Invisible Teaching (3-2)

So, I have still been thinking about my post from the class blog. Over the past however many years that I’ve been in school (and I really don’t want to count right now), I’ve obviously had lots of teachers with very diverse teaching styles and philosophies. It has only been more recently, however, (like since I’ve realized that my own time of teaching is near) that I’ve tried to make myself consciously aware of how the teachers go about teaching. For some teachers, I’ve decided, “Yeah, they seem effective, and I could do that,” while I’ve had others who have left me wondering, “What is their purpose, and how could I ever replicate their class, and why would I want to?” So, obviously, I have a vague idea of what works for me. But, I guess what is hidden from students is sometimes the goals of a class and how the teacher decides what to do to meet such goals. Now, I’m not saying that all teachers should come into class and write on the board the goals for that day and then the class plans. I had one teacher who did that, and I don’t think the students really cared; they were possibly even turned off by it. But, a class like this is the place to talk about the fact that teachers have to decide what they want their students to learn and how they are going to go about that. (Otherwise students probably think that teachers are born with a lesson plan in mind that never changes.)

Interestingly, both of my parents are high school teachers, and my aunt and cousin are also both teachers. And as much as we seem to talk about school and education around the family table, I’ve never heard any of them be really explicit about how they plan their classes. I guess most of them have taught so long that they know what they want to teach and the planning is more unconscious. (Although I have heard more from my dad recently as they have been making some curriculum changes.) (And with my mom, when I had her class, I know that she did ask my opinion about some of the things she did and whether or not she should change/keep certain lessons.) I guess what this all comes down to is just being aware of and appreciating the choices we have in the classroom and perhaps gaining confidence in our ability to make such choices.