The ideal teacher Essay Example for Free

The ideal teacher Essay What characteristics should a teacher possess? What Makes a Good Teacher? Video – Effective Teacher †¢ An effective teacher can be seen in the following video: Introduction What does being a teacher mean? †¢ Having a vocation for the teaching profession. †¢ Being dedicated. †¢ Being surrounded by a large number of diverse students, each with their own baggage and unique character. Knowledge 1st Characteristic of an effective teacher †¢ Should be transmitted in a unique and fun manner. †¢ One should move from the known to the unknown. †¢ It is not how much one knows, but how much one can deliver. Knowledge Observation 1 †¢ At a particular Boys’ Area Secondary School, it was noticed that the boys had a low IQ. †¢ A highly motivated Maltese teacher used a practical example to help them learn. †¢ He compared the Maltese language to a cocktail. – The different drinks symbolized Italian, Arabic and English. †¢ As a result the children remembered the example more. Adaptation 2nd Characteristic of an effective teacher †¢ One should get to know one’s students to cater for them accordingly. †¢ Scaffolding activities accordingly, ensures maximum learning. â€Å"The wise adapt themselves to circumstances, as water  moulds itself to the pitcher† – Chinese Proverb Environment 3rd Characteristic of an effective teacher †¢ Creates a non-threatening and welcoming environment. Environment – Observation 1 †¢ A Maths lesson in a Boys’ Area Secondary School – The teacher greeted the students by the words ‘hurry up because you are wasting precious time’. – The students were not very friendly towards her and imitated her. – Whilst going out for recreation these students were heard echoing the teacher’s words to their peers who dawdled on their way out. Theory of Observational Learning †¢ The students’ picked up the  teacher’s habit and used it to their advantage. †¢ This can be applied to Albert Bandura’s theory of observational learning. Theory of Observational Learning †¢ Bandura established 4 steps – Attention – characteristics instilled within a person that will affect the way in which he is influenced. – Retention – the ability to remember what one sees and transforms it into visualizations or verbal expressions. – Reproduction – the ability to transform what one has retained into definite behaviour. – Motivation – one has to be given a reason or incentive to reproduce what he has observed and retained. Organisation Good Organisation 4th Characteristic of being an effective teacher †¢ Having good organisational skills. †¢ In order to keep the students focused, the explanation should be sequential to avoid confusion. †¢ The teacher should always follow a lesson plan. Bloom’s Taxonomy for Learning Domain †¢ The last two domains – Synthesis – Evaluation focus on the importance of having a lesson plan as a guidance for the lesson. Importance of a Lesson Plan †¢ A lesson plan is important – to make the lesson sequential. – to ensure the objectives devised were reached. – to assess whether students understood  or not. Conducting a Lesson †¢ The teacher starts off the lesson by correcting the home work, – the students participate and say their answers. †¢ Introduces the topic that will be tackled. †¢ The teacher may write down some notes on the whiteboard. †¢ Class work is given so as to make sure that the students understood the topic. Organisation – Observation 1 †¢ A particular maths teacher at a girl’s school, applied very good organisational skills in her lesson. †¢ She stated the aims of the lesson at the beginning of the lesson in a very clear way. †¢ She managed to do all the things she had  planned. †¢ On repeated observations, it was noted that she always had a well-planned lesson. †¢ Students were always motivated to learn. Organisation – Observation 2 †¢ Another class that was observed in the same school was a Maltese literacy class. – It aids students who find it difficult when it comes to reading and writing. †¢ She involved the students by asking them to continue reading from where she stopped and corrected them wherever they made a mistake. †¢ At the end, she gave them some pages to read at home. Classroom Layout 1 †¢ In the previous incidents mentioned, the desks were  neatly placed and organised in twos. – Students can help each other with any difficulties they might have. †¢ The teacher’s desk was facing the student’s desks. †¢ On some occasions, the teacher may still need to separate desks to avoid misbehaviour and interruptions before starting the lesson. Classroom Environment †¢ When students are already inside the classroom, the teacher should make his / her presence felt. †¢ On the contrary, when students change class, the teacher can alter the classroom layout to suit his/her approach to teaching. Disorganisation †¢ When the teacher is disorganized he/she will  not be able to deliver a well-balanced lesson. – This was noticed in an observation where the class only managed to read a small paragraph from a textbook throughout two whole double lessons. – The rest was random, out of point discussions. †¢ There was poor classroom management together