Teaching Kids to Walk and Talk 27
at times. But that’s part of the price of believing in yourself. Sometimes you get hurt and then you have to pick yourself up and try it again.
This writer was writing about his teaching. I behave this way as well, and he knows it.
| believe that effective teaching makes .. .
students think about the stories the teacher tells
students believe that their teacher is not a phony, so they can take what is said seriously
students think about what it means to put oneself on the line for one’s own beliefs
The next writer worked for me as a writer for many years. Her main career was, and is, as a concert musician.
My high school English teacher was a great teacher. He was married to the Singer sewing machine heiress but committed to teaching kids. He had us keep a writing journal and was just excellent at helping me understand what was so personal to me that others wouldn't be able to connect (or perhaps just plain sappy romantic drivel!) and what was “strong” and pertinent to everyone. I still have the journal and wince at what I wrote but still really admire his comments in the margins.
In the future, in a world where online learning begins to preempt classroom teaching, mentoring will replace lecturing. Many teachers know how to mentor but often they are not given the opportunity or don’t take the time to do it. The teacher described above was a personal writing mentor, which is about the only way you can teach someone to write.
| believe that effective teaching makes .. . students look more carefully at the work that they themselves
have produced students believe that their teacher is their personal mentor
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