Are you a bad teacher?

For general discussion between teachers

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tortillas
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Joined: 03 Apr 2018, 04:28
Status: Teacher

Are you a bad teacher?

Unread post by tortillas »

Warning! This is somewhat of a rant...

I've been teaching TEFL for 30 years. Am I a bad teacher? I don't think so, but I definitely am ineffective at times. I'm sure there are always those students and colleagues too, that consider me a bad teacher. But that negative rating really depends on a lot of things, mostly on the class environment. If the latter is poor, then I have found over and over again that there is nothing I can do that will make a dysfunctional class a good one or make me feel that I'm a great teacher. Generally speaking, you're probably a bad teacher to at least a proportion of the class whether you like it or not. On the other hand, we're expected to 'motivate' the students which would presumably change the students' assessment of you. But what if your students simply do not like studying English? How far will your attempts at motivating- through whatever means- go then? If you feel that you are a bad teacher you need some good skepticism toward that assessment. It's probably not true, and remember 'this too shall pass.'
If you are a guilt-ridden perfectionist, perhaps you will blame yourself when your TEFL classes are less than edifying and full of ebullient good humor (that's a compliment I often get: "Teacher, you're so humorous!"). If you do, don't worry; after 30 years I still blame myself and feel like an idiot when a supervisor pops in to observe my class and everything goes to hell (I don't respond well to pop-in observations). If you are observed and roundly criticized, know that you are not alone and nothing you could have done would have stopped the criticism. Many observers feel that they are not doing their job or improving the school without criticizing.
At the moment I'm in a situation I want out of. My daughter is going to a university in Southern China, and I moved here as well to be near her. Unfortunately, I picked a junior college where at least half of my classes of 40 students each could care less about speaking English (for whatever reason), and if what you are doing is not a game, intriguing, or hilarious in some way, they just turn off. If they never show up for classes, have surly attitudes and fail the final exam, you'll be strong-armed into passing them anyway. Now, I have to say I have a lot of good students too so those are the ones I work for. But I will not be renewing my contract here.
The last thing I have to say is this: Being a career TEFL teacher was not my first choice in life, although I do have a love for languages and linguistics and that keeps me going. But burnout among us TEFL teachers is high and no matter how novel TEFL lesson planning and instructional methods seem to you, sooner or later you will find (if you have any sort of curious mind) that to keep your job interesting and most importantly, to feel that you are doing the best job you can, you will be using your own ideas and writing your own curriculum. Be prepared though, because while most schools are OK with this some are very rigid and reactionary. Which brings me, in closing, to the beginning of my post. I work for a school so unprofessional that a supervisor will observe your class and if they do not like what they see, they will berate you in front of the whole class. I work in a school that expects certain things from you but never tells you what those things are in a concrete (i.e. written down) way, and a school that passes students even if they have dismal grades, and an administration that almost completely ignores you. In such an environment, how is a teacher supposed to feel?
By the way, I'm the only foreign teacher here.
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Joe
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Re: Are you a bad teacher?

Unread post by Joe »

Wow. That's a solid block of copy.
"We are not wholly bad or good, who live our lives under Milk Wood :? " — Dylan Thomas, Under Milk Wood

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amanda
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Joined: 18 Dec 2018, 21:42
Status: Trainee Teacher

Re: Are you a bad teacher?

Unread post by amanda »

Cool
amanda
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Posts: 2
Joined: 18 Dec 2018, 21:42
Status: Trainee Teacher

Re: Are you a bad teacher?

Unread post by amanda »

I think that all teachers are good I have heard this info in the post http://articles.faithwriters.com/reprin ... icle=37854 that is the best post in the Internet!
kevlevrone
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Posts: 1
Joined: 23 Apr 2019, 13:55
Status: Teacher

Re: Are you a bad teacher?

Unread post by kevlevrone »

Hi everyone. I am new here. What a strange question? I think I am not as bad as I could be :lol:
Romeo
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Posts: 9
Joined: 23 Apr 2019, 16:13
Status: Teacher

Re: Are you a bad teacher?

Unread post by Romeo »

I love teaching. I think this shows in my enthusiasm. However this does not make me a good teacher. Student feedback is critical so that I can be sure I am reaching all students who I am teaching... not just the brighter ones. Learning how effective you are to your students is what makes you a good teacher. Sometimes certain topics or subjects take more practise to become good at the learning curve.. but if you really love teaching.. you will do what it takes to help that student learn what it is your trying to teach them,
“Let's be part of the solution… not the problem”
Mrdaudiqbal
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Posts: 31
Joined: 30 May 2019, 11:22
Status: Teacher

Re: Are you a bad teacher?

Unread post by Mrdaudiqbal »

There is no good or bad teacher . Its depand on methodology
Kradion
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Posts: 2
Joined: 12 Jun 2019, 08:19
Status: Teacher

Re: Are you a bad teacher?

Unread post by Kradion »

I don't think so, I love my job
Mrdaudiqbal
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Posts: 31
Joined: 30 May 2019, 11:22
Status: Teacher

Re: Are you a bad teacher?

Unread post by Mrdaudiqbal »

My students like my teaching style
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