with a lack of discipline. Observation Disorganisation †¢ During a Home-Economics practical session a disorganised teacher was observed. †¢ The teacher did not guide and assess the students. †¢ They ended up asking each other what to do next and did not learn any skills. Discipline Behaviourism †¢ Constant motivation is  compared to behaviourism – researched by B. F. Skinner. †¢ He called his research ‘The Operant Conditioning Theory’. †¢ Theory states that a particular behaviour can be increased by positive / negative reinforcements (praise / punishments). Bad Discipline Observation Ineffective Teacher †¢ Observation A particular teacher, instead of correcting the students in a gentle manner and explaining what was wrong, the teacher sent the students out of class together with their desk and chair. †¢ It was observed that most of the teachers reprimanded the students whenever they got something wrong. †¢ Students are demoralized and in consequence show no interest in learning. Albert Bandura †¢ Throughout our observations, one thing was particularly noticed. †¢ When a teacher scolds students, their actions turn out to be counterproductive as that same action is repeated by the students. †¢ This is backed up by the Social Cognitive Theory researched by Albert Bandura. †¢ The Bobo-Doll experiment – Children imitated what was seen both verbally and physically. Influential Teachers †¢ A teacher’s behaviour contributes to classroom management . Henry Adams once stated: â€Å"A teacher affects eternity; one can never tell  were the influence stops. † Good Discipline Observation – Effective Teacher 5th characteristic of being an effective teacher †¢ Keeps the same discipline methods with all students regardless of their gender, race, ability or religion. †¢ Positive reinforcement: praises students and corrects their mistakes. †¢ Greets the students. †¢ Prepares the things needed for the lesson beforehand and waits for the students to settle down. †¢ Goes around the students to check whether everyone is paying attention. †¢ Removes distracting materials such as any irrelevant writing on the board will be rubbed off. Communication of Ideas 6th Characteristic of being an effective teacher †¢ Ability to communicate ideas effectively. †¢ This is done through the use of a variety of resources. †¢ This is explained in Benjamin Bloom’s book – Taxonomy of Learning Domains. Resources Motivation †¢ A teacher should always motivate students in a fun way – that is what keeps them going; Albert Einstein once said: â€Å"It is the supreme art of a teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge. † Observation †¢ During a science lesson, one of us observed one such characteristic, †¢ The science teacher used a variety of interesting  resources such as: – – – – PowerPoint presentations Worksheets Information handouts Textbooks †¢ These resources enabled students to be enthusiastic and motivated. Importance of Resources Something commonly observed: †¢ Very few teachers made use of resources, †¢ Most of them used the traditional resources; white board and textbooks, †¢ Students ended up bored and disinterested throughout the lesson. Edgar Dale †¢ In the 1960’s he put forward the theory: †¢ Students retain more information by what they â€Å"do† as opposed to what they â€Å"hear†, â€Å"see† or â€Å"observe†. †¢ He devised the ‘Cone of Experience. ’ †¢ â€Å"Learning by doing† is nowadays known as â€Å"experiential learning†. Cone of Experience Ineffective Resource 1 Textbooks †¢ By time, textbooks become outdated. This means that more money has to be forked out by the school and parents to update them. †¢ Textbooks should be used as a reference for studying, revising or even further notes. Ineffective Resource 2 Whiteboard †¢ Teachers still rely on such a sole type of pedagogy application, †¢ Disadvantage: The teacher may not write clear and big enough for the students to read, †¢ There can be cases of impairment; eyesight problems. Positive Environment  7th Characteristic of being an effective teacher †¢ The ability to create a positive classroom environment. †¢ A positive classroom environment is boosted further by using: – the appropriate type of humour – at the appropriate time. Humour †¢ Teachers should foster the praxis of using humour as it is an effective technique. – This removes any tension in the relationship between the teacher and the student. – This leads to a better performance in the students’ academic life. Negative Attitude †¢ Students will learn less if the teacher uses a negative attitude towards them. †¢ This includes factors such as  sarcasm. Sarcasm †¢ Sometimes teachers confuse good humor with sarcasm. – The use of sarcasm may harm the teacherstudent relationship since what some think as funny others may find to be offensive. – Sarcasm is humiliating for students. What makes a bad teacher? Video – Ineffective Teacher †¢ An ineffective teacher can be seen in the following video: Conclusion †¢ A teacher should be a life-long learner which is committed to the teaching profession striving to reach and teach’ students. Plato claimed that â€Å" The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future life†.

