Passion: A strong and barely controllable emotion
The most rememberable classes for me were the classes that had teachers who had 100% legitimate enthusiasm in their subject. I remember them so distinctly because of how the teacher went about leading the class. It's so unbelievably obvious to see if a teacher has a passion for what they teach or not. So many elements seem to apply when it comes to passion in the classroom. From dynamics of voice, to body language, these natural human tendencies should be used to their full potential in order to emphasize whatever the teacher is instructing. Engaging in the students and putting that extra effort into making sure that the student is learning the material is showing passion. Relating to the students personalities and adapting your learning style to how the students learn can separate a passionate teacher from a non-motivated one.
I had a teacher my Junior year of high school who had a great sense of passion for what he did. He went way beyond the 'norm' of how to teach a psychology class. Whether is was playing his guitar, jumping on desks, applying the information to actual situations, or putting us in a hands on situation to learn, he did it. It's either you can talk and feed bland information, or you physicalize and incorporate other elements into your lesson. That way, you can make any topic interesting and fun to learn. You also give the student a good and fun foundation on that topic. That way the students will think of that topic in the same way that they retained it, fun and interesting.
This may go for a lot of former or current students, but I had very poor math experiences in the past. It is a hard topic to make interesting, but the personality of my teachers and their lack of enthusiasm really put a damper on my foundational experience with mathematics. Now I only see math as boring and, sometimes, pointless. It was an obvious negative impact on me, and it took a lot to make me enjoy even the concept of math again. I believe some teachers forget how much of an impact they're actually playing on students. I know I've been going on about this 'foundational experience' concept, but I really believe it's really important to evaluate. A teacher can directly impact a students life for the better or worse. They could de-motivate a future scientist, or motivate a future musician. That sense of passion as to be in the teaching position, or it will directly change the youths future for the worse.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Authenticity
Showing authenticity is a true sign of genuine engagement and commitment. If you are doing something that you're passionate about and enjoying it, chances are you're demonstrating authenticity. On the other hand, let's say for example you're working a job you hate or have grown to not enjoy. To keep earning money, most likely you are going to put on a happy face when working and not put in 100% effort or commitment. And certainly you're not going to enjoy yourself. This could be an example for not showing authenticity. So when looking at you (the individuals) limits for your own authenticity, i believe it's important to analyze and determine if you're truly enjoying what you're doing, and if you could put 100% effort into it without feeling burden or regret. My philosophy is that if you're not enjoying what you're doing, you need to rethink if what you're doing is the right thing. You can always see those workers who aren't showing authenticity. They're the ones who look physically not interested and have little enthusiasm when engaging with someone else. I believe you have to be genuine with yourself and work to be as authentic as possible in any situation. Then knowing your limits will come naturally.
Teachers are one of the easiest to catch not having authenticity. I think everyone has had a teacher in the past that just seemed totally not interested in the students. Those kind of teachers that keep looking at the clock and just trying to get threw the day. Students feel this lack of interest the most. They're the ones who are suppose to be retaining knowledge from the teacher. If the teachers going to have low energy and feed information with an uninterested attitude, the students are going to retain that same attitude and probably not have the interest to absorb the information. Learning is different for everyone. So if a teacher doesn't have the dedication to become flexible and patient with their lessons, they should reconsider their position. It's as simple as this. If the student isn't gaining anything out of a class, the teacher could be one to blame for that. If you can't feel the authenticity from a teacher, then they're not giving any.
Not having authenticity in the classroom can have some long lasting repercussions. As stated before, if the teacher is feeding information with a non-interested filter and showing no interest in students learning, the student will soak up that same attitude and tainted information. For example, I had a terribly uninterested teacher for history, and my friend had an enthusiastic and interested teacher in high school. Because of my teacher not showing authenticity in his lessons, I didn't retain much and i now look at history as boring and uninteresting. When on the other hand, my friend's teacher portrayed history in an interesting light because he taught in a way that adapted to every student. He made history fun for his class and now my friend loves the subject. Teachers can be amazing influences to developing students, or they can be a burden to their development. Students get what the teacher puts in. It's really that simple.
Teachers are one of the easiest to catch not having authenticity. I think everyone has had a teacher in the past that just seemed totally not interested in the students. Those kind of teachers that keep looking at the clock and just trying to get threw the day. Students feel this lack of interest the most. They're the ones who are suppose to be retaining knowledge from the teacher. If the teachers going to have low energy and feed information with an uninterested attitude, the students are going to retain that same attitude and probably not have the interest to absorb the information. Learning is different for everyone. So if a teacher doesn't have the dedication to become flexible and patient with their lessons, they should reconsider their position. It's as simple as this. If the student isn't gaining anything out of a class, the teacher could be one to blame for that. If you can't feel the authenticity from a teacher, then they're not giving any.
