I’m not getting through very well to my students, I’m afraid. I gave a quiz this last Friday in science, a challenge in its own right. I can’t give handouts so I have to have all the questions written on a relatively small chalkboard, trying to make sure the kids don’t cheat while I write them down(writing them beforehand isn’t a possibility). I had to tear up one kid’s quiz because his eyes were all over the place. Cheating sucks here.
Anyways…i collected and graded the quizzes…the scores were painfully low, as is to be expected. 50% is passing here. My B1s had a 52% average while my B2s had a 39% average.
This isn’t horrible, but i have been expecting things to improve, and they’re not…I don’t want these kinds of numbers to be something I need to get used to. There are some bright spots in both my classes, so that’s always worth getting excited for, but the low averages indicate that the slower kids really haven’t developed a better understanding of my teaching style(contrary to my optimistic perception over the last week). These things take time, and it’s easy to forget i’ve only been really teaching them for 4 weeks, now. Hopefully the numbers will start to get better, but for tonight, I’m (understandably) feeling a little discouraged.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Sorry to hear that.
There’s no way you could write them down and then cover the board with something?
I think there’s cheating everywhere, is it really that much worse than when we were in school?
Sounds like there’s a lack of effort on the part of the students. Are they satisfied with being farmers and herders ? (I assume that’s what most of the people around there are). Have you talked with them a lot about future career aspirations? Maybe you could find ways to relate the materials you’re covering to the things they want to be.
Half the failures in life arise from pulling in one’s horse as he is leaping.–Augustus (and Julius) Hare
Trust in what you are doing, and ask for God’s guidance. It has been only 4 weeks. Hugs and kisses Mom
YOU MOVE A MOUNTAIN ONE ROCK AT A TIME! STAY FOCUSED ON THE ROCKS AND THE MOUNTAIN WILL MOVE!
“Be not Afraid”
Love
… I never really thought what I was putting in my teacher’s mind for so many times when I was kicked out of class….had one or two ….or as many as I can remember teared apart tests because I would cheat! oh no I almost want to track them down and apologize ha! If this might clear your mind a bit….the other side of my story …I cheated on tests in many clever ways that I don’t know if they should be published yet..hehe…but I never did with the one teacher I felt I couldn’t betray … me as a student of chemistry I couldn’t understand a thing….or have any interest in it unless it was put in my own words which was impossible at the time becuase my teacher had no idea what or how I would learn these things… besides my vocabulary sometimes is not very undestandable I blame it on my spanglish. I decided to take some time with her , she would come to me sometimes and I would go to her sometimes , even to her house which i remember I almost need a visa to go to she lived so far , she would come to my mum’s deli and sit , she ordered a veggie sandwich I felt like I almost knew this woman , she was different than when in class , she wasn’t mad anymore , or screaming …she would look crazy tho in a deli me and her anyways….we talk for a bit…and now I know she was just trying to prove herself she wasn’t the problem , she was a good teacher …said things that made sense , gave me homework. explained very thorough, asked me if I understood and I kept saying yes I do….but I didn’t , I was just afraid that now that I liked her she would think I was stupid if I said no… a frustrated woman that seem to think that she wasn’t skilled enough to make me a good student…sometimes I think she wanted to tutor me because she needed to prove herself it was me…or she loved mu mum’s deli sandwiches.
after a month of lessons after school I told her the truth , I said I cheat on all of your tests , I write things on my erasers , on the back of my calculator , on my french manicure , yes it works…change names on my tests just to have a good score and make you happy because I passed…. I felt like I couldn’t fail her calss now that we were sharing time after class and she was putting time in me I couldn’t fail her make her feel like she wasn’t good..I never really got chemistry or physics ….all that stuff with confusing numbers and almost didn’t want to “tire” my mind by resolving a problem that wasn’t real at the time…. she looked at me and said why do you cheat on my tests? I said because I don’t know the answers…and I’m not learning them from you beacuse you can’t explain how to get them without cheating…
we spent six months together 3 times a week after school she would help me do my homework and test me in private , I couldn’t cheat anymore because I didn’t want to disapoint her or me….it took time , she tried me in so many ways , until she realized I learned by watching things , I always was the kind of student that would solve the most difficult part of a problem and i would cheat on the final answer that was a simple subtraction… she realized I like to learn things in a complicated or interesting challenging way so that’s the way she tought me , im sure she went crazy by trying to make a simple math quiz and make it look like the bar exam …haha…its a matter of time to get to know each one of your students and they will develop an interest in you too , they want to know who they are learning from ,
give some time to your kids , scores will rise!
All great comments, guys! Thanks! T-wolfe, you’re right in that a lot of them don’t have as much motivation in school as others. Farmers and herdboys go to school because it is so valued, but they won’t be using much of their education, so the motivation just isn’t there for them. Still, they can’t get their certificates(diplomas) unless they pass a standardized exam, which a lot of them aren’t ready for. I still have one more year with them before they have to take it.
Mom and dad, your words of wisdom are always appreciated! Thanks!
Ms. Salazar, your perspective is valuable in so many ways! It helps to remember what’s going on from the student’s perspective. Patience is key, here.
hey ryan. guess who has two thumbs and just got nominated for a job teaching science in sub Saharan Africa.
THIS GUY!
Dude! I’m gonna try not to get excited but leaving in november in education means you have a pretty decent chance of coming to lesotho! How freakin’ crazy would that be!? Matt and Ryan reunited in Africa…I say you bring swords and we can reenact scenes from highlander….
…Seriously though.
Another thought I had, speaking as someone who hated math (and we still don’t really get along). There were a lot of useless unessecary things we had to learn, just to get a degree.
I get the feeling many of your students likely feel that way, with some of the things you’re learning. Physics probably seems like a waste of time to someone who believes they’re going to be a farmer. Make it relatable to them, use measurements, objects, and situations that seem like they could realistically happen.
For the ones who want to be doctors, teachers, etc… (and even for the ones that don’t). Let them know how a doctor might use whatever it is you’re teaching about that day.
Finally, let them know, that even in America, everyone has to take classes they don’t like (and which may not help them in future careers), but we do it anyways, because we know it makes us better, more well-rounded people.
When are we going to see some more pictures?
Yes, when are we going to get more pictures? I learn from pictures:) /visual person. Hugs. Momma Bear