Stories

Students always have something to say and they should be heard. So many times I have been in a classroom where a student wants to say something to a teacher but the teacher just does not want to hear it. It is understandable that a student should not be telling a personnal story during a lesson because of the small amount of time, but they should be heard eventually. Also, if the child has something to say that does pertain to the lesson then why not have the student talk? It could be helpful. Students voices matter and should be heard. They are a valuable part of society and cannot be shut out.

Homework

Homework is suppose to help children and not stress them out, but this is not always the case. I know that homework can be very hard and sometimes it is intimidating to ask for help, but this only leads to problems. When students do their homework someone is not looking over their shoulder to make sure they are doing the homework correctly. This leads children to do homework incorrectly for days on end, and this does not come in handy on test days. If a student does not know how to do something, doing their homework incorrectly is not helping them. Yes it is good to have the student figure out how to work through certain problems themselves but I know that I feel homework is pointless when I don't know what I am doing. Teachers must make sure homework is beneficial and make sure the students know what they are doing before they teach themselves the wrong things.

Self-confidence

Teachers need to make sure that students have self-confidence! If a student is having trouble in math or having trouble reading a story, do not let the child bring him or herself down. If a child feels they cannot do something, it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Students need to know that they can do anything if they try hard enough. I have seen teachers tell students to not worry about a certain subject because they will never understand it anyway. Those teachers should be fired. Every child has so much potential and a teacher is suppose to unleash this potential not destroy it. Keep this in mind next time a student says they cannot do something.

Be Respectful

Students are people too and need to be respected. They have their own values and beliefs and deserve to be listened to. Students need to be treated as individuals with individual learning needs and abilites. As a teacher you must understand that a lesson plan may not cater to every student and that needs to be taken into account. Teachers need to go above and beyond in order for every student to feel comfortable and feel like they have a place in the classroom.