I'm a no-bull**** person...(rant)

[vintagesnaps]

Just do what Leonore says!! - and no smiling! :lmao::lmao: I'm good myself at the looking-over-the-glasses teacher look... LOL Some of this thread is giving me flashbacks to teaching junior high - doesn't seem all that different from teaching college freshmen! (I'm kidding. I think...)

I haven't done traditional classroom teaching in a long time since I've worked with the birth-3 age group in more recent years (although much of the job is working with the parents & families) but seriously much of what Leonore is suggesting is the same type things I'd probably suggest. I think we must have had some similarities in the teaching methods we learned as part of our teacher training.

I'd set clear guidelines, follow through as needed, etc. (and mean what you say and say it like you mean it). Part way through the thread some of the OP's experiences seemed different than what colleges are like in my area so what works here in the US for us may or may not work elsewhere.

It might take time to adjust after working with younger children, and at some point if it continues to be frustrating or not fulfilling then it might be worth considering whether to stay in this job or to start considering other options.

 

[limr]

Yeah, I agree. Listen to me! :mrgreen:

 

[JacaRanda]

I went to my daughter's high school graduation a few years ago and there were enough honor students to make me proud.
Good schools and teachers with strict rules, disciplinary actions, and high expectations turn out fine students (with the help of good parents)!

You would not have to drive too far to find quite a different story. Some teachers are faced with much more to worry about than someone eating in class.
It would be nice to wave a magic wand and fix all that ails us.

I am not a teacher, but the natural high I would get for reaching/impacting at least one student, would hopefully be enough to fulfill and keep me going.
Of course to make a living at it I would have to be extraordinary (competition is tough in almost everything I can think of) ; or be a part time photographer to really rake in the big bucks!

 

[Tee]

The notion that people have 'learning styles' is more psychology bull**** that just gives people an excuse for avoiding the hard work it actually takes to learn anything useful.

Wrong! Try again. I have a background in Instructional Design with an emphasis in adult learning. You're alleging different learning styles means one isn't capable of hard work. That is simply untrue. Identifying learning styles is the key to understanding how to get students to work harder. Your archaic idea of 1950's learning is the reason why instruction is failing.

"Seek first to understand, then to be understood" - St. Francis

MC- Millenials have been placed in bubble wrap until graduation of high school. The idea of free thought has slowly diminished thus your frustration of why they would eat in class. Subtlety, innuendo, and assumption are not key traits of Millenials. What they need are clear and concise expectations and then follow-through when they are not met. The good news is teaching Millenials is no different than any previous generation. We like to think they have gone to hell in a hand basket because it feeds our social narcissism and we are stuck in learning techniques from the 70's and 80's. Most teachers have no clue how much the internet and the effects of a electronically connected world have changed learning behaviors.

 

[Tee]

Also forgot to add, if you're interested in learning about generational differences and similarities, check out the books based on the Strauss-Howe Generational Theory.

 

[IByte]

My favorite learning style has always been reverse engineering, visual learning, hands on after reading the theory....yes I still use hard cover books.

 

[JacaRanda]

The notion that people have 'learning styles' is more psychology bull**** that just gives people an excuse for avoiding the hard work it actually takes to learn anything useful.

Wrong! Try again. I have a background in Instructional Design with an emphasis in adult learning. You're alleging different learning styles means one isn't capable of hard work. That is simply untrue. Identifying learning styles is the key to understanding how to get students to work harder. Your archaic idea of 1950's learning is the reason why instruction is failing.

"Seek first to understand, then to be understood" - St. Francis

MC- Millenials have been placed in bubble wrap until graduation of high school. The idea of free thought has slowly diminished thus your frustration of why they would eat in class. Subtlety, innuendo, and assumption are not key traits of Millenials. What they need are clear and concise expectations and then follow-through when they are not met. The good news is teaching Millenials is no different than any previous generation. We like to think they have gone to hell in a hand basket because it feeds our social narcissism and we are stuck in learning techniques from the 70's and 80's. Most teachers have no clue how much the internet and the effects of a electronically connected world have changed learning behaviors.

