C4T November Summary

I am following Mike Prater and his blog Growth through Learning. Mike Prater is currently retired but he taught Math and Science in the Missouri school system. He has also served as assistant principal and he taught at the college level.

His first post was about how to Motivate Students to Learn without Rewards. I first introduced myself and let him know that I was a student in EDM 310. He provided some very helpful information. I informed him that I was all for his methods of motivating. That all kids are not going to be angels and say yes sir or no sir. By showing them attention and actually genuinely caring about them, I think you can get the best out of the student. I really enjoyed the part about challenging kids to the right extent. If you motivate and push the kid, the student will work hard and get rewarded.

The post I was assigned to this week was about Loving the Unloveable Student. He was given an Algebra class filled me 10th graders. His immediate thought was that these kids have already failed and why does he have to teach these kids? His assistant principal caught him complaining about it and gave him a wakeup call. So the next day of class he went in with the right approach. He chose to try to get the best out of these kids. So the next day in class he informed them, that they were getting a second chance. He found it very hard to communicate with kids and the parents. One day he called one of the students parent to inform that the kid had made a C on a very difficult test. The next day the kid came in crying and informed the teacher that his dad took him out for pizza because he had been doing well in the classroom. He goes on to say that particular class was one of his favorites. It wasn’t because he reached to all of them because he didn’t but he was able to change some of those kids’ lives. That is the ultimate reward.

I really enjoyed this post. I could really relate to him and feel how bad he wanted to change those kids’ lives. I took from it that you really can’t judge a book by its cover. There are so many kids out there that aren't given the time a day and ultimately they end up not reaching their potential. I am really going to try to be like that in my classroom. It is not going to bother me what kind of class I have, I am going to work hard and give those less fortunate kids every opportunity I can
possibly provide.