Tired or Retired

I just had a student in my room last week who is in 6th hour Physics. We always allow students to come into 7th hour, which is our after hours open door tutor session. This is a student who has been doing fairly well on the homework and quiz, but he is just a touch behind where he needs to be. He had not turned in homework for the day, and Yeatts always says that the students can get credit if they come to 7th hour and complete the work. The student took the work off of the board during the 6th hour, and then tried to turn it in during 7th hour. He did not like that we had him redo the work, as this was just a copy. When he finished, he got very upset and said that this took too long to do (mind you, we were giving him back the credit that he had lost) and that he was way too tired to be doing this. We continued to work with him and explain why this is important. I thought about the scenario after we had left, and I decided, that the day that I am truly too tired to work with students, is the day that I need to retire.

De-Pi-ing all Logic

Yesterday was the start of this new career, this new life that I am beginning. I am leaving the world of dry, boring, automotive engineering in pursuit of the ever changing days that are teaching.

The first day was a fairly typical day based on all of my experiences (which are only those of a student). Don Yeatts really focused on putting the students at ease. We talked initially about making the students feel as if physics is not that hard. This goes against all of their preconceived notions. I could tell that they believed that since there is math and science involved, it will automatically be difficult. However, Yeatts goes on to say that physics is actually the most basic science that exists. It focuses on the "why" of science.

We went on to discuss that there are many levels of physics, but each level is not due to complexity, it is merely a result of how accurate the outcome must be. Calculus is only involved if accuracy is needed. The faces quickly became relaxed and more comfortable.

Yeatts' move that would throw people the most came when the class clown was involved. I consider myself to be a bit of a punster, but this guy was over the top and lewd. Don did not even flinch. I thought that he was letting his behavior go, showing the class that this was acceptable.

Once he was finished with the syllabus and moved to the short in class assignment, he went over to the student that was causing the scene. I went over because I thought he was going to address the outbursts and I was interested to see how he handled it. He did more than handle it... he did something unthinkable. He got to know the student. He asked him questions about sports that he plays and then asked him about where he lives. He made several connections between himself and the student. They ended up laughing and saying a few quick one liners.

I asked him after the class about the situation and the fact that it goes against the typical behavior control methods of nipping the problem early. He only stated, "You always want the students on your side."

That was all I needed to hear, I understood where Don was coming from... but more importantly the student did as well.