Job Discussion Forums

[arioch36]

Sorry, no sparkles or controversy. Forgive me the fox paw of talking about education at Dave's, but;

I've come to believe that grading homework, tests, assignments is more important then preparing a good lesson. I am referring mostly to teaching college or high school in China. Especially for oral english, I don't "have" to give homework or prepare for classes. If I didn't care about teaching.

What good is a great lesson plan, the kind that would set your TEFL trainer on his knees in admiration, if the students are not prepared to use it? When I give vocabulary quizzes, the students study their new words every week. Otherwise, most won't. Students in China won't take homework seriously unless you grade it seriously. When they see little red marks on the paper they go, "Wow!" and come to class better prepared.

Of course in China many (not most) students and teachers don't take their classes seriously. I mean, I would rather play on Dave's then grade homework.

Or is homework a thing of the past, not sparkly enough to keep students in a class? Am I just an pompous old fuddy duddy (well, that's not the point, I can be right and be a fuddy duddy)

And Rush is the best thing to come out of Canada since cold beer. They are the true Canadian artists.

Yes, I know I spelt preperation wrong.

[latefordinner]

Good question, your point is well taken. I had a couple of rough classes last year, where the students didn't take the homework seriously. No matter how much effort I put into correction (my notes were often longer than their efforts), now matter how much class time I spent taking up homework, the kids just refused to take it seriously. Yes, the homework was a component of their final grade, but somehow they stuck to a policy of passive resistance to learning. The only advice I got was, "Don't put so much effrot into marking, focus on your lessons instead". Hey, I didn't think my lessons were that bad. As it goes, I brought some excercise books back from Canada, I'm getting the local teachers to help me tweak them for use with our syllabus. Their reaction was pretty much, "what, you want the kids to do this as homework?"

[Ben Round de Bloc]

[Roger]

In my first year I was no doubt too sympathetic a teacher, and I accepted any "excuses" the students invented to explain their non-compliance with any of my instructions; only time would tell that it was a systemic problem.
These days, I have no problems getting my authority respected. I have learnt a few lessons. One was that if my employer does not take me seriously, I must instill in my students some respect. How?
No school has ever given me an attendance sheet, yet Chinese teachers have total authority over their students; whoever is absent must present an apology. Why don't we command this kind of respect?
So I wrote my own attendance sheets. Wait a minute - it is ME WHO ENTERS "present" or "absent"!!!
You know Chinese students practise "solidarity" too easily under duress - their communitarian upbringing makes them stand in for each other.
My students have to stand up, I read up their names; those who are absent cannot sit down...
When all of them are finally seated, I always have a few newcomers: "Sorry, I have heard your classes are so interesting, so I have come to your class..." Yes, we have "visitors" to our lectures, that is students who have time on their hand and who drop in out of INTEREST.
Apparently, I have now a solid reputation, and my students are really well-behaved! Hat off to them.
But I wouldn't doff my hat to the administration of our uni!!!

[dmb]

Is it related to your own experience? When I was at school I was expected to do homework so i Give it. if you didn't receive homework at school then maybe you don't give it

[denise]

I give homework, but not daily stuff--mine is usually some sort of project, or a regular weekly assignment. I have found that, the few times I have tried to give homework at the end of class (like if we don't finish something and I say, "Please finish page 86 for homework,") many of them just don't do it. I can get as huffy-puffy about it as I want, but the bottom line is that the work didn't get done and it will affect the next class. I figured that there was no point in assigning such tasks if the students weren't going to do them. Sure, I can dock their grades, lecture them, whatever (which I don't do, being a bit of a softie), but that's not the point, and it won't help them learn whatever is was that they were supposed to learn.

The majority of my students do complete their weekly assignments and projects. They have reading/vocabulary/speaking/whatever (depending on the class) logs due every week. They have a quiz every week for which they must prepare by doing a homework packet. They have a presentation/speech/interview, etc.

I accept late homework. My deadlines are really just, uh, suggestions, I guess. The students are always sheepishly embarrassed when handing things in late.

d

[ls650]

[Shaman]

arioch36 wrote: