An Honest Critique of the Student and the Teacher:

Part 1

By Tavi Maas-Despain

Introduction

The purpose of this article is to understand and suggest improvements upon the relationships between students, and teachers. This is the first part of two articles, where we interviewed students for their perspectives of what makes a good teacher, and how they personally define the relationship between the student/teacher dynamic.

First, what actually is the relationship between a student and a teacher? (according to the students)

A commonality across all students questioned on this topic had stated largely the same ideal. That a teacher should have some kind of authority while still being friendly. A student also naturally holds the responsibility of the work assigned as much as a teacher’s responsibility is to assign the work, while also aspiring and motivating their students to do the work assigned “Something that gets overlooked a lot, in my opinion,” a TNW student states ”is how teachers are arguably supposed to not just pass along whatever they're supposed to teach, but lift the student up.” Students also said that a relationship between a teacher and their students should be professional while still providing support. “I'd say that the relationship between a student and a teacher is more of a ‘mentorship’ than it should be anything closer to parenting or friendship.” Said a former TNW student. “But that being said, I do think that there needs to be aspects of both of those within that mentorship. You need to have trust in your teacher and the teacher needs to trust you.” 

How do students generally feel about the relationship with their teachers at Teach NorthWest and what do they look for? 

Students generally had positive things to say about their relationship with their teachers, and enjoyed the more “laid back” and “lighthearted” atmosphere that allowed for students to feel more flexible and comfortable, as stated by a TNW student: “I feel like I have a pretty good relationship with my teachers. I like having a more relaxed environment between students and teachers, and I think that helps create more respect on both sides than any traditional rigidity model ever could.” Students also felt like they generally could talk to their teachers with mutual respect without there being a large power difference or an overt authority dynamic “Within that mentorship, uh there was like a mutual understanding and appreciation of the other person without it having like any weird power dynamics, That's what I experienced.” Said a TNW graduate. Students also expressed that humility is a desirable virtue among teachers. “I like being able to talk to my teachers and have them understand that sometimes I might be better versed in a subject than them,” the student continues, “and they're probably better versed in most subjects than me” students also liked to see humor and confidence. ”I really look for humor, above all. I obviously want some professionalism, and I need the person to act like an adult, especially if I am a younger child. But I need humor, I need some humility. And I also need confidence. I don't want a teacher that, you know, feels like they don't know what they're doing.”

What are some of the more frequent complaints students have in regards to teachers and the work assigned?

Though students generally had nice things to say, that doesn’t mean there weren't any complaints. However most complaints were in reference to the work assigned rather than the teacher’s character. As one TNW graduate said “It sometimes felt as though they used the homework as the base for the class and learning,” they continue “rather than the lectures be the core and using homework to enhance it”. Another graduate also had a similar statement in regards to the work assigned, stating that “I noticed that a lot of the work,  as I got older, kind of  regressed from stuff that really taught me, you know, about the subject I was learning, how to get in there and do it myself. To not rely on external sources or other people, but just really do it myself.  And I got less and less of that as I kind of grew older and, you know, climbed the ranks of high school classes and I experienced more ‘busy work’.”

To be continued.