Chapter 7: Teaching Difficult Academic Material

It is a teacher’s most important job to have their students actually learn material and not just memorize it. If not all students are comprehending material it is important that a teacher try different approaches to things. It is also important that the teacher be able to successfully access whether a student really understands something or not. Just because a student received a good grade on a test does not necessarily mean they understood the material, they could have just memorized material to receive a good grade on the exam. Having students break down and dissect the information they are given will help them to use and relate that material to their own life. It’s also helpful to have students make interpretations on what information they thought was important and whether or not they agree or disagree with things. This chapter really focuses on how to challenge students yet keep them interested at the same time. Being a good teacher is all about making students think and giving them that time to think in class.

I thought this chapter was very interesting. How a teacher presents information is really what makes all of the difference. I had a social studies teacher in high school that was so passionate about American History that it was impossible for students not to want to learn. He taught us things that were real and clarified the places where he felt that teachers taught us false information. For example he had us learn about the “real” Christopher Columbus and showed us he was not the wonderful man that they taught to us in elementary school. He had us read articles that did not sugar coat the events of our histories past. He would jump on his desk and scream when something really angered him, or interested him or even if he just wanted our attention. He really made me think about what I was learning and become interested in history. I always came to that class prepared because I actually enjoyed doing the work.