Letter to a new teacher

Your students looked a bit lost? I had students complain about me to my supervisor because my lesson had been so confusing that they had checked out after 5 minutes. They haven't done that in a while, so I guess, things can get better! Teaching can be hard on the ego; lord knows, it was hard on mine, especially during the first years. Got a lot of mixed feedback from the beginning, definitely cried about it on one occasion or two. But the truth is, finding a style that works for you is just a lot of trial and error, and you get quite a bit of a margin of error in most institutions. The stakes are not actually that high. Take a moment and consider, seriously, what is the worst that could happen?

So I've explained something badly, I've lost the class? Just means I'll have to explain it again. Maybe not the most efficient use of lecture time, but I'm sure some students would need a repetition anyway. If it's a key point, it's never enough to explain it just once. If it's just a footnote, I make a note not to put it on the exam and move on.

Honestly, the mere fact that you're paying attention to whether you've lost your audience already puts you heads and shoulders above some instructors I could think of from my personal experience. Explaining something in a confusing manner is an easy mistake to make, but it's also an easy mistake to correct. The students are bored? Well, some are going to be bored no matter what I do. The subject either holds some intrinsic interest for the student, or it doesn't, and if it doesn't, any bells and whistle I could use to get at least some momentary attention will only take a student so far anyway. It's true that a bad teacher can kill even the most motivated student's interest in a subject, but for that it usually takes somewhat more than just being dull. Also, ultimately every learner has to find their own way to the matter; to truly grasp something, you need to feel a personal resonance. I can tell you why something is interesting to me - I can't tell students why it should be interesting to them, because I don't know all their lifes and all their plans, and even if I did, I can't make that personal connection for them. If they're only here to get a certificate, binge all the knowledge the night before the test, to vomit it up on cue with the full intention to shed it all like so much ballast once they've handed in their exam, I'm not going to stop them, I actually think they should have that choice. (I've always side-eyed the sort of teacher who goes into it with the aspiration "to shape young minds"; I think the young minds should always be free to reject getting shaped. I've certainly had my share of students who clearly walked out of my lessons with perfectly pristine minds, and they should be free to do so - but of course they were clearly extremly bored!). You know which student is certainly not going to be bored? The student who's always on their toes, because they feel their instructor might call on them any minute and tear them apart in front of the whole class. They're not going to actually learn anything either, because the fear takes up too much mental capacity to process new information properly, but they are probably not going to vote that class "best class to nap through" in the yearbook (not gonna lie, I was pretty insulted about that one for a week at least). Obviously I'm not saying you'll either have to bore or terrodrize your students. Obviously good teachers manage to to do neither. But it can be a tricky balance to strike (some students are quite sensitive and feel easily over-taxed, others will feel easily understimulated if you don't challenge them once in a while, it's not always immediately obvious who's which type), and what I'm saying is, there's definitely a worse side to err on, in my humble opinion. You clearly want to see yourself as someone who holds themselves to certain standards. You might be surprised, but so do I. I actually think it's hugely important that teachers do. But these standards can't just be external standards alone - external standards are moving targets, in some ways you always could be doing more, there are some students who will always need more than you're capable of - your standards have to be internal ones, they have to reflect what's most important to you, and they have to be workable for you. My standards for example: Don't make students cry. I made a student cry once and it was the worst, it made every subsequent failure pale in comparision. Don't stand by while a student hurts (insults, mocks, undermines) another. Don't punish students for your own mistakes, always admit when you're wrong. Don't play favourites. These to me are the four mortal sins of teaching, the things that can really cause lasting damage. Dull and confusing is not optimal, but it happens, and the students will survive. These are the things that I need my students to trust me with: That I know my stuff That I give a shit That I don't take things too personally. Maybe they'll sometimes find me dull and confusing, but my experience is, if they trust me with these three things, I can work with them well enough.

**Mastering the Craft: Comprehensive Exploration of Teaching Skills**

**Introduction: **

   - The crucial role of educators in shaping the future.

   - The dynamic nature of teaching and the need for a diverse skill set.

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Teaching skills took a decline during the pandemic, according to a report by an education think tank from Arizona State University. The 2022-2023 school year was considered the first ‘normal’ year since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, restoring a few priorities that had been allowed to fall by the wayside. Including teacher evaluations. Observing teachers’ instruction and students’ learning…

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Rhys’s recent interviews are killing me(x)

Stede totally powered through with the earnest whimsy and I’m sure that’s what Ed loved most 🥺

Damian: What is it that you want Grayson? I am in the middle of sharpening my many blades.

Dick: I assure you this is much more important! I’m about to teach you a new technique.

Damian: My interest is piqued. Continue.

Dick: I know you want to deny it Dami, but you my friend are an adorable little guy.

Damian: [raises knife]

Dick: Before you throw anything hear me out! You can use it to your advantage! I’ve been doing it for years and it still works on Bruce sometimes even though I’m like 20 something. I can teach you my ways! You can be my successor!

Damian: … fine I will try this only once to humor you Grayson.

Later in the day

Damian: Are you sure about this? Father may think my mind has been taken over.

Dick, sending Damian into the room: it will work I promise! go make me proud!

Damian: Baba? I was wondering if you wanted to go sword shopping with me? It could be fun.

Bruce: …are you feeling alright?

Damian: I’m fine, I just thought that I should drop the formalities for once.

Bruce: …o-okay let’s go, is there any sword you want in particular?

Damian: yes actually, and can we get hot chocolate after?

Bruce holding back tears: mhm.

look I stand by my Say Yes To Things policy.

