Today a student came into one of my classes, just casually visiting before he was going to leave for the day. After my teacher asked how the student was doing, he said he was mad at his Spanish teacher. Teacher asked why, and he told us his story of how his Spanish teacher had ripped his math homework out of his notebook and asked him to get on his knees and beg to get it back. All because he was working on it in her class.
Here's something teachers seem to never understand: We students have more classes than just yours, and even if you think yours is the most important, it probably isn't. If every teacher tells a single student to prioritize their class first, where would that student be?
Nowadays grades are more important than learning. In classes you see kids rushing to get homework done, not because they are just so eager to learn about that subject, but because the class is next and they don't want it to be counted late, docking them points. There is so much pressure surrounding each student to get good grades, that they aren't learning so much as memorizing the information enough to pass the next test. If you ask a student a question they would have known in a heartbeat first term again in third term, chances are they don't know the answer.
In one of my classes we barely have any homework. We take notes during class in a way that is fun for everyone, yet we get through a lot. We have a study guide due at the end of each chapter that needs to be turned in on the test day. Not a lot of pressure, and yet everyone does well in the class. I've learned a lot in that class too, and we can have discussions about things we learned in first term like it was just the other day. This is because we don't always have to worry about reaching deadline, just about paying attention and actually learning the things taught in class so we can do well on the tests.
It could be fixed if every teacher just took a breath and allowed the student to do the same soon after. It's okay if the class is hard, but the point is to teach and help the students, not to bombard them and make them work themselves to exhaustion. (405)
Hahahaha. I think this kid came back to my sixth period class and she did the same thing. She said the only way she would give him his homework back was for him to get on his knees and beg and he refused and eventually left, and he never did get the homework back. It must be the same kid. But to the point. I could not agree with you more. This is SO true. I am so glad you brought up this subject. I feel the same way in that students are just memorizing things and not really learning anymore. There is so much pressure to get good grades and be the top of the class that so many kids resort to cheating or working on homework in other classes. It really is true. If you were to ask a student something about last term, they most likely would not remember because they just memorized it for the test and then forgot about it. And I also agree that teachers expect you to put their class first, but how can you when every teacher wants to you put THEIR class first. Right on.
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