Teaching seems harder and harder everyday. I paste the score paper on the wall so that students can see where they are now, wishing that they would want to improve their performance for the grade, but that doesn’t work with every student.

One of the cardinal rules of teaching is that students will not believe in you until you first believe in them and what you’re teaching them.

As discouraging as some students’ attitudes are, nothing should counteract the fact that as educators, we have an opportunity to take a closed mind and replace it with an open one. In essence, that’s our number one priority…to get students to think.
Our professions give us a great prospect to get students to open their minds and challenge themselves beyond their limits. You’re not only teaching them basic skills, you’re teaching them life skills – skills that will impact them well beyond the classroom. Unluckily, if you don’t believe this is true, neither will your students.

To get yourself in the right way of thinking for teaching, soar through the class objectives. Then ask yourself, “How could a student benefit from this material, now and in the future?” Obviously, if you can’t think of a student benefit, then maybe you shouldn’t be teaching the subject. If your faith in the subject matter isn’t strong, then you will have no passion in the classroom. And we’ve all heard the saying, “When it comes to children, you can’t kid a kid.” Students can detect an insincere teacher faster than a fake I.D.

However, if you truly believe that the information and in order taught in your class will prove to be beneficial to your students, then take your confidence and passion and put it into class discussions, activities, and assignments.

By: Lesly B. Clavel | Teacher III | Orion Elementary School | Orion, Bataan