... teaching [ok, trying to teach] them is just the most annoying thing in the world.
In fact... this semester my class sucks in terms of participation as compared to last year's... And in addition to the many unprepared students, even the few that are prepared just WON'T TALK. And lately they won't talk to each other much either when they're supposed to work in groups.
There are three weeks left and I have a feeling that they will very hard weeks to get through! :(
I really don't know what I can do differently to motivate them. I guess I'm simply burned out from teaching GenEd classes in spite of the fact that this is only my second semester doing so here. And that's basically all I can teach (and all I've ever taught in graduate school) at this point apart from language classes. :(
I know that a few of my students are putting good effort into the class, but they too seem pretty apathetic.
BLAH!! Sometimes I get discouraged and think that regardless of all our idealism concerning teaching, it is a useless profession. What are these students getting from their college experience anyway? Many, if not most, are just wasting money and, obviously, waiting my time and their own time.
I know it's just a bad day, but, frankly, I don't have a good feeling regarding the rest of the semester. Because they're not writing a paper on the last book, they think/feel that we're not really doing anything now. One student even asked me, surprised when I mentioned quizzes, "But I thought we were doing this [book] just for fun?" Sure, it will be lots of fun, particularly if you do the reading!
Whatever. I just needed to vent a bit. And next I want to talk about that "tele-teaching" thing I'm supposed to do next semester -- surprisingly, it's not that bad!! PHEW! I cannot emphasize enough how relieved that makes me feel...
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yes very frustrating when students don't do the reading! I can relate...
It used to drive me crazy when students didn't do the reading. So now I have them write a one-page reflection paper for every single class. It forces them to do the reading.
Girl, I know what you mean! And it's just as frustrating with High Schoolers since (really) GOD KNOWS how much they'll actually retain. I don't even remember much of High School. It makes me think my life is in vain. Only sometimes. :) But here we are, hopeless idealists, right? That's what keeps me going. That, and divine aid....
I like, and have used a version of the reflection paper, but it obviously leads to a lot more grading.
Something I've been playing with, and that worked well for me just this week, was to give an oral quiz. Instead of our informal class discussion, I aimed questions at specific students, and only after that student was done responding could others raise their hands to demonstrate their knowledge of the reading. I took notes and gave marks as we talked. It was easy, and I think it gave me an accurate view of who had read and who hadn't.
Guess what? I'm an adjunct faculty filling in for a prof. who is on leave. She actually told them all they would get A's, if they did these four EASY assignments. She is the easiest grader I've ever known - set the bar very low for me. Students are now demanding their A's, because the prior prof. told them they didn't have to work in this class, because "they are under so much stress in their other classes". I actually heard her say some of this.
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