Do you think this would be a good thing for students to witness or would it have no real effect?

Let's say your 5th grade teacher is lousy at history, can never remember dates, knows very little about important events, etc....Would seeing them own up to it in the middle of a lesson, and then looking up the information, cause the students to be more at ease with what they perceive as their own shortcomings, or would it really have no effect on how they see themselves?

Or would it cause students to (unconsciously) see their teacher in a less favorable light? Do students need to "feel" as if their teachers can be trusted on what they say, and would acknowledging that there are areas in which they don't really know too much put a dent in that trust?

What do you think??...

First off,as a teacher you would know what you were gonna teach that day ahead of time and hopefully you are prepared so you don't come across looking as if you are talking out your ass.

Even if you were really bad at recalling dates etc.. you could have notes or index cards you used to keep yourself straight while you are doing the lesson.Or have your notes written out on overhead sheets or on the computer for use witha smart board.

But if you do make a mistake, as we all do, I see no shame in admitting it. We are all human. Kids know that already.

It's when you contantly make mistakes.... and the kids sense that you are unprepared or careless in your teaching do they lose respect.

And they loose respect because they know you don't want to be there, not because you goofed up.

I need more drugs.

Sweeny79 said:

Well, with a classroom of students you may never know what questions will be asked that you suddenly realize you don't know the answer to...would just admitting that you don't know and looking it up be a more beneficial experience to the students, or would it have a subconscious effect on how they see you if they're able to "stump" the teacher? I know it depends on how often they are able to do it, but I'm just talking in general. Should teachers approach their classroom as if they know "everything"?

Damn mods can edit their posts without it showing that they did...

Sweeny79 said:

Do you think the age of the classroom plays a part as well??...9th graders may react differently than 3rd graders??

Byron said:

I've never seen kids get upset because a teacher said " I'll get back to you on that" or stopped a lesson to look up something on the internet.

I think they appreciate the extra time spend on them... my partners and I use google or " how stuff works" all the time in class to find answers for the kids.

as for " stump the teacher" there is a young adult novel called Frindle that has a section about that... basicly the teacher in the story does what all teachers would do... throws it back on the kid and makes him and his classmates research all the silly questions he asked her.

Byron said:

The older the kid, the more games they play.

I think the kid in the story I mentioned above is a 7th grader.

But again, if you are a good teacher you know what you are going to teach and none of this is any real problem.

Sweeny79 said:

I don't mean the kids will get upset...just will it effect how they see either the teacher or themselves. Whether or not they voice it or act on it isn't really the question, just if you think it could/does effect them, either positively or negatively.

And I love that approach in the novel...lol ..."Good question, Suzy, why don't you tell us why the French Revolution took place.."...lol

Sweeny79 said:

I think you can be a good teacher yet find yourself preparing lesson plans on a subject you really know very little about. You kind of have to teach yourself the subject as best you can in a short amount of time before you give the lesson...and it's during those times when unforeseen questions rear their ugly heads...lol...This happened to my ex on several occasions, and she hated going into a lesson plan not comfortable in how knowledgeable she was on the topic. She felt like it was gonna be obvious to the students that she wasn't very knowledgeable, and it was her perspective that she should basically always give the appearance of having all the answers to the questions that her students might ask (with rare occasion), so that her kids felt a security and trust instilled within them with whatever she told them...as well as avoiding embarassment on her end..lol
[Edited 4/9/06 12:26pm]

Byron said:

I don't think it has any real effect. They like when we look stuff up on the internet. Two recent examples of this was we didn't know what a boweevil looked like so we googled it... the kids liked seeing the gross little thing... and we didn't know what made your knuckles crack...well I did I said it's gas in your joints but the kids weren't satisfied with that so we looked it up and got a detailed explaination of how the gas in your joints make that poping sound and the kids were happy with that too.

Byron said:

Well I guess I've never been in that position, the oldest grade I ever taught was 7th and I knew pretty much most of what I was teaching and didn't have to cram for it, but I see no fault in admitting you don't know everything.

Sweeny79 said:

I think you're right about the internet making this question possibly become irrelevant...the internet/google is a tool that kids love using far more than looking something up in a text book or encyclopedia, I'd imagine.

Sweeny79 said:

Yeah, history was her one area of "weakness" in her eyes...every other subject she was very knowledgeable on, but history, dates, the reasons behind the events??...She was usually asking me tons of questions all during the week before she had to teach certain lesson plans...lol

Byron said:

That's what I mean... she's a good teacher so she wasn't going in there unprepared. She probably had her little cheat sheets that kept her on track when teaching.

Seems that her problem wasn't her ability in the classroom it was her level of comfort there.

Sweeny79 said:

Exactly...which is why I wondered if it would have helped her if her viewpoint was that ultimately it would benefit the kids if they experienced her not being completely knowledgeable about something...but then again I wondered if that was even the case, and maybe in fact it would not be beneficial to the students...

I dont think it would make any difference if the teacher had to look something up in class, the kids dont expect them to know everything. I've had teachers do that and no eyebrows were raised.

Its different if the date or whatever was really famous, and everyone knew it...but then everyones allowed a mind blank. Also different if the teachers really airheaded and has to do it all the time!

susannah said:

Hmm..ok, that's true, if it's something the kids know because "everyone" should know it, it would have a different effect, I'd imagine.

One more thing before I go take a nap...

I might have a different point of view on this because I'm a Special Ed teacher not a General Ed teacher...but I think the most important thing you can show kids is that it's not always knowing everything that determines your success in this life but knowing how to find out what you need to know.

I've had teachers when I was small tell me “I don't know everything, but I know where to find all the answers" and I find myself saying that to my students now.

The best we can do is lead by example.

susannah said:

That's what I'm trying to say.

Sweeny79 said:

See, I completely agree with this... ...but then again, I can't remember one instance of any of my teachers having to look something up when I was a kid...lol...so I can't draw on experience. Hmm, maybe they did and it had so little effect on me that I don't even remember it happening??...

Byron said:

I say it's the latter....

Sweeny79 said:

Ditto!

Byron said:

I have always admitted my mistakes to my children and apologize when its' needed

how can i NOT show them how we are all imperfect and make mistakes

i think it would be a grand thing if teachers could admit mistakes and ask students to help them seek out info


my kids teach me so much each day and if neither of us know the facts we all go looking .... learning

Mach said:

Do you think there's any significant difference as to how kids see their teachers and how kids see their parents (at least in terms of knowledge)?

Mach said:

Unfortunately, many adults find it difficult to admit any shortcoming to any other person, be it another adult or an innocent child, who doesnt know any better.

Byron said:

that depends on age group alot

i think teens have gotten past the my mom knows everything in the way to ... my mom knows alot about some things and not so much about others and i think they see the same with their teachers too

there are also teens that think we are all stupid and that they know everything

as for significant difference ... i dont think so

susannah said:

true ... but what a wonderful world it would be if we could all admit we are not perfect all knowing beings and that we CAN learn as much from the children as we may have to offer them in lesson

susannah said:

Very true...