Who Has the Greatest Effect on What You Do in the Classroom?
A recent Chronicle of Higher Education has an interesting article (Catering to Our Invisible Government, January 18th) about the role that your county commissioners can play in the operation of colleges and universities. The author’s point was that they’re a very important connection to cultivate, but many overlook them entirely.
It got me to thinking about all those who play a role in what happens inside the classroom; individuals, committees, bodies both politick and profane, the kids, and you the teacher. My question to you—which one of these competing factors has the most impact on the classroom? Consider the possibilities:
Above: the President, the Secretary of Education, Senators, Congressmen, state legislators, the Governor, the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Within: the teacher, the students, the principal, the parents, the coach, the superintendent, the union, the PTA, the school board, the levy committee.
Without: The Rotary, the Lions, the community at large, the voters, the business community, the Universities, the think tanks, the churches.
Were I to rank order them by order of impact, I’m not sure who the number one slot would go to. I pretty strongly believe that it’s the teacher that sets the overall tone for the classroom, but any teacher worth their apple is going to adjust what they do in the classroom based on the needs of the kids. Further, far too many times I’ve seen the kids run the classroom, and when that happens it’s not a pretty sight.
I guess the ideal would be 1) Teacher and 2) Students, but that’s just me.
I need to think about this some more.
Professors R-Squared also has some thoughts on the same article.
It got me to thinking about all those who play a role in what happens inside the classroom; individuals, committees, bodies both politick and profane, the kids, and you the teacher. My question to you—which one of these competing factors has the most impact on the classroom? Consider the possibilities:
Above: the President, the Secretary of Education, Senators, Congressmen, state legislators, the Governor, the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Within: the teacher, the students, the principal, the parents, the coach, the superintendent, the union, the PTA, the school board, the levy committee.
Without: The Rotary, the Lions, the community at large, the voters, the business community, the Universities, the think tanks, the churches.
Were I to rank order them by order of impact, I’m not sure who the number one slot would go to. I pretty strongly believe that it’s the teacher that sets the overall tone for the classroom, but any teacher worth their apple is going to adjust what they do in the classroom based on the needs of the kids. Further, far too many times I’ve seen the kids run the classroom, and when that happens it’s not a pretty sight.
I guess the ideal would be 1) Teacher and 2) Students, but that’s just me.
I need to think about this some more.
Professors R-Squared also has some thoughts on the same article.
posted by Ryan at 9:35 PM
1 Comments:
Teachers are human also. Sometimes when they are down in their mood, they need mental support too. Managing a class is easier said than done. Imagine 35 students in a class to be handle by a sole teacher, it is mental and physically draining if the students do not co-operate. Agreements beforehand and firm discipline plus good rapport with the students normally works but after some time with them.
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