Now I’m presenting what could be a first lesson, now that we are starting a new school year. I hope something from all this may help you out, whatever foreign or second language level you teach. In my case I teach English to adults from some false beginner to upper intermediate levels, namely from some A2 to C1. All this may be even something beautiful, because we treat people, persons, and each and every one is unique, and we teachers may be influencing much on their lives: what a responsibility we have! Something basic from this start lesson: we may address each student by looking into their eyes so they may feel they are and they are going to be treated like singular persons. That is something that has helped me a lot along my career as an English teacher, both kids and adults. First I may introduce myself – on the running first days I will get to know their names; all this may vary in your case, obviously, depending on whom you teach; anyway I hope all this may help you out.
So we may be about to start a new school year. Today I wanted to tell you something that might help you out, not complicate your already heavy workload. Think of what I’m telling you today. Just think of it. And this concerns second language teachers or whatever school subject you teach. Are you ready? The point is each lesson you conduct in class should mean one step forward for your dear students’ learning and acquiring that foreign language. No step forward, no good, perhaps you’ve got to set out again what you’re doing in class. Well, there may be other problems in your classes, but if you’ve read so far you may be trying to improve your lessons. Thus it may result for your students to advance quite much or a bit much about using one language skill, like speaking. Or progressing regarding the four language skills in a string of well planned activities – in no way do I intend to complicate your daily lesson planning. And that’s one of the things I wished to share with you rea
We do need flexible teachers. Flexibility may be a good characteristic of a good teacher. In no way do I mean you don’t have to be a constant teacher, plus a committed one. The point is that we teachers treat people, treat persons. Last post I told you what could be a possible lesson for the first day lesson of a new school year. Namely, it’s what I’ve planned for my first lessons at the three centers where I teach English to adults. But also I consider that that very first day something else may pop up in class and I’ve got to change the lesson planning. And nothing wrong and serious may then happen. The good teacher has to be flexible, I have to be so, if I wish to teach my students well. If we dealt with screws, well, then we would have to make all of them the same. But we treat people. Fortunately. When teaching kids twenty-something years ago I tried hard to follow the lesson planning, but I was told that sometime we could skip and spare a lesson, and take the students - boy
Our students, kids or adults, need to be taught and educated in liberty. No free students, no growing up and developing in a right way. Obviously you teacher may have set a few class rules at the school year beginning, and they are necessary, but you may have set not many of them, the necessary ones for working, learning, self-improving. If you teacher are like a class cop or sergeant, and have your students caught in a stiff fist, when those students – for example kids – feel they are not under your eyes, well, they then could behave mischievously and do bad. When I taught kids quite many years ago I was told by the school assistant principal that, ultimately, my students were free to do what they thought more appropriate. I had to have my students wish to learn and work, but ultimately they keep being free! It’s like raising our children: we also have to educate them in freedom. Otherwise if we do not have them face life and everyday happenings little by little, they will grow
Let’s see. Do we really want teaching quality? We do, I guess. It depends mostly on the teacher’s quality. If we wish to improve our classroom teaching, well, we have to better ourselves as teachers. And I do know many of you are trying and working on it. If we wish our schools improve, then let us improve as teachers ourselves. And that is fulfilled on regular and ordinary days, like today! Now I’m reading a book on Spanish teacher and teachers’ teacher Tomás Alvira (1906-1992). And he stated that quality on education (and we as teachers are also educators) is accomplished through quality on the teacher. A teacher needs to gain virtues, or values, like a strong will, imagination, dedication, a thorough personality, a strong vocation, attention, motivation to also motivate the kids or adults … That teacher ought to have a nice and strong will, otherwise how is he or she going to get their students interested in the school subject? Something else. A teacher has to read and study
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