on energy.
a quick entry before office hours:
in a personal session yesterday, i was told my classes can be a bit on the boring side. i want student feedback, but i must say i was shocked by the whole thing. my impulsive response (and maybe it was wrong) was to ask, 'am i more or less boring than your regular chinese instructors?'
'oh, much less.' she nodded and smiled.
'so what can i do to make things more exciting?'
'less grammar, less vocabulary. more fun.'
i had been told earlier in the program i was doing too little sentence construction work. oh well.
today, having taken into account said report, i arranged a little vote. 'raise your hand if you'd like to focus on his/her distinction,' i exclaimed, 'now raise your hand if you'd like to do pronunciation...'
i told them later that, if they had a problem with the lesson, their classmates were to blame.
wrong again? i don't know. i try my best.
must go. chris.
Comments
Chris…don’t beat yourself up over the smiling, nodding girl’s comments. It must be universal for students to tell their teachers they’re bored. You’ve got things to teach and the classroom is not a democracy. I’m sure you’re great!
Posted by: Rory's mom | August 2, 2006 9:40 PM
thank you mrs. truex! i aim for something between absolute despotism and the town hall meeting. rory’s told me you’re a teacher…my mom is, too. you should trade war stories.
chris.
Posted by: chris | August 3, 2006 12:58 AM
Chris: Who do you remember more? The teachers who catered to the notion of “fun” or the teachers who challenged you and gave you academic skills and mastery?
Lindsay Johnson
Posted by: Lindsay Johnson | August 3, 2006 6:50 AM
Chris: WHOM do you remember more? Nothing like correcting my wife’s early morning competition with two teachers — no, let’s make that three, including you, my boy, as a teacher, too. When you return to Princeton, I’ll have her come to get a private English lesson from you; don’t ask whether she wants pronunciation or his/her distinctions. Make it a lesson on grammar. Seriously, the entry about a classroom not being a democracy is right on point. There is a conceit in today’s society that the term does not apply to an overall political structure but to every atomized aspect of private life. Don’t wonder what you’d do if you were king of the world; in China, right now, in that classroom, you are. Let it be said that Chris rules.
Posted by: Eric Johnson | August 3, 2006 7:10 AM
interesting ~~:)
Posted by: vivian | August 14, 2006 2:48 AM