I understand this part. Really, I'm just "meditating" on the subject, so sorry if it goes out of the line :)
Somehow, even when I studied in the school myself, I was viewing the process as an interaction between the teacher and the student/pupil. For this interaction really to work, the student should want to get the knowledge and the teacher should want to share it. If at some point the teacher finds him/herself searching for a way to attract attention of his students, then something is wrong. Either the students or the teacher don't fit. And I don't imply that the teacher may simply be boring. I just say, that the goal of the teacher should be to find the best way to give knowledge. At the same time this should be done only for students who want to obtain the knowledge.
I guess, real life can never match the ideal. In real life one should pay and should be paid. So things like winning the attention of students, or students going to lessons not knowing why they take them, these things are quite common. But then, the developers that don't understand what they are doing are also common. Doesn't it look connected? Shouldn't we then try to react to this, or just let it be?
Again, this is nothing else but meditation, not even directly related to perl :)
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At the same time this should be done only for students who want to obtain the knowledge.
As a teacher, I would give anything to teach a room full of students who want to be in my class. Unfortunately, that's never the case. There are a few students who genuinely want to be there, sure. But a lot of them are there for the wrong reasons.
- My class is less strenuous than PE
- My class is easier than Spanish
- My class doesn't require you to talk like Speech does
- The students' parents made them take it
- There weren't enough seats in their desired class
- The student has a crush on some other kid in my class
- Hey, this class uses computers! I bet we'll get to play games and surf Facebook all day!
Then there's the different pressures on the teacher. Gotta keep those enrollment numbers up, especially when budgets are constrained. A class of 3 very interested, very dedicated students doesn't look as good on paper as a class of 25 bored, distracted kids. I'd rather teach the 3, but the ideal is far from reality.
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A fair fight is a sign of poor planning.
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If at some point the teacher finds him/herself searching for a way to attract attention
This line caught my attention because the best teachers I ever had taught me new ways to see and were able to make things that I once thought boring interesting. I can't imagine that they didn't consciously or unconsciously put a lot of thought and effort into communicating their topic (and passion) in a way that first drew me in and then drew out my creative engagement.
And yet, there is something true in what you are saying as well. I wonder what the difference between searching for ways to get attention as a sign of trouble and searching for ways to get attention as a sign of excellence? Any further thoughts?
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I wonder what the difference between searching for ways to get attention as a sign of trouble and searching for ways to get attention as a sign of excellence?
oko1 has as his sig: Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. -- W. B. Yeats
Before you can teach anyone anything, you have to inspire them to want to learn it. Once you've done that, the next most important task is to teach them how to learn. Once they have the desire to learn, and the tools with which to do so, you can pretty much sit back and just prod them past their sticking points as they arise.
For a bit more, see Re: Computer Education in Public Schools, and the thread.
Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error.
"Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority".
In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice.
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