1984 And Brave New World Essay -- essays research papers

Brave New World and 1984  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As I read Brave New World and 1984, I noticed how some of Aldous Huxley and George Orwell’s prophecies are becoming true. As science and technology progresses, we have the opportunity to alter few aspects of our lives, even though our freedom and privacy may be in jeopardy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Brave New World, science allows babies to be artificially produced in a laboratory. Nowadays, parents who cannot conceive children are also able to artificially produce their children with the help of science and the genes of both parents. As science advances, the parents may even be able to reform the genes of their baby in order to have that perfect child. In addition, through the Bokanovsky’s Process, ninety-six identical twins can be produced with one bokansovskified egg. Recently, cloning has allowed us to produce identical mammals. If cloning is possible, it will not be surprising when we produce ninety-six identical twins with one egg, like in Brave New World, in the future.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The â€Å"Brave New Worlders† take soma whenever they feel troublesome, depressed or angry. The soma makes them feel pleasant and comfortable. Nowadays when one is having a bad day or does not feel good, he may result to something much like soma such as alcohol or drugs to produce that same pleasant feeling.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The government of the World Stat...

Chiaroscuro in The Scarlet Letter and “The Fall of the House of Usher” Essay

Mother, said little Pearl, the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom. In Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne has committed the sin of adultery and wears a scarlet A on her chest to condemn her. Hawthorne develops the personalities of Hester Prynne, Pearl, and Arthur Dimmesdale by using the function of light and dark images in his writing. In Edgar Allan Poes The Fall of The House of Usher, the House of Usher is presented in the eyes of the narrator as a dark, foreboding house, and in an effort to reason in order to see things in a brighter light, looks into a mirror, but looking back at him are the eye-like windows of that dark and gloomy house. Poe uses chiaroscuro to express light images of the subject and then turn them into dark parallels. Throughout The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses the literary device of Chiaroscuro to represent the development of his characters while similarly Poe uses the technique in The Fall of the House of Usher to develop his gloomy themes and somber settings. Hawthorne uses chiaroscuro to show Hester Prynne as a woman whose sin has overtaken her, and made her impure. One example of this is: The mothersmedium through which were transmitted to the unborn infant the rays of its moral life; and however white and clear originally, they had taken the deep stains of crimson and gold, the fiery luster, the black shadow, and the untempered light, of the intervening substance. This quote shows that Hesters sin was so powerful, that it had absorbed into Pearl even before she was born. Another quote that shows the depth of Hesters sin is: The light lingered about the lonely child, as if glad of such a playmate, until her mother had drawn most nigh enough to step into the magic circle toothe sunshine vanished. The quote shows that even the sunshine discriminates and knows Hesters impurity. Hawthorne brings out Hesters strength by having to deal with the shame and weight of her sin. Hawthorne illustrates Pearl as gorgeous and radiant using chiaroscuro. Pearls own proper beauty, shining through the gorgeous robes which might have extinguished a paler loveliness, that there was an absolute circle of radiance around her, on the darksome cottage-floor. This suggests that Pearls radiance was so great that it lit up the things around her. Another  example of her beauty shown through chiaroscuro is: Pearl stood, looking so stedfastly at them through the dim medium of the forest-gloom, herself, meanwhile, all glorified with a ray of sunshine. This portrays that even though the forest and people around her appear gloomy, she remains luminescent. In addition, The light lingered about the lonely child, as if glad of such a playmate, until her mother had drawn most nigh enough to step into the magic circle toothe sunshine vanished. The sunshine discriminates against Pearls mother and others because they are impure and not worthy of its light. Minister Dimmesdale is portrayed as a feeble man through Hawthornes use of chiaroscuro. Both Arthur and Hester must carry their guilt, and never get over the weight of the sin; however, The Minister is not as strong of a person as Hester and physically emaciates. The shadow of Dimmesdales figure which the sunlight cast upon the floor, was tremulous with the vehemence of his appeal. With that, Hawthorne shows that the sin is so merciless that it literally destroys him. