It's obvious that there are all different kinds of educators. There are teachers that put on a movie and hope no one asks them a question. There are teachers who delve hours into making intricate lesson plans for their students each night. There are teachers who regurgitate information from the textbook and assume that if their students score high on standardized tests they're doing a great job. After reading excerpts from Studs Terkel's Working and listening to the podcast "How Does a Principal Work?" presented by David Plotz, we've seen all different types of educators.
From Studs Terkel's Working we read a little about "Rose Hoffman, a teacher" To me, I would say that this woman seems about 110% done with her job. She's been in the education system for over thirty years and I don't think she's coping with the changes very well. It's obvious that Hoffman has trouble adapting to the different ethnicities going on in her classroom and she has no trouble picking favorites. She states, "I loved the Polish people. They were hard-working." (485). Hoffman also seems to have a closed door policy. She claims, "Even a child deserves a certain type of privacy in their personal life. I don't see where that has anything to do with what a child studies." (484). This statement is a significant contrast to Andrew Rubin in "How does a Principal Work?"
Rubin seems incredibly concerned with his students and what's going on outside of school. He takes the time to make playlists every day for his students to walk into school and be excited to be there. He seems to have a very personal relationship with his teachers and just in this 19 minute podcast a listener can really tell that he has genuine compassion for his students. At one point Plotz asks in what ways the music and all of the goofy things Rubin does helps the students and Rubin laughs and says that really, he hopes that the kids will just laugh with him. In one simple conclusion, anyone who runs a 5K in a chicken suit obviously has a lot of dedication to their job.
Finally, we have "Pat Zimmerman, a teacher" also from Studs Terkel's Working. Zimmerman seems to have a very "hands off" policy. The students are given work and it's their duty to decide what they want to do with it. Zimmerman states, "We lay out powerful materials in front of them, and tell 'em they're perfectly capable of doing it - and not make any excuses about it." (490). If they don't want to go to college, that's okay. If they don't want to push themselves, that's okay. He states, "I discourage competition in the classroom. The only one I accept is the student's competition with himself." (490). Although I do enjoy that Zimmerman is letting students make their own choices, it's obvious that these students don't necessarily have the ability to make their own choices wisely. These students are coming from low income areas, most likely without very many role models to look up to. So, I wonder why they would try? If competition isn't motivating them, then what is?
Food for thought...
The best teacher I have ever had was my orchestra teacher. I had him for seven years (he teaches middle school and high school orchestra) and he was incredibly similar to Rubin. He blared music as we filed into the classroom (sometimes death metal sometimes classical) and he let us choose what pieces we wanted to perform. He was there to guide us to perform to our best abilities but with music that we loved. He was a bit of a push-over, but we loved him so much nobody even abused the fact that we could have gotten away with whatever we wanted.
So, what type of teacher is the most effective? Would this type of teacher work at all schools? If not, what type of school do you think he would be successful at?
Excellent work, Cori. As you begin your teaching career, you'll likely ask yourself all sorts of questions about how strict to be, how to get your students to respect you, how to have fun while still eating your vegetables.
ReplyDeleteGlad you got a chance to do this assignment.
Grade: 1/1
Hey Cori,
ReplyDeleteRose Hoffman definitely comes off to me as a bit of a jerk when it comes to the new students. She was very comfortable and happy to teach the Polish students, as you said, but as the years went on she became very impersonal to the wave of "Latin" students that came in to her classroom. This to me has a bit of racism in it, in which our next two men would never show.
Andrew Rubin, to me, cared too much. There comes a point in a teacher's job where you just need to back off. For example, when he ran the race in the chicken suit, that was a little far for me. It's great he is very involved in their lives, but I would not want a teacher smothering me with his care. Pat Zimmerman, on the other hand, cares the perfect amount (from my point of view). He puts forward as much effort as the kids want to put forward to him, which to me is exactly how a teacher should be. If I were a teacher, I would not want to put forward a large portion of my effort in teaching a kid that wants nothing to do with me. So in that aspect, I feel that he is a better teacher.
Good job though Cori!
Interesting post, Cori. In my opinion, the type of teacher that I think is the best completely depends on what age range they are teaching. For elementary and middle schoolers, Andrew Rubin is great. He cares a ton, is funny and relates well to kids. However, getting older and moving into high school i don't believe his techniques would be that effective. Students at that age need less fun in their schoolwork and need to become more motivated by more than just fun. For this age, I believe that Zimmerman would be the best choice. He lets the kids make choices, and lets them learn from their mistakes. If a student wants to be successful, then he will help them but if they want to mess around then he will let them fail.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that Rose Hoffman has a place in this. Her no nonesense attitude keeps kids in line and a strict disciplinarian is sometimes needed to put kids back in their place.
Cori,
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that this piece really hit home with you since you're pursuing a career in the education field.
To reference your question at the end of your post about who would be the most effective teacher, I believe that the effectiveness of the teacher depends on what type of students the teacher as. When some students become to relaxed around their teachers they might get lazy or take advantage of the teacher. I think your next question answers the previous question. It could also depend on where the individual is teaching. Lastly, after having a high energy principal in my school, I feel that he made my school a more comfortable and easier place to learn.
I'd be interested to see what type of teacher you will become in the future and if you would be connected in your kids or not. Either way I'm sure you will be a very successful teacher!
Cori,
ReplyDeleteYour posts are so relatable. Like how you had your orchestra teacher for many years, I had the same choir director for middle school and high school. Because I was so involved in choir in high school, I was in multiple choir classes and was in our show choir, I got to know the director very well. He became like a second parent to all of his show choir kids. We would travel all over the country for competitions January-April so he was very involved in our lives. He was always there if anyone needed to talk about anything, but he also didn't get involved unless we wanted him to. He was by far the best teacher I've ever had.