Teaching and Porn
When I was in grad school at MSU, I took two classes from Karen King. I really admired (and still do) Dr. King. She was the only professor I had during my 6.5 years at MSU who I felt was 'real'. By that I mean, she seemed to put things into perspective, and you could see the relevance of what she had to say to the bigger picture of life, outside of the little world of the classroom we were in. She was also younger than any professor I had at MSU, and the only underrepresented minority I had at the school (that's pretty sad, considering I had over 30 different professors while at MSU).
Anyhow, in one class she said a phrase I'd never heard before, in reference to teaching. I love the phrase because it's so true. I've been thinking about it over my entire teaching career, and I've been thinking about it a lot, this summer. She was talking about good and bad teaching and said something like "Good (and bad) teaching is like porn. You can't describe it, but you know it when you see it".
This summer, I've had a few students who have told me how much they like the way I teach, and, to be honest, I don't know how to respond. I say thanks, but what I really want to know is, what is it about the way I teach that they like?
No one seems to give me an answer I'm satisfied with. The usual response often has to do with the way I present the material, or the way I explain things. When I hear that, I wonder how I present and explain things differently than other teachers. Do I present things that differently from other teachers?
I've watched a few people teach and I don't see a huge difference in what people do, but I do know bad teaching when I see it. To me, the main difference has to do with how comfortable the teacher is, and how much they talk above (or below) the students. I've had several professors as SJSU who fall into both of those categories (I won't name names). Thing is, I still don't see what I could tell those teachers to do to make them better.
I've never taken a teaching methods class, and I wonder how effective they are. My father has taught teaching methods classes, and he once told me that he wasn't sure if these classes were effective on some of his students.
While at UC Berkeley, I worked with a teacher who had a long list of credentials, and was highly regarded because of this; I didn't see that. I saw a teacher who I would not want teaching my kids.
I've been asked several times to give talks on effective instruction, and I've turned these invitations down, partly because I wouldn't know what to say. I'm not sure I know what leads to effective instruction, or what makes a teacher good. So I'm stuck where I was, thinking about that phrase: Good and bad teaching is like porn. I can't describe it, but I know it when I see it.
Anyhow, in one class she said a phrase I'd never heard before, in reference to teaching. I love the phrase because it's so true. I've been thinking about it over my entire teaching career, and I've been thinking about it a lot, this summer. She was talking about good and bad teaching and said something like "Good (and bad) teaching is like porn. You can't describe it, but you know it when you see it".
This summer, I've had a few students who have told me how much they like the way I teach, and, to be honest, I don't know how to respond. I say thanks, but what I really want to know is, what is it about the way I teach that they like?
No one seems to give me an answer I'm satisfied with. The usual response often has to do with the way I present the material, or the way I explain things. When I hear that, I wonder how I present and explain things differently than other teachers. Do I present things that differently from other teachers?
I've watched a few people teach and I don't see a huge difference in what people do, but I do know bad teaching when I see it. To me, the main difference has to do with how comfortable the teacher is, and how much they talk above (or below) the students. I've had several professors as SJSU who fall into both of those categories (I won't name names). Thing is, I still don't see what I could tell those teachers to do to make them better.
I've never taken a teaching methods class, and I wonder how effective they are. My father has taught teaching methods classes, and he once told me that he wasn't sure if these classes were effective on some of his students.
While at UC Berkeley, I worked with a teacher who had a long list of credentials, and was highly regarded because of this; I didn't see that. I saw a teacher who I would not want teaching my kids.
I've been asked several times to give talks on effective instruction, and I've turned these invitations down, partly because I wouldn't know what to say. I'm not sure I know what leads to effective instruction, or what makes a teacher good. So I'm stuck where I was, thinking about that phrase: Good and bad teaching is like porn. I can't describe it, but I know it when I see it.
posted by Jefferson at 5:02 PM
1 Comments:
The difference between you, Jefferson, and other teachers is that you do your job with passion ... and your personality is so radiating and captivating.
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