My son was diagnosed with A.D.D. in 5th or 6th grade - unfortunately after some years of getting yelled out and being put on restrictions. It was tough to decide whether to give him meds or not. It was easy to take a parenting class and learn that it was my job to figure out what made him tick. We are all not created or wired equally.

BTW now he is 15 and the yelling and restrictions have started again - for really stupid shtuff he does :banghead:

 

[Tee]

My son was diagnosed with A.D.D. in 5th or 6th grade - unfortunately after some years of getting yelled out and being put on restrictions. It was tough to decide whether to give him meds or not. It was easy to take a parenting class and learn that it was my job to figure out what made him tick. We are all not created or wired equally.

BTW now he is 15 and the yelling and restrictions have started again - for really stupid shtuff he does :banghead:

I had a student who was ADHD. I gave him silly putty and comics to play with during class. His brain was still processing the information being taught while he could stimulate his need for activity. This doesn't work for everyone but it's out of the box thinking that produces results.

 

[kathyt]

My son was diagnosed with A.D.D. in 5th or 6th grade - unfortunately after some years of getting yelled out and being put on restrictions. It was tough to decide whether to give him meds or not. It was easy to take a parenting class and learn that it was my job to figure out what made him tick. We are all not created or wired equally.

BTW now he is 15 and the yelling and restrictions have started again - for really stupid shtuff he does :banghead:

I had a student who was ADHD. I gave him silly putty and comics to play with during class. His brain was still processing the information being taught while he could stimulate his need for activity. This doesn't work for everyone but it's out of the box thinking that produces results.

Now this is thinking outside the box. Excellent.

 

[limr]

...

...

I am not a teacher, but the natural high I would get for reaching/impacting at least one student, would hopefully be enough to fulfill and keep me going.
Of course to make a living at it I would have to be extraordinary (competition is tough in almost everything I can think of) ; or be a part time photographer to really rake in the big bucks!

There is definitely a high that accompanies the moment when you realize you've reached someone. And it does carry you through a lot of bad times when dealing with the less enjoyable parts of the job.

Unfortunately, one can't eat and pay the bills on euphoria and emotional satisfaction. At some point, I need to be rewarded in a more material manner

 

[Demers18]

Don't smile!
Okay, you can probably smile It's important to be firm without looking like you're trying to hard. If the students can sense that you're barking too loud, they might think your bite isn't that bad. So now is not the time to be earnest and overstate things - just be very matter of fact about your rules without laboring the point.

They will test you, of course, and those first few tests to your authority will be the most important. It's hard to be inflexible if that's not your natural inclination, but it's better to be very strict at the start. You can always bend a little towards the end of the semester, but if you do so too quickly, they'll take advantage of that.

Put the most important rules in writing. They're going to forget a lot of that first day, but if you have very clear written guidelines, you can always tell them, "Check your syllabus. This has been clear from the start of the semester."

Be overprepared. If it's a three-hour class, plan for six. Until you get used to the classroom, your judgments about timing might be a little off. If you're over-prepared then you can handle it when you unexpectedly get through your lesson plan halfway through the class - you can just go to the next day's lesson plan.

Good luck!

Thank you very much for the insight. I will definitely keep it all in mind.
I'm happy I won't be thrown to wolves right away. I'll be sitting in on some classes next week and takes some notes while I prepare my course outline.
The group I'm teaching doesn't start until Nov 12th and thankfully I know the material quite well as I've been doing it for almost 10 years now.

I also plan to start an Adult Education certificate in January which should come in handy.

Molested cow,

I sure feel for you. I wish I had some great words of wisdom for you...
I do have one saying that I got from my old instructor at trade school: he said "in my first month of teaching, I was standing facing the board about to write something down. The class behind me was complete and utter chaos. I remember telling myself, "if I walk out that door rigtht now no-one will miss me and I could go back to what I know." But I decided to stick it ou and it was the best decision I ever made."

