tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post8353570010970544463..comments2024-03-28T11:57:21.902-04:00Comments on CURMUDGUCATION: Dear Teachers: Don't Make Your Lesson RelevantPeter Greenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511193640285760299noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-37770417013862822142019-06-30T18:48:29.136-04:002019-06-30T18:48:29.136-04:00I don't think I've ever known a teacher wh...I don't think I've ever known a teacher who came out of college who did not try in some way to make poetry relevant to the typical skeptical student audience. Most student teachers tried to teach poetry by using popular songs. (I may even have tried it during my first years of teaching--if so, I've repressed the memory.) If I had a student teacher who wanted to try it, I always said go ahead. They all tried and all were disappointed in the student response, which was usually something like, "Don't mess with our stuff." But it was better for the student teachers to find that out in practice teaching. That saved later disappointment. If someone figured out how to do it, let me know.<br /><br />MikeMike Schwaegerlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16351093837995447072noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-8950216897584752662019-06-30T07:19:17.113-04:002019-06-30T07:19:17.113-04:00Student: "When are we ever going to use THIS&...Student: "When are we ever going to use THIS"<br />Teacher: "You'll probably be using your BRAIN every day."<br /><br />I always felt that making content knowledge interesting and powerful was more important than making it relevant. Drawing students into the discipline through expertise and passion was a far better approach than making those often long reaches for so-called relevancy. Trying to open new doors for kids is our job, not forcing ourselves through their door. <br /><br />Teachers have to be filters for knowledge, separating the interesting, meaningful, inspirational facts and ideas from the trivial and ordinary. Anyone can teach directly through a textbook, chapter by chapter, plowing through unfiltered material. The best teachers rarely use a textbook approach but instead distill those 700 pages of seemingly uniform information into the powerful ideas that shape a discipline.NY Teacherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08292448959963091160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-85864652414650597552019-06-29T18:09:55.734-04:002019-06-29T18:09:55.734-04:00I love it.I love it.Rebecca deCocahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13168718846105012814noreply@blogger.com