Thursday, August 19, 2010
Pushing Our Students
When is it good to push the students? How do I know the difference between pushing upward, that is, toward excellence they are capable of, or pushing them down by applying negative pressure? I think the difference depends on a few things. First, do I know each student well enough to know what they are capable of and therefore what I can push for that brings out the best in them? Or am I exerting force to get them to perform to my standards regardless of their interests and abilities? Secondly, do I care about my students enough to want them to do what they can do best, or do I care about the curriculum and my program, time commitments, results, etc? Thirdly, am I assertive enough to keep them accountable to their own competencies, or am I content to make them do what I want, using my authority to demand a performance that suits my needs?
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Every student in your classroom is different but so is every circumstance and each calls for a particular teacher response. If a teacher is asking the questions you are about when to push or not to push a student it shows that they are probably not only thinking critically but acting carefully and considerately. Sometimes in life we act like robots on autopilot, only doing and not thinking, instead of making decisions and acting in the present moment to the situation that demands our attention. Staying a present, attentive and active member of your classroom community, I think, allows teachers to make the right choice when it comes to pushing students. There is also a need for the word balance here. Let us be realistic. Teachers are (for the most part) caring individuals who love learning, watching students succeed and overcome personal and academic challenges but, teaching is a job too so—Yes, the full curriculum has to be taught. If you are in a crunch to get through material for any number of plausible reasons, is it not best to teach in a way that caters to your strengths and not necessarily your students? Using your authority may be appropriate here but again, the answers to your questions change depending on the specific situation. Still, teachers should always hold students accountable to their own competencies.
ReplyDeleteRob, I think you mentioned many questions that are being asked by many teachers. I think with my experience that pushing students to their full potential is part of our requirements as teachers. Students need to feel the pressure sometimes so they can feel the rewards of hard work. Getting to know your students is the first place to understanding what they are capable of. When you take the time to get to know them they will take more chances with you. You may be the first teacher or caring adult to take the extra time to know them. And it is the extra's that you do with them that will stay in their hearts. I will always remember the teachers that took the time with me. It is because of those who pushed me that helped me be who I am and where I am.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post, Rob. I think as teachers, although we have the authority to do so, we should push our students only if we know them well enough to know how and when they should be pushed. I do believe that it is important to keep students accountable for their own competencies, but as Caroline previously mentioned, each student is unique and have different learning styles and interests. I think it depends on how you "push" them and when and of course why you should push. Is it for personal reasons that only benefit you as a teacher or for the benefit of your students to make sure they are learning and really "getting it!"
ReplyDeleteIf you have to exert force to get them to perform to your standards regardless of their interests and abilities, I don't see the point or relevance of forcing them when the learning will not be meaningful or engaging. They will bascially be forced to just learn/memorize what is required of them for the sake of a mark.
I think one distinction that can be made with this question is that it can be rephrased as pulling our students instead of pushing them. It may just be words and semantics but pulling seems to have a more positive connotation than pushing. I suppose that the same negative pressure can still be applied when pulling a student along, but as a word, it feels closer and more involved personally to the student.
ReplyDeleteHello Rob,
ReplyDeleteI don’t know why by even looking at the topic “pushing our students” a negative feeling came to me. “Pushing” by itself has a negative meaning to me. It means someone doesn’t want to do a specific thing and we “push” him to do it. Why there is “push”? I believe that first of all we should ask ourselves why we need to push students to do something. Probably, there is not enough motivation for doing it. Likely, they don’t have any interests or needs for doing that. So instead of pushing them to do it isn’t it better to make their motivation stronger or even try to create their motivations. If we do think about students’ interests preferably there is no more pushing on them because they are willing to do it. By the way I think there is no upward pushing or … at least I call it “encouraging”.
Somehow I believe usually pushing comes from school curriculum which should be done by end of school year. Therefore teachers not only have to put students under the pressure to do assignments or homework, but also they will be under the pressure too for finishing their job.
Hi Rob,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog The questions you have raised really hit home for me. I struggle with the idea of pushing as well. I often wonder, what is “pushing” me to teach? I try to relate this struggle with that of a student being “pushed”. For example, some of the following questions should be posed. “ Am I pushing myself because I want to be there with the students or is it just a job to me ? Do I have to be pushed by my superiors ( ie principal) to get things done or am I enjoying preparing my lessons that challenge and engage my students ?”. The fact is that, on some level or another, we all push ourselves to make things happen in our lives. We cannot just sit back and think that good things will come our way. There is no need to feel that “push” is a negative connotation as it keeps individuals going as they strive to reach their goals.
