short response

to definer's (make that thesaurus's) old, old post about self-reflection in griping teachers.

i agree that every teacher worth his/her salt will constantly reflect on his/her methods in and out of the classroom and on the impact he/she has on students, and he/she will revise those methods to reach the most students in the ways that work for various groups of learners. it's true that if most students in a particular section are consistently failing despite trying hard, it is time to reassess the expectations and practices of and in the class.

i disagree wholly, however, with the notion that all the failures of students should be internalized by instructors. it is that mentality, i think, that has led to the grade inflation and unprepared students we see today. students are young adults who should be expected to reach a certain level of performance, whatever their backgrounds or motivations, and we as teachers should not give too many A's for effort. we should provide all students with the chance to learn, try to encourage and foster a curiosity in them that facilitates life-long learning, have the skills and insight to see that something might not be working and the malleability to make changes, and worry when more than the usual number of students don't do well. but we shouldn't make it all our own fault. it's alright to acknowledge that some students (some people! for godssake -- some managers, investors, musicians, etc.) want to take shortcuts, want to go out instead of reading, want to watch tv, or want to put in their time for four years. if we can't reach those kids and if they don't excel in our classes, it's not our fault. it's theirs. and i think we tragically short-change students when we take that responsibility away from them rather than taking the opportunity to teach them about the consequences of their choices.

the operative phrase in the first paragraph is "despite trying hard." when our students see us for help, turn in homework, read assignments, and generally are active in their educations, most succeed, at least to their own degrees. those who choose not to succeed usually do not. those choices are theirs to make.

the choices that are mine to make i do make. i have revised a syllabus that worked beautifully one semester halfway through another because it did not work with the next group of students. i have created alternative assignments for students who needed to learn differently from their peers in class. i have thrown out assignments when nearly none of my students completed them properly, assuming (probably correctly) that my instructions were unclear, and am always happy to listen to the complaints, concerns, and advice of students in my classes. before semester-end evaluations, i always ask students to consider beforehand what worked and what didn't in class so that i have a chance to reflect on the semester from their perspectives rather than having only the scantron likert scale responses to decipher. it's not a lack of introspection you see here, definer. it is a lack of willingness to take responsibility away from the people it rightfully belongs to.