New York’s public schools are struggling to keep up with the demands of the new digital age, but they’re also struggling to educate the kids who live there.
In a new series of interviews, I ask teachers and principals what lessons they want to learn from the school system’s digital divide.
Here are some of my favorite questions from the first installment of this series, “What Makes a Good Teacher?”
The school system isn’t perfect.
But it’s at least trying.
Teachers want to make sure their students understand how to get ahead and how to thrive, and to be more resilient in an age of uncertainty.
That means being a little less judgmental, a little more optimistic, a lot more collaborative, a whole lot more supportive.
They want to teach them to be smart, not just a little bit of the smart guy, but also a little of the little guy.
They’re looking for an educated teacher who’s able to make that transition as well.
They need to be able to relate to their students, they need to understand how the world works, they really need to have a sense of humor, and they need some understanding of the difference between technology and education.
I love a good good teacher.
They also need to embrace change.
The digital divide, in many ways, has been the last big wave of change that the public school system has seen.
Teachers are often the first to notice that their students are struggling.
The public school teacher is the first person to tell parents when their child is struggling, and it’s not hard to find evidence of that when a parent is looking for work.
Teaching is a long, stressful job.
Teacher turnover is a serious issue.
Many teachers are leaving because they don’t see the need to teach anymore.
Teams are having to deal with a lack of staff members, a lack and a demand for teaching, and the growing demand for students.
Teachings are expensive.
They can cost up to $100,000 a year, and teachers can get paid less than $50,000.
A lot of teachers are struggling with the cost of living.
And teachers, like most Americans, are feeling the pinch from the financial crisis.
So what can teachers do to make a good life in education as exciting and rewarding as possible?
Teachers and principals share what they’ve learned about teaching from years of experience.
I’ve been teaching in North Carolina for almost 15 years.
It’s been a lot of fun, but it’s been also been a great learning experience.
I love teaching students and I love being able to connect with them.
I have a great group of students who are my life-long friends.
They’re my students.
When I’m teaching, I have the opportunity to work with young adults.
My students get a chance to get to know me, and I get to meet other students who want to do the same.
I’m very lucky to have them.
Most importantly, I’m able to get a sense for what kind of person my students are, and how they’re going to respond to me.
I love teaching my students the way they learn.
It means learning to listen to them, to ask questions, to listen and to work hard.
My job is to make it fun.
I want my students to be excited, to be curious.
To have fun.
I teach at two different schools, and we’ve had great success.
One is a charter school in North Charlotte, and there are about 200 students in it.
We’re fortunate enough to be close to the center of Charlotte.
The other school is an inner-city school in Harlem.
It has about 400 students, and in that school we have a lot to learn.
I have to be a little careful when I speak to students.
The only thing that can keep a teacher honest is the fact that they’re young, and people sometimes make assumptions that aren’t accurate.
I always try to have fun with students and to get as much information as I can about their lives.
If we’re having fun, we’re doing it for the right reasons.
It feels good to be challenged.
One thing that teachers are really trying to do is learn how to be supportive and to listen more.
Teaches need to know how to relate, they have to have an understanding of their students and their families.
They need to feel like they have a connection to them.
They have to know what makes their students feel comfortable.
The biggest challenge is that teachers have to work a lot harder than students.
They have to learn how things work, how people talk about things, how they react to them and how their expectations are.
Teens have to understand that their parents are doing everything they can to get them into college.
Teemies have to accept the fact their parents don’t always know what they’re doing.