Seems to me like you're in a similar situation and honestly I would follow your gut. Only you know what is best for you and it sounds like you care. I would stick it out as it can only get better.

 

[Steve5D]

Students constantly having to be reminded to write their names on their assignments.

Stop reminding them, and let them watch you tear up the no-name assignments and throw them in the trash.

Give the offenders zero credit for those assignments...

Students who won't do what I "strongly suggested (research methods and what to research)" and come to me the night before presentation day saying she/he can't figure out what to design.

Stop "suggesting", and start telling them what to do. When they fail to do that, give them no credit for that assignment...

Students having breakfast in class.

Have you told them not to eat in class?

If not, do it, and then fail the first person who does it. Fail him for the entire semester.

Others will fall in line...

Students having lunch in class.

Please refer to breakfast notes...

Students having afternoon snack in class.

Please refer to lunch notes...

Students sending one representative to negotiate a later dead line for their assignment ON THE SECOND WEEK OF SCHOOL.

Where in the Hell did they get the silly idea that deadlines were negotiable?

Students who don't ask questions ( I gave them plenty chances to) and return with assignments that are utter crap. Imagine having to grade 73 copies of crap each week.

They're stupid. Fail them...

Told student to write an essay, came back with some scribbled notes.

What's the mystery here? Scribbled notes are not an essay. Fail them...

Last week, I gave a test that is supposed to be easy. All questions were directly from the lecture notes. Of which, there were exercises that I gave to them for practice weeks prior, and 75% of the students had no idea what they were doing.

They're stupid. Fail them...

This means they had the chance to do the test before the test, and had the chance to ask me questions if they had problems. I practically gave them answers but they were to damn stupid to even realize it.

What's the point of an easy test? That very idea is silly. Give them difficult tests and, when they do poorly, fail them...

And I teach in the so-called best design school in the country.

Based on what? From the sound of it, you've got a student body made up of blockheads...

Why do I commute 1h15min on the subway each way daily to do this? It pays only 1/4 of my old job. I don't know, I just find myself taking the least comfortable and most torturous path every time.

If I may speak frankly, it sounds as though you're allowing the students to dictate the terms of their education.

Stop doing that.

You're the professor, they're the students. You make the rules, not them. When they fail to adhere to the rules, they need to suffer the consequences, and those consequences need to be severe enough to capture everyone's attention...

 

[Josh66]

Students constantly having to be reminded to write their names on their assignments.

Stop reminding them, and let them watch you tear up the no-name assignments and throw them in the trash.

Yeah, I think I would just, you know - not grade, or even look at the papers that didn't have a name on them. How can you grade it if you don't know who to assign the grade to?

Anyone that didn't turn in a paper (or neglected to put their name on it) gets a zero.

 

[minicoop1985]

My son was diagnosed with A.D.D. in 5th or 6th grade - unfortunately after some years of getting yelled out and being put on restrictions. It was tough to decide whether to give him meds or not. It was easy to take a parenting class and learn that it was my job to figure out what made him tick. We are all not created or wired equally.

BTW now he is 15 and the yelling and restrictions have started again - for really stupid shtuff he does :banghead:

I had a student who was ADHD. I gave him silly putty and comics to play with during class. His brain was still processing the information being taught while he could stimulate his need for activity. This doesn't work for everyone but it's out of the box thinking that produces results.

While this seems like it could be part of a joke (there's more than a few about ADHD and silly putty), these kinds of things work. I was diagnosed with it when I was in first grade and thrown on meds immediately. They did nothing for me, but small, detailed projects like building models are what helped me learn to cope. Unfortunately, recent information indicates that my diagnosis was completely wrong, and the ADHD-like symptoms are caused by something that would not have manifested in a diagnosable way at age 6. We'll see what that turns out to be... :neutral: :crazy:

 

[Tailgunner]

They're stupid. Fail them...

What's the mystery here? Scribbled notes are not an essay. Fail them...

They're stupid. Fail them...

Hahaha...agreed. You should start seeing a difference in attitude and performance once you start issuing zeros for crap papers.