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What can a teacher control?

What factors can a teacher control in regards to the student?


  • Total voters
    23

Slartibartfast

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What educational factors does a teacher have the power to control?
 
Of those - all but motivation, effort, and expectations. Ultimately those belong to the student. You can lead a horse to water...

The rest, I'd argue that the teacher has significant input on.
 
All of them except ability and stress from home life are at least partially within the teacher's control. Some to greater degrees than others. And it really depends on the grade level too...elementary school teachers can have a greater impact on many of those variables than high school teachers can.
 
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All of them except ability and stress from home life are at least partially within the teacher's control. Some to greater degrees than others. And it really depends on the grade level too...elementary school teachers can have a greater impact on many of those variables than high school teachers can.

that was my experience. by the time they get to high school they are pretty much set. if they aren't motivated by then there is not much a teacher can do.

As a HS teacher about all you can really significantly impact is rule following and respect...if you are consistent. you can impact most of the others to a small degree
 
In high school, the more that teachers tried to show respect, compassion, and understanding to students, and the more they fostered creative thinking, the more I paid attention in their classes.

The more they acted like militant rule enforcers with strict models of learning and result expectations, the less I came to class.
 
I went with all except Ability, Effort, and Student/Parental Expectations.

With the caveat that most of the others (all except Curriculum/Lesson Plan, really) are not exactly direct control, but rather influence.

A teacher can have some degree of influence on the student in those areas, but cannot directly control such.

And in my mind, a good teacher will be able to exert more influence in areas such as Motivation and Respect/Rule Following, as opposed to a bad teacher.

Edit: Perhaps I should have chosen Effort and Student/Parental Expectations as well... A teacher might have some degree of influence on those areas as well.
 
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Of those - all but motivation, effort, and expectations. Ultimately those belong to the student. You can lead a horse to water...

The rest, I'd argue that the teacher has significant input on.

They can't be responsible for health and stress.
 
I just wanted to point out there is a difference between control, and influence.
 
I just wanted to point out there is a difference between control, and influence.

I think it's semantics, but I get what you're saying.
 
I just wanted to point out there is a difference between control, and influence.
I view influence as a form of control.

Subtle and hard to notice, perhaps, but still exerting some control over a situation.
 
I only WISH I could control curriculum. Oh, the portrait of History I could paint! :mrgreen:
 
A good teacher should be able to help their student(s) with all of the above.

Teachers of today are to concentrated on following the curriculum and rules of the schooling system, that they have forgotten what it is to be a teacher.
These are the people training our children to be able to live intelligent successful lives on their own.

So perhaps instead of jamming students with petty knowledge of things unimportant to them, we teach them the basics of learning and gaining knowledge, and use schooling to let them evolve on their own, with the guidance of teachers educated in the correct fields of learning and teaching. Not only the feeding of knowledge, but to teach a child how to start building up his own wisdom at a young age.

My personal opinion is that all teachers should attend a universal schooling system, that teaches them how to actually be successful teachers for the students of today, and tomorrow.
 
A good teacher should be able to help their student(s) with all of the above.

Teachers of today are to concentrated on following the curriculum and rules of the schooling system, that they have forgotten what it is to be a teacher.
These are the people training our children to be able to live intelligent successful lives on their own.

So perhaps instead of jamming students with petty knowledge of things unimportant to them, we teach them the basics of learning and gaining knowledge, and use schooling to let them evolve on their own, with the guidance of teachers educated in the correct fields of learning and teaching. Not only the feeding of knowledge, but to teach a child how to start building up his own wisdom at a young age.

My personal opinion is that all teachers should attend a universal schooling system, that teaches them how to actually be successful teachers for the students of today, and tomorrow.

Teachers don't have a choice, they must follow the rules and teach according to the curriculum...
but some progress is being made for those who have internet to learn more than is being taught. There is danger, tho. If you let a student learn only what he wants, he may end up with limited employment options...there must be SOME guidance.
I can honestly say that all but one of my teachers were successful in teaching me. A lot of the knowledge is now useless, but they did teach it to me.
 
In "The Curriculum", the first textbook published on the subject, in 1918, John Franklin Bobbitt said that curriculum, as an idea, has its roots in the Latin word for race-course, explaining the curriculum as the course of deeds and experiences through which children become the adults they should be, for success in adult society.

Undoubtedly their must be a great amount of guidance, but the curriculum is cluttered with distractions. The board of education members who are organizing these schools, could use a few fresh ideas, or perhaps find a way back to the roots of learning. (perhaps by studying some of the great teachers and philosophers of the past??)

Living a healthy, motivated, respectful, attentive life is just as important as the classic school subjects, but may have more to do with good parenting.

Many students today simply don't want to learn, find it aggravating or boring. The change that needs to come does not exactly involve what it is that we teach, but rather, how we teach it.

There is not a more important issue in America than that of the intelligence of our country, so why not make sure we have it working the best that we can.
 
I find it interesting that many people think a teacher controls the curriculum. This is becoming less and less true. As more states go to state wide curriculum the teachers have less control over what they teach. Increased focus on test scores has the same result. Teachers do make their own lesson plans but they are limited on the subject matter.

Really, I'm not sure there is anything on the list over which the teacher has sole control. There are several that a good teacher can influence. What many don't realize is that teachers are the low person on the totem pole. It also seems that the trend is for them to have less control but more responsibility, if that is possible. It's certainly not just treatment.
 
I find it interesting that many people think a teacher controls the curriculum. This is becoming less and less true. As more states go to state wide curriculum the teachers have less control over what they teach. Increased focus on test scores has the same result. Teachers do make their own lesson plans but they are limited on the subject matter.

Really, I'm not sure there is anything on the list over which the teacher has sole control. There are several that a good teacher can influence. What many don't realize is that teachers are the low person on the totem pole. It also seems that the trend is for them to have less control but more responsibility, if that is possible. It's certainly not just treatment.
Well, I was thinking of influence when I voted on the poll.

And I do think teachers have some (albeit varied from school to school, and more so [IMO] in the better ones) influence or control over the curriculum.
 
Unless you are a supreme being or something? The only person that has control over a lot of these things is oneself.
 
Unless you are a supreme being or something? The only person that has control over a lot of these things is oneself.

Are you sure you're very liberal?
 
Don't worry, I wouldn't group you any where near my vicinity :p
 
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