About me
Barry Karrh
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@msbsmith : I have students from some of the poorest backgrounds in the US. I bounce, sing, chant, sing opera, even one time this white boy rapped to keep my student's attention... But the hardest challenge I have is to keep them motivated as they only see me a couple hours a week, and the rest of the time their families, employers and friends do a great deal to make them question themselves...
But I suppose the best thing I can do is to simply tell them that I grew up in the same situation. That I followed my grandmother's… >>>
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Although it is sometimes exhausting, it's always good for me to go back to school It helps me to see curriculum through someone else's perspective. It helps me to rethink the layout of my objectives and think of new experiments for my students. I guess in short, it's a bit like being inspired again.
Barry Karrh
I am always impressed with the simple things that Harvard decides to study, but honestly they probably reveal more about us than behaviors which we rarely use.
So kudos to everyone who took the time to study soft skills, it is yet another skill that we as teachers can use to better our classrooms.
And thanks for the opportunity to learn.
I never realized the power of the question. I grew up with classes filled with closed ended questions, only built on answering a guide full of core objectives.
I truthfully hated school and maybe that is why I became a teacher. I wanted to give someone else a classroom where they were nurtured and assisted to develop new ideas and skills.
This class helped me rethink some of the very things which stunted my development as a child, and hopefully I will be able to employ some of these ideas to create an even more stimulating and encouraging atmosphere in… >>>
It is nice to see how other teachers manage the same problems. When we are put in similar situations, it is sometimes the abilitty to handle difficult people and difficult situations that shows our strength as a person, and is the greatest teaching tool that we may have. Students will actually mimic your behaviors, and if you set the bar high and hold to your moral and ethical stance... you may not be everyone's favorite teacher, but you will be giving each student a good life skill while sharing the information on your class topic.
Discussion Comment
Although it is sometimes exhausting, it's always good for me to go back to school It helps me to see curriculum through someone else's perspective. It helps me to rethink the layout of my objectives and think of new experiments for my students. I guess in short, it's a bit like being inspired again.
Barry Karrh
Discussion Comment
My worst habit is second guessing myself. Although I've worked in the same field, yet different capacities, for 23 years and sometimes I still don't know how up-to-date my techniques are. But then I remember that I am teaching people varying stages of how to see and understand the same material, and along side them I am also learning the newest data and details of our industry.
As Socrates said, "One can not be a teacher, if they cease to be a student."
Discussion Comment
Many times I find that students who challenge authority are simply looking for structure in some part of their life. If you can find the root of the problem, whether you can do anything to help or not, you can sometimes help the student to find the skills to help themselves. But listening you also create a situation where you have shown interest and listened, you can be supportive but not allow the change from professional to friend.
Discussion Comment
I have found that creating a situation where students have to look at an idea from a perspective most would rarely consider, helps them to find a motive in learning. Also, if this has to be presented before the group it incourages further participation because of peer opinions. My example is in a class 50-50 black to white and male to female, studying the civil war. For a presentation each student had to pick a historic figure from the war of a different race and the opposite sex to present in character before the class (this did not require cross… >>>
Discussion Comment
As students file in and out of my class, I can tell the ones who are not as social or open. I try to give oportunities for these students to share skills which the rest of the class may not posess, so that they may have that a'ha moment. And allow them to show expertise in a particular facet of the class. But you have to be careful to not single out any one student too much, and to try and keep the students who are truly good at everything at bey.
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