Chapter 4: Creating a Culture of Success

Fires in the Bathroom:

This chapter was all about how a teacher should make sure that their students will succeed. It is vital for teachers to have faith and encourage each and every student. A good teacher will never give up on a student no matter how much trouble they are having understanding material or focusing. If a teacher sees that a student is having trouble with a specific assignment or lesson, that student should be addressed privately or after class. No student wants to be humiliated in front of his classmates and peers just because it is taking them a little longer to comprehend something. This chapter also discusses the significance of having fair expectations for students. It’s not about accepting perfect scores from students but that they are trying their hardest and giving 100%. It is important to acknowledge students for their hard work even if they don’t necessarily meet the standards, this way students will know that their efforts are not going unnoticed. As a teacher if you show that you actually believe that each student can succeed, then each student will be more likely to succeed or try.

I thought this was an important chapter because it stressed the importance that no teacher should give up on their students. When I was a freshman in high school I had an algebra teacher who would teach a concept and then do at least 3 different examples in order to insure that every student fully understands it. There was never a day that went by where I thought they my teacher was moving to fast or was not reaching my needs as a student. His homework was also always related to what we were studying and was not meant to be busy work but was actually good practice for us. I use to hate it in high school and even as a college student when my teachers would give homework merely just to give work. When I am a teacher I want to make sure that my homework will actually be helpful and worth their time.