Sorry to talk about the internship again, but i realized the teacher i don't want to be. My co-opp. teacher is the type of teacher that i never want to be. When class started he told them to get out a sheet of paper and he gave a pop quiz(something i'd never do). after the quiz he popped in a movie/documentary into the vcr. he told the kids to write down the main ideas of every section and he said they would be due for a grade at the end of class. At the end of class he told them to get drawing paper and draw something significant from what they learned from the movie(which i like, but to me it seems kind of elementary). Mind you that it was my first day, and therefore maybe there is more to his teaching style than just the method if mentioned previously. But to me it seemed like he was just killing time. i really didn't like this style. there was no excitment in his teaching method nor in the classroom. It realy seemed like there was no learning going on. I imagine my classroom to be vibrant and full of learning, could be a dream, but i hope that is how my classroom is. I want kids to want to come to my history class, not dread history class like they normally do.

do ya'll know of any teachers like the one i mentioned before.

p.s. U.S History is not getting tested this year bc they are re-writing the curriculum so i think he could be creative with his teaching methods. surley something better than a pop quiz, a documentary, and drawing like elementary kids

Brandon, sorry to hear that the first day was dull and uncreative. What grade is it? (An apology if you've mentioned this already) How did the students seem to react? Does the teacher seem open to you? Maybe he'll invite you to add some creative projects. It's great to know what you don't want to be. It seems to me that because you know that - chances are you won't "slip into it."

I had several teachers like that. Hopefully it was just a bad day for him. I think that movies have their place but i think that movies should be an enhancement for the curriculum, something that they can enjoy. I do not like taking notes during a movie because i always miss something. The best thing i can tell you, which is what i am learning this semester, you are learning what NOT to do. Sadly, this has been my experience too.

You know, there are always going to be "good teachers" and "bad teachers". I think that it is good to have had this experience because, if you hold onto it in your mind, it can be a guideline for your teaching. Al experiences in life are positive because you can learn from them and improve yourself toward or away from the model you have observed. I had teachers ( and still do) that I don't care for, and whose teaching style does not appeal to me. One thing that we must keep in mind is that all studets are not receptive to the same type of teaching. Some are visual, some are auditory, and even more than that. I urge you to keep an eye out for the teaching styles that this particular teacher uses in the next coming weeks, and try to look at what his goals may be. Some children are not receptive to an active classroom, and he may be trying to find that student's comfort zone by doing private activity. I don't think that I wold enjoy a class like you described, but try to look beyond the enjoyment level to the educational value.

Sadly enough most of the elemenatry school/middle school teachers I know are exactly like you encountered. All I can say is hopefully OUR GENERATION of teachers will bring about a new wave of change in which the students will not onlye xperience meaningful learning, but also our teaching peers will take new directions in reagrds to their out dated teaching methods.