school systems have changed and society has
changed. Just watch the news and open your ears and admit that we all are aware
at how the youth and young generations are. But it is so important to gain
trust and respect between you and your students equally. For some, that may be to actually teach the students what trust and respect for others even means. Some
students don’t have good home lives, some students don’t have parents or any
parent at home, some students may have deeper demons that go past that. But
this is where the fact that times have changed comes into play. Because a
teachers job is not so simple anymore where back in the day students sat and
listened simply because they were told to, because clearly that is not the case
everywhere anymore. That is also not to say that students these days should be
babied or have their hands held or be given entitlement, because that is
absolutely not the case. But with generations and society changing, so does
education and so do students and so therefore, so should our approach as
teachers. It is my job as a teacher to begin with knowing my students, gaining
our equal trust and respect, and then my job is to educate them. That may be
about reading a damn complex book and writing an essay on it, or that may be
about a life lesson, which may not have anything to do with school. But my job
as a teacher is to care. My job as a teacher is to reach that student in the
prior paragraph who just didn’t want to do it. My job as a teacher is to not
only prepare these students to move on to the next grade level, but to prepare
them not to be dum dum citizens of this broken society! It is my job to not
only educate these students but to first teach and encourage them to WANT to
learn again.
If and when a student says that they don’t want to do
something in my classroom, it won’t be because they are disrespecting me as
authority, it won’t be because I failed as a teacher, and it won’t be because
they don’t believe that they have a bright future. And I will make damn sure of that because that is why I am proud and excited to become a high school English teacher.
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