Questions
Here's a question: how many students (on average) does the average teacher see during one of his or her unscheduled hours at Arapahoe? I know my answer, but I'd like to see other answers. What do we do as teachers to encourage students to come see us? What do we unintentionally do as teachers that discourages students from coming to see us? I would particularly like to hear what students have to say.
posted by Crosby at 11:41 PM
9 Comments:
GREAT question. I would say on average, I see maybe one to two students every hour. (Unless it is the last day of the school year and they want to try to play, "Let's Make a Deal" then I have about 1,000.)
I constantly encourage kids to come in for help and clarification. I am not sure why we don't get more students coming in.
It is funny, I have had parents call and say, "can you make sure he comes and sees you twice a week?" How do I do that? Go accross the street and drag the kid into my office?
I would also love to hear some student feedback on this.
That really is a great. Question. In response to what makes us hesitant to come and see a teacher, the biggest thing is when a teacher gives tough talk about an asignment. (e.g."If you haven't started this, you'll regret it.") Even if they say coming in to talk to them might help, many students worry about being reprimanded.
Now, I am not saying teachers should be saying "It's ok if you saved the project to the last minute. I am sure you will manage." And I'm also not saying students should just suck it up and get used to being critiscized, but that is how it works sometimes.
I only meet with a teacher if I absolutely have to. The biggest reason I do not ask for more help is that I hate going into departmental offices. Whenever I go in there, I feel like other teachers are listening in on my conversation. In addition, the offices are so crowded it is impossible for me not feel as if I am disturbing another teacher’s work.
During my off hours, I usually see one to three of my teachers. I do thins because I usually have a question that I have for them, and why not ask it when they can explain it to you with lost of time. Before tests, I always try to go and talk to them, as I can get some last minute questions answered and/or they can give me some pointers for the test.
About the department offices, I think that it is more seen as, oh... you need help, so it might be an embarrassing factor for some people. Lets face it, when you tell your friends that you have to go see teacher so and so, it is not nearly as cool as saying that you are going to go and hangout with friends so and so.
I think that it mainly is an individual thing; are the students willing to be "embarrassed" and get the help that they need so that they can get further, or are the students too worried about that others will think about them when they have to go and talk to their teachers. In addition, some students think of off hours as OFF, meaning NO school. With that, then, why are you at school if you are talking the whole hour off to sit across the street or drive somewhere just to sit. I thought that school was for learning something and we all know how to sit.
Thanks to the students who have commented so far. I look forward to reading more. And Kitch - thanks for the laugh!
I had not really thought about students' perception that they might be bothering other teachers while they were talking to their own teachers, but if I think back to my high school years, I have to admit that I felt the same way sometimes. Personally, I am never bothered when students are talking to other teachers in my department - I've gotten used to tuning out background conversations, and I am just glad that the students are coming in to see us and ask questions. The thing is, our job during our unscheduled hours is precisely to be available to answer questions and provide help! Maybe we don't always do a very good job of conveying that message? Of maybe we do - I don't know.
I usually don't see my teachers too often during my off hours, just because I rarely feel the need to talk to them outside of class. Teachers are cool and all, but I would rather hang out with people my age than spend an off hour with my teachers.
One of the biggest reasons I have seen for students not going in to see teachers is that they dan't like their teachers. I personally like all my teachers, and don't have this problem, but I have a few freind who absolutly despise certain teachers.
Another factor in not seeing teachers during off hours is peer pressure. A lot of my friends ask things like, you don't really need to see your teacher do you, say that I should go over to King's with them, or other things to that same effect.
Wow, I'm really impressed by this question. :)
Ok, here's my honest answer. The teacher I see the most, on my off hours or after school, is my math teacher. She's really nice and helpful and understands how to make the environment comfortable, even if there's fifty billion conversations going on and three other students asking her for help.
I'm not saying that the other teachers aren't nice and helpful, but as Emily said, it's almost impossible to not feel like you're interrupting something important if you go in to ask for help.
There are certain teachers (this does NOT pertain to you, Crosby) who will sit down for like five seconds, quickly explain what needs to be done, get up, go do something else and don't come back. I don't know where they went, and even if I do see them later I feel like I can't ask any more questions or the teacher will get annoyed. It also seems to drive home the point that the teacher doesn't WANT to talk to me and that it would be better if I just left. So sometimes I do. This kind of thing has led me to not ask for help at all.
Now that's an extreme example, and there's only one teacher I have who's like that.
So, in conclusion to this novel of a comment, it's not that I'm scared of the teacher it's that I'm scared the teacher won't want to talk to me.
Thanks for asking for our opinion, Crosby! I really appreciate it.
Wow, i agree with almost everything every other kid has said! awesome work guys. I just have a few things to add...
i think there is a slight pride issue in all this talk about going in to see teachers. I've gone in to see Mr. Craig, Mrs. Mortiz, Mrs. Melin, and you Mrs. Crosby because I can understand the basic subjects. It doesn't feel like my questions are stupid, or wasting time, by going in to see teachers in subjects I do well in/understand. However, I have hardly ever gone in for math help, whether I need it or not, because when I really just DON'T understand something I tend to feel stupid, espically when the rest of the class compeltely follows it. Also, the availability of my math teacher isn't high, and although others are usually around it's more difficult to introduce yourself to a stranger and then try to understand a concept. I'm pretty sure there's a macho thing that some people have about going in, and i bet others like me feel inadequate if a concept is just NOT clear.
Like Rachel was saying, too, it depends on the teacher. I'll use Mr. Craig as an exmaple in this case: he'll actually talk to you, you don't feel like you are being a nuisance, and he will review, rephrase, and reteach a concept until you understand.
Goodriddance points out another idea too: as crazy as it can seem to some people, we teenagers have lives, hahaha! Ms. Crosby, you get this concept really well, but other teachers can be like "oh yeah, by the way, here's a test, a project and blahblah." obviously school is for learning, and obvisouly we all care about learning or we wouldn't be in Honors classes, but between going in to see a teacher about a problem i can probably figure out and playing Twister on a pokadot bookcover at the theater table (fun!) i know which one i'd choose.
Hmmmm, let's see...I think that's it! Thanks Ms. crosby, awesome question!
Run towards the light!
Darn, I hate it when I find a topic late. Oh well.
Personally, I only go in to see teachers when I need it. So basically, that means that I was in the science office with AP chem questions about every third morning. And I gladly did that because it really did help understanding and because there were plenty of other people around asking the same questions. And lucky for us, Mrs. Carpenter was very accomodating.
However, there are certain teachers who make the whole process completely unpleasant. I once had a math teacher who acted completely inconvenienced and standoffish if I showed up to ask a single simple question. That is, if I could even find her in the first place. She would act as if I were just lazy and that if I just tried harder, the understanding would just magically come to me. Well, magical as I am, that didn't work too well. That semester, I learned nearly everything out of the book. I went in maybe 4 times for a minute long explanation over the course of the entire semester. Then, at the end of the semester, I came in with one question. She haughtily accused me of constantly asking for help and she blatantly told me to just figure it out. Well, one thing I can say about that class is that I learned how to use the book really well.
Post a Comment
<< Home