couzo's first blog

Of the three questioning techniques we discussed, I found cold calling to be the most effective. Calling on students that weren’t paying attention was particularly fun. I know Mrs. Monroe said that shaming a student was a bad idea, but I did get some sick satisfaction out of making a student feel embarrassed because he was sleeping or not paying attention. For a (very) short while after that, he paid attention. On the flip side, a student that was paying attention allowed me to praise that student and hopefully create a desire for that praise in the others.

I did find one problem with this method, however. And it is related to a larger issue in education: do you teach to the smartest kids and help them realize their full potential, or do you try hardest to bring the worst performing kids back on track? Personally, I would teach to the smartest students. If a student is interested in a subject and shows promise for greater understanding, isn’t our job as teachers to help that student along at all costs? What if the other students don’t care? But then somebody could counter that I’m showing favoritism amongst my students. Oh, what to do…what to do…