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne shows Arthurs health declining, as his guilt steadily increases. Poes The Fall of The House of Usher begins on one â€Å"†¦dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year†¦.† From the very beginning, the reader, as a result of Poe’s imagery, is aware of a sense of death and decay. Even the narrator describes â€Å"a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded his spirit† as he approached the House of Usher. The term â€Å"House of Usher† refers not only to the crumbling mansion but also to the remaining family members who live within. The narrator begins his description of the room with images of glowing light and Feeble gleams of encrimsoned light made their way through the trellised panes, and served to render sufficiently distinct the more prominent objects around; the eye. Then this light vanishes and darkness appears when the light struggled in vain to reach the remoter angles of the chamber, or the recesses of the vaulted and fretted ceiling. Dark draperies hung upon the walls. Clearly here is a transition present from light to dark. The narrator reasons that if he could look at things differently or in a brighter light, he might be able to change it, but when he looks into the lake he sees, with even more fear before, a mirror image of the house in all its darkness. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne effectively uses contrasts light and dark images to develop the personalities of Hester, Pearl, and Dimmesdale. Hawthorne uses chiaroscuro to show the depth of Hesters guilt and strength of bearing her sin and Arthurs secret. Pearl is characterized as radiant through Hawthornes vibrant descriptions of her beauty. He uses the sun to depict the purity of Pearl. Hawthorne uses shadows to depict how Arthur is a meager man compared to Hester, also bearing the sin. Hawthorne portrays Arthur deteriorating from his guilt, while Hester pushes herself to live on and try to overcome it, still always bearing its weight and pain. Poe uses images of light turning into dark to present his gloomy settings and themes. The House of Usher as first being described in light converts to dark images. Chiaroscuro is effectively used by Hawthorne to develop the personalities of his characters and by Poe to clearly present his dark settings and themes.

`` Disgrace Byj.m Coetzee `` Sexuality And Gender Essay

Sexuality and Gender People around the world tend to say that this is a man’s world, and in the novel Disgrace by J.M Coetzee, the author demonstrates how men are more â€Å"powerful† than woman through the way the characters use women for sex and the experience each women in the novel goes through. The three main female characters that demonstrate the different experience of women and sex are; Melanie, Lucy, and Bev. Melanie is a young, ex-student of Professor Lurie, who is beautiful enough to seduce a men but also vulnerable enough to be taken advantage by them. On the other hand, Lucy is neither old nor young; she does not care about her image and is a country woman, which makes her characteristics be less sophisticated. Lucy is an important character for sexuality, since she is a lesbian, giving her somewhat male characteristics also. Bev is an older, more experienced woman, with country characteristics as well. Each woman has different characteristics but all thre e of them contribute to the terms of sexuality and gender differences. The novel is opened through a sex scene, showing how Lurie, the anti-hero of the novel, is using Soraya, a prostitute, to fulfill his needs and complete his Thursday sex routine. After he is done with his affair with Soraya, he moves on to Melanie; a 22 year old women who is not only thirty years younger than him, but also his student. Melanie is an awkward character. She says she does not want professor Lurie but yet takes all the sex