Comments for Substitute Guru

Comment on 5 Signs of a Good Teacher by mrjohn

mrjohn — Fri, 23 May 2008 01:49:11 +0000

It was amazing to have such a polite class, but it made for a long day. Their teacher had them so well trained that they taught themselves. On the other hand, that meant I had very little to do.

What do you teach and at what grade?

Comment on 5 Signs of a Good Teacher by missus

missus — Thu, 22 May 2008 16:21:20 +0000

haha, hey, i’ve been teaching for several years. although that would be the best case scenario. when the cats away the mice will play. all 5 signs are of course present when i am, it gets shot out the door when a sub enters. anyhoo, how awesome that you would get a delightful class to sub.

Comment on Fairly Punishing Childish Bigotry by mrjohn

mrjohn — Thu, 22 May 2008 02:28:24 +0000

Bigotry is a harsh word, but his insinuation was quite hurtful and it is better to stamp out his “innocent slip” now before it is allowed to grow into mean-spirited bigotry later.

Perhaps I did stack the cards again him by describing the college as a “bad” one. However, I was thinking along the lines of academic quality. There is no reason for him to automatically think of Africa as having poor schools unless there is an underlying sense that Africa, and perhaps Blacks, are somehow inferior. Again, if that is the case, it needs to be corrected now.

Comment on Fairly Punishing Childish Bigotry by schoolme

schoolme — Thu, 22 May 2008 00:13:19 +0000

Bigotry is a harsh word, especially when dealing with a 12 year old.

Do you think by answering, ” I went to a bad one[college]” that you were actually leading the student to believe you went to an institution that society and media shaped in his mind of what a bad college would be; therefore, guiding him to suggest Africa? [in a continent that is portrayed as being very poor]

Comment on 5 Signs of a Good Teacher by mrs. wood

mrs. wood — Wed, 21 May 2008 18:16:40 +0000

John you are so insightful! I have read a few of your entries and they warm my heart because I think that you could easily be a GREAT teacher if you wanted to be. There is something very special about you … you keep people responsible for themselves and have high expectations for EVERYONE. This inturn (and I know) “makes” people arises to the occassion and makes them better people.

Comment on And the Ugly: How to Make It Without Lesson Plans by mrjohn

mrjohn — Sat, 17 May 2008 21:15:22 +0000

The problem with a word such as “inspiration,” is that the children have no idea what the word means. Literally. I used the word “inspire” in a sentence that day and was later asked to define it by one of the students. (These children are 12 by the way)

Comment on And the Ugly: How to Make It Without Lesson Plans by schoolme

schoolme — Fri, 16 May 2008 02:30:53 +0000

In retrospect, do you think their creative juices would have started to overflow if you perhaps gave the one word and asked them to draw what it means to them? For example… inspiration [what inspires you?].

Comment on And the Ugly: How to Make It Without Lesson Plans by mrjohn

mrjohn — Thu, 15 May 2008 01:37:13 +0000

I just had them draw anything because I just needed them to do something (anything) other than cause a ruckus. I did have one student draw me a picture of his skateboard. That was pretty sweet.

Comment on And the Ugly: How to Make It Without Lesson Plans by schoolme

schoolme — Thu, 15 May 2008 00:59:23 +0000

Out of curiosity, what did you specify the class to draw? Was there any untapped talent from these drawings?

Comment on A Huge Liability by mrchris

mrchris — Wed, 07 May 2008 17:09:29 +0000

I hope I do see you on the front page with a headline, “teacher ‘tags’ out”!