669. The point is to educate people






One day teacher of English A said to teacher of English B, “On post # 655 I told you about the values you can help your students gain, all right. I mean virtues too: repetition of good actions that enable to achieve a good habit. Both value and virtue are complementary, or even the same thing perhaps.






One example of values and virtues? Well, now I’m thinking of the roles the small ‘council’ of students of your class can carry out. There can be three student-members of that council or whatever you may call it, plus you, teacher. I learned about this when I taught in a school of a city south of Spain. Their function is to help out and assist their classmates. They meet with you every fortnight (two weeks), briefly. They’re a bridge – one more bridge of assistance – between the students and you, and between you and the students.




For example the students of your class-group tell their representatives that they think your grading (marking) the tests is not fair, and the first mentioned ones would like their representatives would tell you about this problem. And these representatives tell you about this issue.




Or those helper students can tell you about the background atmosphere of the class-group. My students of the 'council's purpose was not to betray or denounce or make reports like they were spies; no way, and they reckoned their function was not that. That was set clear from the first day. Neither were they going to say any 'secrets' to me. This group of students assists you to learn things you may not know about your students. Another example – and this implies the ‘council’ kids are becoming more and more responsible of their classmates – is that they see such student who is decreasing his effort in studying – it’s something many classmates see – but perhaps you didn’t realize so far.




The members were elected by their classmates at the beginning of the academic year. As well they can help you when you suspect or smell your students might be passing on among themselves pornographic magazines or joints [sorry]. All the class-group wanted this helper students to work so. Even some students said to the helper students a short list of things to talk about at the meeting of the 'council' with their teacher.” / Photo from: mailbox with letters. recycling com

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