Unit 4 Fresh Start Useful Information As teachers,we all greet each new school year with feelings of anticipation,excitement,and even a bit of apprehension as we wonder what our new students will be like.Will they be ambitious and interested learners ready to absorb new ideas,or will we have to prod and push them to learn the new materialsto which they are being introduced? In the teaching profession,unlike many other professions,we have the opportunity to make a fresh start each year,indeed each semester.We have the leisure to consider what went right and what went wrong in the previous classes;we can try different methods of teaching,repeating them if they work and discarding them if they don't.In this respect teachers are fortunate indeed. What about the students?If they are freshmen,they have many apprehensions and many tensions.They have to make adjustments to domitory life,no small thing for many of them. They are away from a secure base of family and friends and are hoping that they can make new friends with whom they can share their hopes and fears.Probably they are most apprehensive about whether or not they can succeed in college,and they may be quite worried as to whether or not they will be able to succeed in this English language class. Actually the English classroom can be a place where students'apprehensions are eased.In small group discussions they can be encouraged to talk about themselves,their beliefs,and even their fears.The students in the small groups can be very supportive of one another if they are encouraged to do so.Often,praise from peers can mean more to students than praise from their teachers.Students can also express some of their concerns through writing assignments.Often just writing down something that is bothersome can make an individual feel better.It would be wonderful if we could make the English class a place that students look forward to entering In a sense,each day is a new beginning for both students and teachers,a time when a fresh start can be made.We all have had class sessions that didn't go exactly as we would have 1
1 Unit 4 Fresh Start Useful Information As teachers, we all greet each new school year with feelings of anticipation, excitement, and even a bit of apprehension as we wonder what our new students will be like. Will they be ambitious and interested learners ready to absorb new ideas, or will we have to prod and push them to learn the new materials to which they are being introduced? In the teaching profession, unlike many other professions, we have the opportunity to make a fresh start each year, indeed each semester. We have the leisure to consider what went right and what went wrong in the previous classes; we can try different methods of teaching, repeating them if they work and discarding them if they don’t. In this respect teachers are fortunate indeed. What about the students? If they are freshmen, they have many apprehensions and many tensions. They have to make adjustments to dormitory life, no small thing for many of them. They are away from a secure base of family and friends a nd are hoping that they can make new friends with whom they can share their hopes and fears. Probably they are most apprehensive about whether or not they can succeed in college, and they may be quite worried as to whether or not they will be able to succeed in this English language class. Actually the English classroom can be a place where students’ apprehensions are eased. In small group discussions they can be encouraged to talk about themselves, their beliefs, and even their fears. The students in the small groups can be very supportive of one another if they are encouraged to do so. Often, praise from peers can mean more to students than praise from their teachers. Students can also express some of their concerns through writing assignments. Often just writing down something that is bothersome can make an individual feel better. It would be wonderful if we could make the English class a place that students look forward to entering. In a sense, each day is a new beginning for both students and teachers, a time when a fresh start can be made. We all have had class sessions that didn’t go exactly as we would have
liked.The beauty of teaching lies in that we can think about how we can keep that from happening again.We can learn from our mistakes,and it is essential that we help our students to learn this,too.If we can find positive things to say to students who have had a "bad day",we can help them realize that they can make a fresh start during the next class. Then,seeing them making progress,we will feel fulfilled too. Philosophers and poets have long recognized the importance of fresh starts,or beginnings.The 5th century B.C.Greek philosopher Plato stated,"The beginning is the most important part of the work."John Dryden,the 17th century British poet,reminded his readers of the importance of beginnings both in nature and in art,when he wrote:"By viewing Nature,Nature's handmaid Art.Makes mighty things from small beginnings grow
2 liked. The beauty of teaching lies in that we can think about how we can keep that from happening again. We can learn from our mistakes, and it is essential that we help our students to learn this, too. If we can find positive things to say to students who have had a “bad day”, we can help them realize that they can make a fresh start during the next class. Then, seeing them making progress, we will feel fulfilled too. Philosophers and poets have long recognized the importance of fresh starts, or beginnings. The 5th century B.C. Greek philosopher Plato stated, “The beginning is the most important part of the work.” John Dryden, the 17th century British poet, reminded his readers of the importance of beginnings both in nature and in art, when he wrote: “By viewing Nature, Nature’s handmaid Art. Makes mighty things from small beginnings grow
