The other day I went to do a psych review at Western High School. I was very excited since there are a couple of people at the school who I have worked with and have great respect for. Still I had the touch of nervousness, as I always have on the first day of school.
Once the review started however, it seemed that I had been teaching these kids for years. They had great knowledge of the subject which is a tribute to their regular teacher. It was great to see how focused they were on the subject, how they participated in class, and how they took down notes on important points. When you see a class work like that you know that the teacher has done a great job instilling good habits in them.
One of the things that we are trying to do with Western is Skype our reviews and review on chat boards. This allows two schools to collaborate to make each other better which is very exciting. This is when technology can really be useful as students from two different schools combine to make each other better.
Now, what to do with my classes when I was at Western. We have an activity called graphing weds. in economics which we practice the key graphs of the year. It is neat in that we compete against each other as teams to make sure that we have mastered the graphs.
Once a month, our department chair comes in to observe our classes. I suggested to him that my observation this month should be on graphing weds when I am not in the class. I think the fact that I actually suggested this shows how much faith I have in both my department chair and in my students. My department chair is not the type of person looking to catch bad things, a matter of fact quite the opposite.
When I came back from my visit to Western I ran into one of my economics students. The first words out of her mouth was wow, the student in charge was amazing, she knew everything. So a new idea came into my head to allow a different student each week to be in charge of graphing weds. It would force them to master the material and give them a great experience in front of the class.
A great day of education. I learned a better way to teach, saw a teacher whose class had mastered many skills, and connected with old friends.
You must be an old, out of touch fart. What gets you excited is what happens in the classroom! Gasp! Horrors! The fact that you knew exactly whom to pick is a great indicator that you know your kids. Likewise, it shows you know your kids when you trust them to make something like this work on a day when you are not there. You mean you can get to know your kids by interacting in the classroom while working on content and skills? This would come as news to many! We need to get you a drink of the Koolaid quickly!
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