· Looking back at your teaching last semester, what did you discover about the needs of students in your classes? What kinds of “needs” surfaced that surprised you?
- To what degree do you think you really understand the needs of your students? How wide is the “gap” between them and you?
- What might have surfaced in the reading or in your teaching (about the realities of students’ needs) that triggered a negative response in you? Try to identify why this response was triggered and how it relates to your biases.
One of the biggest needs that students had that surprised me was the lack of material. Students never had paper, nor a pencil to write with. This was very surprising to me because it happened EVERY DAY.
Another need that students had that surprised me was the lack of not using their text book. In my class homework was assigned through the book but besides that, the book was rarely used. Students even had access to classroom text books so they can leave their own textbooks at home. Yet, students did not even know how to use their textbooks.
I try to make the "gap" between myself and the students as narrow as possible. I believe the most important thing in teaching a class is communication. If the communication level from teacher to student is very high, I believe the gap for student needs are very minimal. If students are able to talk to the teacher comfortably, then I believe students are able to say anything they want to or ask anything they want to.
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