I believe that this should be at the center of why teachers teach. I'm sure no teacher enjoys spouting information to a sea of blank faces that don't give a damn. Relaying the information in a way that sparks interest should be a goal of all teachers. Sure, things that are boring still need to be taught, whether a student likes it or not, but a teacher that puts forth the boring in an interesting way, is in my opinion, an awesome teacher.
In her post, Kim said how classroom discussion, versus group discussion, is important to keep to the topic while still actively involving each student. I feel as if classroom discussion often brings forth personal experience, and sure student's might tell personal stories that get a bit off topic, but they are still actively involved and interested. Even if the teacher is teaching about the ins and outs of WWII, which to me, personally, gets boring, but then someone is allowed to discuss, for example, their grandfather's experience which brings the topic to the present. Classroom discussions, versus straight lecture, are beneficial to a students interest in the topic. Although group discussions seem beneficial in theory, I know from experience that 30 seconds of time is spent on the topic, while the other is spent on gossip or something entirely not related to the topic.
While hoping that a teacher can relay information in an interesting way is good in theory, are we asking too much of teachers? We want them to inform, entertain, involve, etc. while also demanding that their students learn everything that is required from the state and pass those pesky standardized tests.
Are we asking too much from teachers, or is that what teaching is all about?
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