But.

My old highschool buddy, Mouse the Drag Linebacker (now a demolition derby driver) is trying to convince me that I can and should paint pinstripes on his car. Not his demo car, which I would paint happily and poorly, but his project car, his Duster, his baby.

Look. I will do it if he really really wants me to, but I am trying to explain that this requires an extremely specific skillset that I do not have. I will do my best if he wants me to take a swing at it but I will also, absolutely, fuck it up.

Sir. Make wiser choices.

silly leverage headcanon of the day: eliot taught parker how to french braid her hair. it’s the kind of skill that you miss out on when you don’t have anyone to teach you and no one you trust to touch you, and it’s also the kind of skill eliot happens to have in his wheelhouse, definitely because he’s "dated a lot of hairstylists" and totally not because two french braids keep the hair out of his eyes really well

Thinking about gym teacher Harry. I bet he was a fun teacher. I bet it was really easy to goad him into ditching the lesson plan to have a race day instead, or to turn the school hall into a mass dodgeball game, the whole class vs him and he'd still manage to hold his own. I bet he'd get roped into running so many clubs, staying late every day of the week. Running and football and rugby and gymnastics and dance, insistent that he's great at all of them. Getting involved in the pastoral care side of things because he cares so much about his kids, even if they're only in his class an hour a week. Using his dialogue tree skills on his students to try and find everyone some kind of sport that they love, trying to make sure no one is left out. And as he starts to slow down, as his chronic pain starts to get worse, starting to understand more and more why some of the kids don't really participate. Still pushing himself to participate in everything because he loves his kids and he wants to do the best for them, still running and lifting and throwing himself into competitions but losing more and more often, getting more frustrated that his body just won't cooperate, having to sit out and watch the kids play from the sidelines instead of hurling himself into the middle of the match. Sitting with the kids who won't join in, talking about their interests instead, about art and literature and entroponetics and finding something to get them hyped about the world...

There is something about the way Mulder learns to accept and seek out emotional support and comfort throughout the course of the seasons. With all the casual physical contact that they have going on from the beginning, he seems ready to reach out, but doesn't seem to expect others to do the same. He feels deeply, but he keeps it to himself; something he seems to have learned from an early age. He's had to build his life around other people's pain since his sister disappered. He doesn't want to burden others with his needs.

Scully's "I wouldn't put myself on the line for anybody but you" in "Tooms" is met with a joke immediately to lighten the mood -- a flirty joke, but still. He doesn't think he deserves how much she cares about him. Caring is his job. It's everyone else's job to disregard and dismiss his feelings and not take him seriously.

Scully setting up their secret meeting in "Little Green Men" -- he seems almost a little confused that she really just wanted to see him. He doesn't react when the touches his hair before she leaves. He doesn't react when she briefly takes his hand at the end. I don't think those little gestures of comfort don't register with him. They do. He simply doesn't quite know how to respond to them. He doesn't hesitate to gently cup her cheek and offer comfort when she wants to come back to work after her father's death. But he would never expect her to do that for him.

In "Anasazi" when he says "Thank you for taking care of me," it seems like he has to think about that sentence for a long time. Not because he isn't grateful, but because he doesn't really understand why she did it. Nothing more embarrassing than thanking someone and hearing "Oh, I didn't do it for you." And he said some pretty rude things to her when he was drugged, accusing her of betraying him. Who knows how much of it he remembers, but apparently enough to feel mortified. He never wanted to hurt her, but he must have, and then, after all that, she saved him and risked so much for him?

The scene in "Detour" comes to mind, the night in the forest when she tries to pull his head into her lap so he can get some rest and so that she can keep him warm, and he jokes "I don't want to wrestle." She doesn't have to do this, he's fine. He's not being a manly man who doesn't need anything, it's just that she's offering something that's hard to accept for him. She offers him a place to let go and stop pushing on. And he doesn't think she needs to do that, he is not fatally injured or anything, he'll be fine. But she wants him to be comfortable. She sees him, and is there for him.

At his mother's hospital bed in "Herrenvolk," she reaches for him and he lets himself cry into her shoulder. It's not just an emotional scene because of what he's going through. It's that he's allowing himself to truly let himself go in front of her. She reaches for him and he gives in and leans his face against her shoulder, holds onto her, letting her hold him. Letting her hold him. That's the really crucial point. Who has ever done that for him before? Who has ever allowed him his pain and told him it's okay, I know you have to feel like this right now, I know you're hurting, and I will be your tether for as long as you have to lose yourself in this?

"Sein und Zeit" -- he clings to her so tightly, lets her be his lifeline in this moment, as he knows she wants to be that for him. Letting go like that is so, so scary. There is always the fear that it will change someone's opinion of you. Make them think you're weak. Let them know what gets to you, and then you will always always always have to deal with them looking at you trying to asses how okay you are in stressful situations. It leaves you wide open and vulnerable. Learning that she doesn't expect him to be strong, that she doesn't believe that things don't affect him, that's a new concept. It requires so much trust.

Being able to take an offered hand is really fucking difficult, especially when you've been conditioned to be the one doing the reaching out. Leaning on someone is terrifying. Some patterns are hard to unlearn. But her steady presence finally allows him to show weakness and trust her to catch him when he falls. It lets him understand that he's allowed to fall sometimes.

Just been pondering the thought of how Laila and Cat basically adopted Jean. They went into this thinking he’d be a bit weird but overall a functional person, and instead they are teaching a 19 year old how to do the laundry and all other normal life skills.

Critically important WW discussion

this is all snufmin related i am so sorry