Thanks for taking a look! It's a bit long, but I'm glad you got something out of it. If you're interested, I just finished my second semester of teaching, so I have another reflection on the way.
Enthusiasm
At any rate, enthusiasm is something I've struggled to get out of my students over the last year, and I think that's due to several factors. Part of it is the setting. Since I hold a lecture, my students come in with the expectation that I'm just going to talk at them for an hour. As a result, it can be hard to get engagement. Of course, the other challenge is the actual content. To people like us, computers are fun and exciting, but we're probably in the minority there. Together, the setting and content can really reduce engagement.
As a solution, I like to treat my classes more like a seminar. I'm very much the type of teacher who poses a lot of questions in class to force students to move the material along at their own pace. This can be boring for the stronger students, so I tend to be lax on my attendance policy.
Also, I'm very flexible with the material. Obviously, there are subjects that you have to get through, but I like to provide more of an outline for myself instead of a fixed lesson plan. That way, I can inject an element of randomness to each class which can keep students engaged (also can be distracting—it's a balancing act).
Overall though, you can get away with not being the best teacher in the world as long as you're personable. If students can sense your compassion for them, you'll be a lot more approachable, and students will want to listen to whatever you're saying.
Disrespect
Ugh, I suck at this. I have a real problem with people just making nasty comments to me on my articles, so I don't really take disrespect too well in person.
Luckily, you don't really have to deal with disrespect with older students—at least not the same types of disrespect you might receive from kids. Usually, adults are quiet and pay attention in class.
Of course, adults are usually a bit more cunning. As a result, you'll have to deal with a lack of attendance, cheating on assignments and exams, and mind games. For example, I've had students who challenged me on some of the material in class which can be an interesting exercise. I've also had students ask for extensions and blow past them. There's really no end to the types of things some adults will try to take advantage of you.
Also, I should mention that I'm really laid back, so I'm probably a lot easier to take advantage of. If you set firm rules and expectations, then it's a lot harder for students to take advantage of you. In my case, I've forced students to make their requests in writing, so there's proof of what we agreed on. Beyond that, schools and universities usually have some sort of process for disciplining some of the more blatant forms of disrespect like plagiarism and whatnot.
At any rate, let me know if I answered your questions! Do you have any specific cases of disrespect that you're worried about? Do you have any ideas how you might address a lack of enthusiasm?
Web developer at Greggs, UK with a proficiency in VueJS, Tailwind, and Storyblok, as well as other frameworks. I'm also passionate about web design, and mobile app development.
Wow this is great! Love the idea of making all requests in writing; clear boundaries and accountability but not unreasonable or impossible either. I suppose my concerns were more based around 'keeping a hold on the class', as it were and not feeling like you're going to get walked over. The balance of enthusiasm to earning respect answered that though. :)
Yeah, you shouldn’t have to worry about keeping a hold of the class. Of course, you never know. I may just have the demon class waiting on me now based on that comment haha.
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Thanks for taking a look! It's a bit long, but I'm glad you got something out of it. If you're interested, I just finished my second semester of teaching, so I have another reflection on the way.
Enthusiasm
At any rate, enthusiasm is something I've struggled to get out of my students over the last year, and I think that's due to several factors. Part of it is the setting. Since I hold a lecture, my students come in with the expectation that I'm just going to talk at them for an hour. As a result, it can be hard to get engagement. Of course, the other challenge is the actual content. To people like us, computers are fun and exciting, but we're probably in the minority there. Together, the setting and content can really reduce engagement.
As a solution, I like to treat my classes more like a seminar. I'm very much the type of teacher who poses a lot of questions in class to force students to move the material along at their own pace. This can be boring for the stronger students, so I tend to be lax on my attendance policy.
Also, I'm very flexible with the material. Obviously, there are subjects that you have to get through, but I like to provide more of an outline for myself instead of a fixed lesson plan. That way, I can inject an element of randomness to each class which can keep students engaged (also can be distracting—it's a balancing act).
Overall though, you can get away with not being the best teacher in the world as long as you're personable. If students can sense your compassion for them, you'll be a lot more approachable, and students will want to listen to whatever you're saying.
Disrespect
Ugh, I suck at this. I have a real problem with people just making nasty comments to me on my articles, so I don't really take disrespect too well in person.
Luckily, you don't really have to deal with disrespect with older students—at least not the same types of disrespect you might receive from kids. Usually, adults are quiet and pay attention in class.
Of course, adults are usually a bit more cunning. As a result, you'll have to deal with a lack of attendance, cheating on assignments and exams, and mind games. For example, I've had students who challenged me on some of the material in class which can be an interesting exercise. I've also had students ask for extensions and blow past them. There's really no end to the types of things some adults will try to take advantage of you.
Also, I should mention that I'm really laid back, so I'm probably a lot easier to take advantage of. If you set firm rules and expectations, then it's a lot harder for students to take advantage of you. In my case, I've forced students to make their requests in writing, so there's proof of what we agreed on. Beyond that, schools and universities usually have some sort of process for disciplining some of the more blatant forms of disrespect like plagiarism and whatnot.
At any rate, let me know if I answered your questions! Do you have any specific cases of disrespect that you're worried about? Do you have any ideas how you might address a lack of enthusiasm?
Wow this is great! Love the idea of making all requests in writing; clear boundaries and accountability but not unreasonable or impossible either. I suppose my concerns were more based around 'keeping a hold on the class', as it were and not feeling like you're going to get walked over. The balance of enthusiasm to earning respect answered that though. :)
Yeah, you shouldn’t have to worry about keeping a hold of the class. Of course, you never know. I may just have the demon class waiting on me now based on that comment haha.