Let’s stop forcing students to “puke out their brains”

July 14, 2010

Individualized, customizable, learner-centred approaches are becoming the new norm. Traditionally, education has been about developing a curriculum and teaching to students in a prescriptive manner. That made education easy for teachers because they could essentially teach the same thing, year in and year out.

That was not only boring for students, it’s ineffective.

It is said that one month after final examinations, students have lost 90% of the “knowledge” they had on the day of their final. That’s not learning. It’s stuffing information into a brain for it to be regurgitated on a test. And once it’s been puked out onto a test paper, it’s gone forever, it seems. Not exactly ideal, is it?

The good news is: learning is becoming more individualized and focused on the students and their needs.

Teachers of tomorrow will need to shift their thinking, stop thinking about how to get students to learn the curriculum and instead, make the curriculum work for the students.

Scratch that.

We don’t have time to wait for a new generation of teachers to understand that learning is about the students, not the textbooks, not the curriculum and most definitely not about standardized testing. Teachers of today need to learn that.

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

5 Ways to Show Teachers Appreciation

June 24, 2010

In many regions it is the end of the school year. Here are 5 low-cost ways to let your teachers know you appreciate them:

1. Organize a teacher and staff appreciation lunch – If you can afford to bring in some catering, go for it. If not, make it pot luck and have everyone bring a dish. The point is to gather everyone together for the purpose of celebrating.

2. Make a speech – School taking the time to publicly thanking the school teachers and staff shows good leadership. Opening up the floor for teachers to give praise to their peers adds an additional level of warmth. Keep it brief – and sincere.

3. Certificate of Appreciation – Print off one for every teacher, complete with their name, the name of the school and the school year. Have the principal sign them. Templates for certificates are easy to find on line if your word processing program doesn’t have them.

4. Write thank you cards – It’s amazing how much impact a hand-written letter or card goes in today’s world of technology. Discount stores often sell packages of thank you or blank cards for very little money.

5. Say “Thank You” – In addition to saying it in written form, a sincere, focused verbal thank you, along with a handshake, or a hand on the shoulder is always a nice touch. Be sincere and smile. This is not the time to offer suggestions for improvement for next year, but to show appreciation for the work they’ve done this year.

Related post: 7 Ways to Celebrate the End of the Semester http://wp.me/pNAh3-1R7

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

1 Comment | education, leadership | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Are you promoting your program from the inside out?

June 13, 2010

I like to say that marketing is about people and sales is about the dollars. Marketing is about developing excellent relationships and building a reputation of excellence so others want to work with you. The most effective marketing starts from the inside out. This includes the marketing of educational programs, be it an English as a Second Language program, a literacy program or any other kind of educational program.

Here’s how: Managers, administrative staff, teachers, tutors and all staff become your program’s ambassadors in the community; not because you want them to, but because they want to. Are you the kind of administrator who inspires your staff to be an ambassador for your program?

  • Do you treat them as if they are the most important aspect of the program? Excellent teachers = excellent program.
  • Do they have their own business cards? A business card is a symbol of professionalism. Can you really afford not to have them? If your teachers don’t have this “business basic”, the message you are sending is that they are not considered professionals.
  • Do you ask for their input? What are their ideas on how to clean up the school, improve the program and extend your reach further into the community? Do you ask them to act on their ideas by pitching in to help the school improve?

If you want to market successfully, start from the inside out. Make sure relationships within the school are the best they can be.

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

Comments Off on Are you promoting your program from the inside out? | education, ESL, language program administration, languages, marketing, second languages, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Who inspired you to work in literacy and languages?

June 11, 2010

My last post on Why Teachers are No Longer Revered as Sacred generated a couple of comments that got me thinking. In particular, I thought about my mother, who was an ESL Literacy Tutor back when I was little. I was 8 or 9 when learners started coming over to the house in the evenings for their lessons. (Back in those days, there were no issues with learners coming over to the tutor’s home.) Over the years, she had a number of different learners. One by one, they’d come through the door and she’d put the kettle on, as they got settled for their lesson.

The “learning sessions” were partly about reading and writing, partly about using English, partly discussions about Canadian culture vs. the learner’s culture, partly about her listening to them talk about how much they missed their loved ones back home. For a number of years at Christmas, we’d invite the learners to our home to share Christmas Day dinner with us. For some, it was the first time they’d experienced Christmas; for others it meant not being alone at a special time of year when they were feeling particularly homesick.

I never really thought much about all the hours my Mum worked as an ESL literacy tutor. Decades later, I now work in languages and literacy. I can’t help but think that somehow, those early experiences were imprinted on my brain and in my heart. My dear old Mum, who passed away over a decade ago now, who had a grade 10 education until she went back to school in her 40s to get her GED, inspired me early on to work in this field. Thanks, Mum, for the inspiration.

Who inspired you as a child to work in the field of languages and literacy?

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

2 Comments | education, ESL, languages, Literacy, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Why teachers are no longer revered as sacred

June 10, 2010

In 1971 a scholar by the name of Robert Nisbet claimed that “the man of knowledge and his pursuits were sacred”. Much has changed in the 40 or so years since professor Nisbet wrote those words. And it goes beyond the fact that do we not write only in the masculine gender any more. While teachers are still regarded as knowledgeable, they are no longer revered as sacred. While some may lament, and even resist it, teachers no longer enjoy the “aura of the sacred”, as Nisbet calls it.

In today’s world where technology is moving at the speed of light, young people are very aware that they know more than many of the “over-30s”, especially when it comes to technology. Adults regularly turn to young people for help and coaching on matters of hardware, software and social media.

Old, traditional, hierarchical and patriarchal attitudes are giving way to more collaborative approaches. Old, authoritative, “teacher-centred” or “expert-centred” approaches to teaching are as out as black and white televisions. Are you still lamenting the days when the teacher was worshiped?

Reference:

Nisbet, R. (1971). The Degradation of the Academic Dogma: The University in America, 1945-1970. N.Y.: Basic Books Inc.

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

6 Comments | education, leadership, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

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