Teaching

[azurelunatic]

Teachers whose teaching style involves the routine humiliation of students as part of driving the lesson home should be warned and suspended from teaching if appropriate.

Teachers who humiliate students rather than teach, and who interfere with a student's future learning because of trauma they inflict, should be suspended by their underwear in such a fashion as to give them a permanent wedgie. And lose their jobs.

Just sayin'.

Apropos of waking up and putting away laundry with the Futureheads' "Decent Days and Nights" in my head, because of a not-so-recent post from somebody on a Really Awesome Teacher who uses that song to get the younglings amped up about math lessons, and the ensuing discussion of Really Bad Math Teachers.

Comments

:)

[grifyn.livejournal.com]

Teachers who humiliate students rather than teach, and who interfere with a student's future learning because of trauma they inflict, should be suspended by their underwear in such a fashion as to give them a permanent wedgie.

YES. This is, Uberkid tells me, the "atomic wedgie", and very effective. Though he doesn't cite specific instances.

If you keep tickling your brainmeats, you will start attracting zombies.

Re: :)

[azurelunatic]

I got one at work today. figment0 looked about ready to eat my brains, he was so zombed.

Movie teachers

[p-o-u-n-c-e-r.livejournal.com]

I take it John Houseman's portrayal of Professor Kingsfield (IIRC) in "Paper Chase" did not inspire you?

Does it matter whether the "teacher" is question is challenging post-teen students versus teachers daunting pre-teens? Are post-teens expected to be able to defend themselves?

Coming back to the question of physcial violence versus verbal assault --is putting a dunce cap on the misbehaving child and forcing him to sit in the corner away from his peers "humiliating" -- and is that better or worse than a (for purposed of this example) private (principal's office) spanking?

I dunno, I'm just trying to get a sense of the opening positions.

Re: Movie teachers

[azurelunatic]

(I can't comment on the media-based example, not being familiar with it in the slightest.)

Humiliation as a punishment for exceptionally bad behavior is probably preferable to physical violence as a punishment for exceptionally bad behavior.

Humiliating a post-teen student who's trying to disrupt the learning environment rather than learn isn't generally a problem. Humiliating a student who is struggling with learning the materials, but is actually trying to learn them, is in too many cases highly counterproductive.

Re: Movie teachers

[azurelunatic]

I also consider that putting a student on the spot to demonstrate something that they were supposed to have learned is perfectly fine, even if the student doesn't know it. However, should the student not know it, calculatedly cruel follow-up commentary is out of line.

[kk1raven.livejournal.com]

I think you're being to easy on such teachers. I'd inflict greater punishment on them, starting with some public humiliation of their own. Humiliation as a routine teaching tool can be very damaging, and not just in the short term. Humiliation as a non-routine punishment is another matter though. There are times when that is useful and appropriate.

[azurelunatic]

Very useful. One of the best teachers I've ever had employed it to good effect on one particular occasion. There was a young man who'd been being very gross and singing a disgusting song on the schoolbus, and I was appalled. I told the teacher about it. Just then, the kid wanted to have the honor of taking the roll call and hot lunch sheets to the office. My teacher said that he could -- provided that he sing that very interesting song that he'd been singing on the bus for her.

His face turned such an interesting color, and he started out brave and strong, but wound up whispering and even redder by the end of the first verse.

It worked because she wasn't in the habit of being mean, she was a very sweet and refined woman, and the song (about poop) was so very gross. He really did do it to himself.


A college teacher of mine goes down as the worst teacher I've ever had. He cared about neither the subject nor the students, and it showed. My roommate was about 26 then, and had never been good at math. I'm not exactly sure what he said to her, but the end result had her fleeing the classroom in tears. It was shortly after that time that the infamous "This class sucks!" incident happened, which a good 75% of the class backed wholeheartedly.