One Quarter Done.

OK. The high school version of mid-terms is underway! I know my students are not as excited as I am of it. For them, it is a test of their acquired knowledge. For me, it is a test of my teaching methods. Am I an effective teacher? My impressions so far tell me they are absorbing the information given to them fairly well. Impressions can be wrong though. The tests should prove if my impressions are correct.

At the same time, I know that some students do not test well. Place an exam in their view and their minds blank. My habit at the university was to orally quiz students on what seemed problem areas. Most proved to have the knowledge but were unable to express it on paper.. I intend doing the same with my current students.My job is to teach them, not score them solely by some metric I had no influence developing.

A frustrating thing I have observed is, administrators are fond of saying "each student learns in their unique way" then expect me to teach them the same as every other student. The contradiction makes my brain hurt so I will do it my way until instructed otherwise. I anticipate that would be an interesting conversation.

I do not assign homework on a regular basis. It seems my students receive plenty of that from other teachers. All I hope for is I am considered a fair and reliable teacher. I will not baby them through a course but I will help where I can. Every student will be held to the same standards. I am astounded by the weight of their back packs as they leave the school for the day. In my opinion, homework should be rare. There are other more effective ways to prove their knowledge. Besides, did you know there are apps that will do your math homework for you, including advanced maths? Am I to wait until they fail exams before discovering problems because they have used these apps?

I suppose my questions (fears) will be answered by the end of Friday. Then I can adapt and move on.