Would you have taught differently? If so, how?

[Ceicei]

I was looking at the original post - particularly the bolded parts:

If I were told I should not be somewhere because I asked for help because I was paying attention and trying and still not getting it, and it annoyed the instructor to the point that s/he says “This takes too much time. You should not be here.” then I would find that demeaning - not because I asked for help, but because the instructor felt my need to be excessive simply because my learning style did not match the instructor's teaching style - so I find it demeaning for the student to be treated that way - not for the student to be asking for help. I'm sorry if I was not clear in what I was referring to; when I read/post at work, I only have 30 minutes, and post while eating, so sometimes I type too fast or leave things out.

If the student needed help because s/he was choosing to not pay attention, that's a whole other issue, for another thread.

Thank you for the clarification on what you meant as demeaning. I see what you're saying and I agree with you.

- Ceicei

 

[wade]

Hey Ceicei, I want to apologize. Sometimes I am slow to catch on to things and I appreciate you pointing out to me how obvious it was that the student in the story was deaf. I will try not to let that happen again.

 

[Ceicei]

Hey Ceicei, I want to apologize. Sometimes I am slow to catch on to things and I appreciate you pointing out to me how obvious it was that the student in the story was deaf. I will try not to let that happen again.

Wade,
No apology needed. It really wasn't that obvious in the story anyway because "I cannot hear you" doesn't necessarily signify deafness. It could be, as you pointed out, a result of background noise or some other factor.

I kept the story as simple as possible because I wanted to generate discussion with a focus upon how the situation might be handled better and share different perspectives.

- Ceicei

 

[MJS]

Disclaimer: Lest this be misunderstood, this is not what is happening to me currently.

Here is a story:

There are some students standing in a martial arts school. The instructor is among the students, holding one as a demonstration.

“This is what we’re going to do.” The instructor states the name of the move. The group repeats the name. Students pair off to practice the move several times over. The instructor then pauses, “What did we just do?” The group repeats the name of the move. “Very good, now we’re going to…” One student asks, “Can you say that again? I cannot hear you.” The instructor looks over and sighs. He repeats saying the name once more. The student tentatively follows and the instructor nods. “Ok, the next one is…”

He continues the same way with the next few moves. There is one move that has an especially difficult long name. The students say the name together. The one student struggles to say this. The instructor waves his hand, “Never mind,” and practices doing the move. At the end of that practice, the group states the name again. The one student is frustrated. “I need to have a way of knowing what it is. I have to see what this is and to make the association.” The instructor replies, “I don’t have time for this.”

The student points out, “You require us to know terminology before we can promote to the next level.”

“Yes, that is true,” says the instructor with a long steady gaze. “This takes too much time. You should not be here.” A long silence stretches to what feels like a minute. With a quiet voice, the student asks, “Are you saying you don’t want me here?” No response from the instructor. A door closes as the student leaves the school.

Very poor actions on the instructors part IMO. First, perhaps before he continued on too far, he should've made sure that everyone could hear him. I don't think saying something like, "Ok everyone, we're going to get started now. Can everyone hear me ok?"

Second, before the demo bagan, perhaps he should've made sure that everyone was familiar with the terms that were being used. If there was a term that was unfamiliar to someone, he should've taken the time to say it slowly, making sure everyone understood. If he didn't have time for this, as he stated, perhaps he should'nt have been conducting the demo in the first place.

Third, everyone learns at a different pace. If its taking too much time, as he stated, then perhaps he should've taken more time to prepare everyone. No need to make someone feel bad like he did. I have to wonder if the student ever returned.

Mike

 

[tradrockrat]

Sorry - there is no justification whatsoever for the instructor to act that way. If the student was a complete jackass he STILL should not have handled it that way.

But the truth is that instructor is missing the whole point - he is no teacher.

A students job is to learn - the student in this case was trying to do his job.

A teachers job is to teach - the instructor couldn't be bothered to once that job actually became - gasp - work (couldn't be bothered? No time?)!

BTW - As many know, I am a Special Ed teacher and I get sick of hearing stories like this. Just because you know something doesn't make you a teacher. This instructor needs a heavy dose of reality. If I had been training there I would have walked out right behind that student after a few choice words about how I felt. There are a million ways to fix this situation and most would only require five minutes after class with the student.

 

[tellner]

Tradrockrat, you've nailed it. If you're ever in Portland the first beer is on me.

 

[tradrockrat]

Tradrockrat, you've nailed it. If you're ever in Portland the first beer is on me.

mmmmm beer... Portland has good micro brews so I've been told.
Thanks and I'll let you know if I ever get up that way

 

[jdinca]

If the person is having trouble keeping up in class then I would simply say lets talk about this after class one on one so you can get a better understanding of the tech. and go on from there.

Ditto.