Not having authenticity in the classroom can have some long lasting repercussions. As stated before, if the teacher is feeding information with a non-interested filter and showing no interest in students learning, the student will soak up that same attitude and tainted information. For example, I had a terribly uninterested teacher for history, and my friend had an enthusiastic and interested teacher in high school. Because of my teacher not showing authenticity in his lessons, I didn't retain much and i now look at history as boring and uninteresting. When on the other hand, my friend's teacher portrayed history in an interesting light because he taught in a way that adapted to every student. He made history fun for his class and now my friend loves the subject. Teachers can be amazing influences to developing students, or they can be a burden to their development. Students get what the teacher puts in. It's really that simple.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Compassion and its influence
Compassion: a sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others.
This powerful noun is a word that, I believe, everyone has seen or demonstrated sometime in their lives. I also believe it's something every person experiences wether they know it or not. And more often than not, someone has felt compassion for you. Why are we attracted to this concept? I think it's simple. Because it feels good for someone else to have sympathy for you. When I feel down or have felt like I've failed at something, I tend to go to others to 'vent' because I know they can relate to me, or just have some sort of pity. Is that selfish to do? I don't think so.
One of my favorite teachers in High School taught me one of the most influential lessons through compassion. We were having a talk about me and how I have a hard time finding confidence. Especially when I think I have failed at something. In this case, it was not making a show that I wanted to be in very badly. Throughout the conversation she didn't say much, she just let talk. When someone is speaking from the heart, let them speak. I felt that because of that one 'failure', it affected other confidence aspects of my life and I couldn't see my success as much as my failures (like I think most people are raised to think). After my venting session. My teacher sympathized with me about how she had dealt with the same issue growing up (she was compassionate by being at my level and relating to my troubles). That made me feel like I wasn't 'weird' or being a 'baby' for having this issue. She very well could have said, "Sorry, champ. These things happen. You'll get over it". But that approach isn't very beneficial.
She continued to talk about how our we need to look at our, for a lack of better words, 'failures' as growing experiences. Don't look at it as a failure. Look at it as an experience and take away what you can from it. We learn so much from failure. In fact, we grow as a person every time we fail. By having that compassion for my situation, she made a big impact in my life.
When we show compassion to other people, we may never know how much we're actually doing for them. It may feel like we've done nothing. But coming from someone who has been on the receiving end of compassion, it's priceless. That sympathetic attitude was exactly what I needed to get over that emotional hump.
This is why compassion is so essential in the classroom. It seems like education focuses on our 'failures' rather than our success. This puts people down and they may lose their confidence to get better. A teacher has to be that compassionate, sympathetic resource. They have to be a consistent reminder that it's Ok and NORMAL to do something wrong. People do it every day multiple times. Especially for students that are in the prime of their brain development, teaching them that failure isn't FAILING and that having compassion for others is essential, is something this generation of youth should learn. This, in my belief, can only do more good than bad.
This powerful noun is a word that, I believe, everyone has seen or demonstrated sometime in their lives. I also believe it's something every person experiences wether they know it or not. And more often than not, someone has felt compassion for you. Why are we attracted to this concept? I think it's simple. Because it feels good for someone else to have sympathy for you. When I feel down or have felt like I've failed at something, I tend to go to others to 'vent' because I know they can relate to me, or just have some sort of pity. Is that selfish to do? I don't think so.
One of my favorite teachers in High School taught me one of the most influential lessons through compassion. We were having a talk about me and how I have a hard time finding confidence. Especially when I think I have failed at something. In this case, it was not making a show that I wanted to be in very badly. Throughout the conversation she didn't say much, she just let talk. When someone is speaking from the heart, let them speak. I felt that because of that one 'failure', it affected other confidence aspects of my life and I couldn't see my success as much as my failures (like I think most people are raised to think). After my venting session. My teacher sympathized with me about how she had dealt with the same issue growing up (she was compassionate by being at my level and relating to my troubles). That made me feel like I wasn't 'weird' or being a 'baby' for having this issue. She very well could have said, "Sorry, champ. These things happen. You'll get over it". But that approach isn't very beneficial.
She continued to talk about how our we need to look at our, for a lack of better words, 'failures' as growing experiences. Don't look at it as a failure. Look at it as an experience and take away what you can from it. We learn so much from failure. In fact, we grow as a person every time we fail. By having that compassion for my situation, she made a big impact in my life.
When we show compassion to other people, we may never know how much we're actually doing for them. It may feel like we've done nothing. But coming from someone who has been on the receiving end of compassion, it's priceless. That sympathetic attitude was exactly what I needed to get over that emotional hump.
This is why compassion is so essential in the classroom. It seems like education focuses on our 'failures' rather than our success. This puts people down and they may lose their confidence to get better. A teacher has to be that compassionate, sympathetic resource. They have to be a consistent reminder that it's Ok and NORMAL to do something wrong. People do it every day multiple times. Especially for students that are in the prime of their brain development, teaching them that failure isn't FAILING and that having compassion for others is essential, is something this generation of youth should learn. This, in my belief, can only do more good than bad.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Educational Psychology (Respect)
Respect
By the book, respect is having a deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their qualities, abilities, or achievements. This seems to sum up the word pretty well. But for me, respect goes way beyond this definition and I believe it is the most essential quality a person can possess. Respect is used by people everyday to make their, and other's individual lives better. It is the ultimate tool for social cooperativeness and overall morality. Respect is used so that everyone can enjoy what's around us. We can't do a lot of things alone these days, so that means that people work a team oriented lifestyle. Without respect to your teammates, they won't respect you and eventually, your goal that you desire to achieve will be a lot harder or impossible to reach. Respect is the one social element that keeps our society sane and afloat.
In the classroom, respect can be seen easily. It can also be non-existent. Respect can be seen right away with the students listening and being quiet for the teacher. Students recognize this social norm because they are gaining something form what the teacher is teaching. Students could also not see the point in why they are listening to the teacher and completely disregard learning. This disregard can be kept private by the student, or he can physically portray it and not respect what the teacher is trying to do. Just like a team, the class needs to respect their peers in order to make forward progress. Students may be there for various reasons and peers need to respect individuals educational experience. That goes for the teacher as well. Teachers need to see students individually and respect their learning styles and know that they're going threw many things for the first time. Working with others in the classroom and encouraging forward progress is the best way to utilize respect in the classroom.
Respect directly impacts the progress of a classroom. Without a sense of respect to the people around you and the goal that your peers are trying to reach, there can be a serious dampening on individuals educational progress. Arrogance can directly impact an individuals experience which could impact their future. Basically, it's a necessity in a classroom for everyone who desires an opportunity to make educational advancement.
Traditionally, the teacher usually has expectations for respect in the classroom because they have the authority role. And honestly, it may be one of the only ways respect can be established in a classroom. Teachers need to take responsibility for how their class acts. Individuals can also be leaders and examples in order to achieve what the class is striving for. But in the end, it takes a little from everyone in order to make class a learning environment.
By the book, respect is having a deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their qualities, abilities, or achievements. This seems to sum up the word pretty well. But for me, respect goes way beyond this definition and I believe it is the most essential quality a person can possess. Respect is used by people everyday to make their, and other's individual lives better. It is the ultimate tool for social cooperativeness and overall morality. Respect is used so that everyone can enjoy what's around us. We can't do a lot of things alone these days, so that means that people work a team oriented lifestyle. Without respect to your teammates, they won't respect you and eventually, your goal that you desire to achieve will be a lot harder or impossible to reach. Respect is the one social element that keeps our society sane and afloat.
In the classroom, respect can be seen easily. It can also be non-existent. Respect can be seen right away with the students listening and being quiet for the teacher. Students recognize this social norm because they are gaining something form what the teacher is teaching. Students could also not see the point in why they are listening to the teacher and completely disregard learning. This disregard can be kept private by the student, or he can physically portray it and not respect what the teacher is trying to do. Just like a team, the class needs to respect their peers in order to make forward progress. Students may be there for various reasons and peers need to respect individuals educational experience. That goes for the teacher as well. Teachers need to see students individually and respect their learning styles and know that they're going threw many things for the first time. Working with others in the classroom and encouraging forward progress is the best way to utilize respect in the classroom.
Respect directly impacts the progress of a classroom. Without a sense of respect to the people around you and the goal that your peers are trying to reach, there can be a serious dampening on individuals educational progress. Arrogance can directly impact an individuals experience which could impact their future. Basically, it's a necessity in a classroom for everyone who desires an opportunity to make educational advancement.
Traditionally, the teacher usually has expectations for respect in the classroom because they have the authority role. And honestly, it may be one of the only ways respect can be established in a classroom. Teachers need to take responsibility for how their class acts. Individuals can also be leaders and examples in order to achieve what the class is striving for. But in the end, it takes a little from everyone in order to make class a learning environment.
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