I truly believe that until teachers “know” themselves, they cannot be effective in reaching out to students and guiding them in setting and achieving their goals. It takes humility and honesty to see the light of truth about ourselves and learn from our mistakes. If we can teach this to our students, then there would be no need for pushing on our end, for they too will see the light and naturally push themselves as the reward of achieving a goal is much more satisfying.
And on a final note….I think you are right...it is about motivating the students and engaging them. Having the students take more ownership of their assignments ( even contributing to the requirements of the assignments) will enhance their learning and hopefully the notion of being forced to do the assignment will be eliminated. Covering the curriculum is not an easy job, but using it as reason for pushing students is not necessarily true. Once again, it is up to the teacher to question their actions and if they are feeling overwhelmed to seek help from fellow colleagues. Being open to using different methods is key as well.
We should definitely change “pushing” to encouraging and leave the pushing for the students to do themselves. ☺
Hi Rob,
ReplyDeleteI think teachers are somewhat obligated to push our students to succeed. I think what needs to be considered is the manner in which a student is being pushed. The most important aspect of pushing or as I like to refer to it, “challenging a student”, is to ensure that we understand the student and that we challenging within their level of competency. This can only be done if teachers are fully aware of the student’s capabilities and limitations. Teachers need to ensure that the tasks that are put before students are within their grasp, students need to know that success is indeed possible. Teachers cannot ask of students more than they are capable of, doing so, will only lead to students not completing what is asked of them, since unachievable tasks will be perceived in their minds as inevitable failure regardless if they complete the task or not.
Teachers need to ensure that students realize that success is within the student’s reach. In order to do this, teachers need to truly understand what their students’ are capable of in order to ensure that success is actually attainable for students. Therefore with regards to your first point, teachers need to perform a balancing act, where they work with students to get them to the acceptable standards while appealing to the students’ interest and abilities. Teachers need to become creative on how to bring the two together, ensuring that they engage the students’ in their interests and yet meet the acceptable standards that are required of them.
With regard to the second comment, Teachers need to put their students at the forefront of all other things. In doing so, teachers can ensure better results from their students. Yes curriculum, results, time commitments are all important factors but teachers need to show students that they care enough about them and that they believe in them and their ability to succeed. For some students this might be the first time that they enter into a caring relationship, while for others this might be the first time that someone has actually taken an interest in them other than their mom or dad. Students that see that a teacher actually cares about them, will have a stronger tendency to do well since they failing now goes beyond a grade and has to do more so with the relationship that is established between the student and teacher.
In response to your third point, if teachers can build the relationship with their students that I mentioned above, there will exist less of a need for a teacher to exert their authority in order for students to get things done. Again the relationship will force students to appreciate what the teacher is doing for them and will not want to let the teacher down.
I wouldn’t mind revisiting this post in a year or so, after I’ve had the luxury of actually being fully engaged in classrooms as a teacher and see if my perspective has changed.
George Pimentel
I think that this topic and the questions that go along with it is probably one debated and pondered over by many teachers. Although I'm not fully engaged in the classroom yet, I can see this as being one of my challenges as well. Theoretically speaking (since that's pretty much all I'm able to offer) I believe that it's all about following a little saying that goes, "It's not what you say, it's how you say it." I think your attitude towards the student makes a world of difference. Students can't always tell when a teacher is being sincere or when they're being facetious in their encouragement, so it needs to be made clear. I think the best way to avoid pushing a student into negative pressure is by simply avoiding a conversation with a student about their performance when you are feeling negative feelings towards that person. As for some of the other concerns, like the issue of knowing a student enough before pushing them, well i personally don't really think this is a concern. Various, personal relationships will always exist in the classroom between the teacher and each student. I think that being natural in interacting with the student or students of concern will always work best -- be more vague with those you aren't so familiar with and be more specific with those whom you feel closer to. I truly believe that as long as you're honest with your students and their progress, you will receive positive results.
ReplyDeleteI hope this was not too vague or oversimplified, and that I was able to provide at least a bit of insight on the topic!
Kim MacKinnon