Student 1: I pass. I don't know this brand.
Student 2: Oh, they are good.
Student 2: It is like a photocopy machine! Page by page, word by word…you just listen. It is for everyone but it’s normally for blind people… the librarian said “it's very rarely used”
Student 1: Amazing! I hate to read but I am like a sponge, I learn everything the teacher says…well when I pay attention
Teacher : I bought these cards in the dollar store and I want you to prepare cards and practice with them to memorize better. If you like to study in group, quiz each other.
Student 1: Now?
Teacher: Yes now.
Student 2: Wow, she bought the cards with her money!
Student 1: It is cheap!
Student 2: And so? When have you had a teacher who buys stuff for you?
Student: I don’t like when the teacher asks me to go and copy long text on the board. I had one once that did it every class. It was like a curse! When I was not in the mood I just skipped class
Student 1: In class, the teachers can decide what to do… even break school policies.
Student 2: Yeah. Last block I missed more classes than I could but I had good marks so I passed
Student 3: You’re lucky…there are the Hitler ones. They do what they are paid to do and they are not paid to break school rules.
a) mark in red, please
Student 1: Wow, it is all marked in red! I would give up if I were you
Student 2: She said she would usually not be so picky. It is a special treat. As an immigrant she is helping me out. This way I study ESL while learning the class subject.
b) no choices, please
"I want to know exactly what is due today, if I am not told I have more urgent interests…I am like married style guy, I don’t want to think (laugh). Just give me clear instructions. I don't want to choose between fancy coffees...just bring me a regular coffee" (a student who runs between part time jobs and school)
"I don’t like to be asked to choose. I like when I know what to do. What? Teachers don’t do their homework and expect me to plan for their class?! I do not have patience" (student whose boss has given him time off to study)
c) no lies, please
"…So according to the ABSOLUTE QUALIFIERS rule…if I say I never lie, I am a liar!? It is bullshit. I refuse to learn this! I don’t want to learn how to cheat on tests..I am a person of principles" (a student who was facing a difficult divorce in court)
d) caps, please
"...caps are not always for gangs. I hate that. People say things they don’t know. Doesn’t matter I don’t mind missing school if I feel like wearing a cap… Do you think my hair is always like this? If I am having a bad hair day I skip class. No cap, no class."(this student’s hair hides a facial scar which she got in a fight with bottle)
e) no group work with people with accents, please
I used to call you Chink...Oh dear! You keep coming...the first time you walk to our group…Oh dear! Nobody believed how irritated I got. You don’t know but chink is very disrespectful, like N word for blacks. I want you to know, I am not like that at all...back in my home town, we were all white and people used to tease the only Chinese family, owners of theTeacher: This reminds me about what I wrote “the learner resistance is not something to fear or ignore but to examine and face, this resistance is a process of student transformation in their own empowerment
Student 1: Cool, you did the schedules you told me you were not going to do
Student2 : I like this teacher I was afraid to write down that I mostly go to parties and sleep. I am glad I did. She said I should slow down on parties…respecting me though
Student 1: ?
Student 2: She could just come over with “Don’t you have responsibility?” and accuse me deciding to go party the night before the test. She asked me what would be the pros and cons of continuing with my past schedule.
"My home is full of teenagers. I am going to help the friends of my son and daughter... I am getting the internet and I plan to help them do these tests (learning styles) at home" Student
"I think I will try to become a teacher. I would never say to a student what I listen from that b* (the teacher who had been insensitive about a student’s family member death). I would be like her (the class teacher)" Student
I learn better when it is my own interest, when I have no money problem, when I get paid to learn, when I have a right environment, when I dance, when I have brain food (rest, group and teacher good energy, visual handouts, interesting subject), when I have time enough to learn and time to repeat once and repeat again” (quote from a poster made in class)
Student: ... I prefer to learn by listening. I am too lazy to write, draw or walk a sequence.
“We expect the teacher to provide “us” the knowledge to success in this class, understanding of personal circumstances within reason, respect our opinions and views, provide different pathways for each student, stimulate our minds, hearts and souls daily, provide “us” the skills to become KILLERS in the real world, have reasonable expectations over the period we are together (quote from a poster made in class)
If you step on it then it’s your problem
If it’s meant to be, it’s up to me
Opportunityisnowhere
Everybody loves hard workers
Failure is a bump on the highway of life (Perigord
An unwritten want is a wish, a dream. A never happen. The day you put your goal in writing is the day it becomes a commitment that will change your life. Are you really ready? (Tom Hopkins)
Do what you want to do now, we can not live in eternity
We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hands – and meeting like a snowflake (Mary Bayron Ray)
Life is like a box of chocolate, you never know what your going to get
(Forest Gump)
T: Part of your grade is classroom participation and group work, this is the percentage…
T: We are going to research on the internet today and tomorrow we will discuss it in class
T: You are not required to know, tell me what you think, how do you feel about it
T: Let me know if you have any problems with the class rules or homework. But try to let me know in advance. Let us reduce our stress.
