Posted by
Waski_the_Squirrel on Friday, September 22, 2006 6:23:11 PM
Since it's Friday, this is going to be positive, honest!
Last night, I read and responded to a column called
Back to School -- Back to the Trenches. In it, there was a description of a transexual now teaching in upstate New York. The personal life of this teacher was allowed to enter the classroom in a big way.
A few years ago, I read another book, this one called
One Teacher in 10. This book explored the stories of homosexual teachers.
What these have in common is the way in which teachers bring their personal lives into the classroom. I don't want to do a negative review of these teachers. What I want to do is explore how most teachers bring their personal lives into the classroom.
It should be non-disruptive. After all, the students are not our friends. They don't come to school to hear about our troubles or our romantic adventures. Of course they do act interested -- especially if it gets them out of class. The amount of interest can easily be gauged by their behavior when the bell rings.
Despite what some idealists say, the personal life cannot be eliminated from the classroom. I go to school to teach science. Nevertheless, my students know I'm not married, approximately where I live, and sometimes even when I'm dating. They also know I didn't play sports in high school, that I grew up in a small town, and that I have a very intelligent brother. His experiences relate to my Biology class quite often. A lot of this comes from being in a small town. Some comes from my mentioning things in class.
My students don't know when or why I might break up with a girlfriend, my financial situation, the "crazy thing" I did over the weekend, or anything sexual.
Anything mentioned to students is something that I'd also feel comfortable mentioning to my sweet, elderly grandmother. It's even more restrained than that.
To give students too much personal information is to lose their respect. To many students, the teacher is the only mature adult in their lives. It is important that we remain there instead of descending to the level of some of the "trash" that call themselves adults. At times, it is like being a preacher.
Of course, students will also lose respect if their teacher is a complete cipher. Students should see teachers as human beings. This is part of the human dynamic in every classroom. I do not lecture while my students passively take notes. I interact a lot. If I'm not a real person to them, we can't do that.
Nevertheless, that line must be drawn. I set the line down clearly by saying, "That's my personal life." After some initial tests, the line is clear.
My Friday, "positive" blog is not the place to analyze the examples I gave at the beginning, but I will say that these teachers must look at whether they are bringing too much personal life into the classroom. The transexual certainly is. The gay teachers in the book are harder to categorize. Some are crossing the line, some aren't.
I'd say that if we live a personal life that is nothing to be ashamed of and we are careful about setting limits, then we are doing all that can reasonably be asked.