1 "I didn't give you an 'F', you gave yourself that grade."
This is a quote many teachers have said to me. One specifically engraved it into my mind last semester when I took Diversity in Schools, Families, and Communities. There was a lot of work required for that class and we had different assignments where we had to put in time and effort to come up with lessons to teach our class. In the beginning of the semester the professor said this quote to us; if we did not try and do our best, we were only cheating ourselves and giving ourselves that grade of a 'D' or 'F'. I could not agree with him more; I know I will be saying this to my own class one day. When a student does not try and put in the effort to their work, they do not deserve a high grade like the ones who spend hours on end making everything almost perfect.
"The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary." - Vince Lombardi
2 Not everything always goes as planned.
Thinking about all my years in elementary school through high school, up to college today I've realized this is true. Before college there was always that possibility of sitting and class during a lesson and the fire alarm going off. It would interrupt the teacher, or the test/ quiz we were taking and push us just a little father back to where we may or may not need extra time the next class. Some teachers lesson plans also may not go the way they wanted them to. Maybe the copier machine was broke that day so he/she couldn't make the copies we needed for class. I have learned that this is okay though, not everything can be perfect and always go the way you plan them to. You have to make do of what you have and "roll with the punches," work with the material you have and the time that is given to your class.
3 "Can I go to the bathroom?"
I don't think I have ever met a student that has not had their teacher say this to them; "I don't know, can you go to the bathroom?" Reason being, us as students never wanted to hear it because all we wanted to do was get the answer "yes." Instead, since we were using the wrong grammatical terms, the teacher would correct us and we would have to re ask saying, "may I go to the bathroom?" and that is when we were allowed to go. Growing up around that engraved into our minds as students that when asking to use the facilities that is the correct way to ask and from that point on you would say "may I" instead of "can I" so you wouldn't get that question. I have learned that all a teacher is ever doing is their job, helping you grow and expanding your education just a little more because that is what they are there for; no harm done there!
4 Cursive forever.
Throughout elementary school we were always told that we would have to write in cursive forever for every paper written and project due. I personally have maybe written one or two papers in cursive and from there on out everything is now typed. Teachers today and professors never want handwritten work due to the fact that everyone has a different way of writing, some may be illegible. Also, we now type papers and reports so that we can email them and post them in locations where in one click the teacher can see your work done without any issues of not knowing what this or that says. It's crazy to see how technology has became a huge impact on so many lives and how much of a help it is when it comes to education; not losing students papers, getting things done faster because typing is in most cases faster than writing, having everything in a Google Doc or even in a small flash drive.
5 Every student has their own way of learning.
I can look around a classroom full of students and see not everyone doing the same thing. Some are on their phones, taking notes, sleeping, listening and not writing, or buried in their book trying to follow along with the teacher. I feel that everyone learns differently, whether its by one of the ways I just listed or another way. No one should ever be judged if they are just sitting there listening in class because maybe that's how they remember everything, or if someone is looking down all class that, maybe they need everything written down so later on they can study and go back to their notes for a homework assignment.
You have raised some interesting observations. I can relate to them all.
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