Watch video 1 first. The short clip shows a new teacher at work for the first day. See what happens. Watch video 2 next. What action did Lou Anne Johnson do with her class to transform them? Was it worthwhile? Share your thoughts by clicking the comments button below!
325 comments:
1 – 200 of 325 Newer› Newest»I think Lou Ann did a fantastic job of overturning the attitude of the students to her. The first thing she did was she brought her image to their level - dressing, tone of voice and introducing herself as an ex marine. Then she started with an activity that everyone can relate to and participate. She projected herself as caring - not for the money as she chose to teach even if the pay was not good. She went to visit a kid's parents to defend him - thus gaining respect and trust. She used rewards as a way to motivate students to carry out tasks. She emphasised the word 'choice' as opposed to death (which everyone identified at first; all the poems she chose was about death) and used it to show them that they can chose to stay where they live or get on the bus - make them see a way out of their problems (facilitator). I think it was all worthwhile as she managed to make them to do research in the library out of their own free will. And in the end she said everyone was a winner because everyone put in the effort, thus making everyone feel that their efforts was worthwhile.
Lou Anne Johnson started off by revamping her dresscode, she's dressed much casually as compared to her first day at work. Then, she introduced something (karate) that is not related to what she's teaching (English) to capture their attention (also to build rapport)? She also relate what she's teaching (English) to her students' every day lives. There is a reward systems too to motivate her class to want to learn.
One may be skeptical at her efforts (physically, emotionally, and financially) but seeing the results (but we must remember that it's a movie and may not be applicable to real life, it doesn't mean do not try but do not be disheartened should the results differ), it is worth the while. One of the reasons to teach should be the desire to see your students succeed and that you are part of their success story.
The 3 things that left a lasting impression on me that Lou Anne Johnson did was:
1)Engage the class with an item/word of interest eg. karate and die
2)Nurture Pride of the Student eg at their home and giving them gifts &
3) Fuel their interest eg organizing contest such that the class goes to library to research on certain topic
She was shocked and unprepared both mentally and physically in a sense.She was fearful of the students. She did some reflection on how she reacted and what the colleague had said.
In the 2nd day, she was fully prepared, physically, she made her stand and physique very clear,she is tough.Lou Anne had to communicate with them, thus she had to look, behave in some ways to them in order for them to relate to her.Giving treats and gifts are last resorts but it worked for her. Lastly, the lessons and subjects taught were familiar themes and she went beyond teaching to improve the performance of the students.
Anyone has this DVD to borow, I can be reached at apch@sp.edu.sg :)
The first video shows that Miss Johnson was not prepared for her class as she was not briefed on the expectation of teaching in the school.
However after realising the nature and behaviour of her students she did not quit but instead adapted herself to the ways of her students and by doing this teach them English and poetry.She uses the technique of rewarding by gifts and words.
In whatever we do especially in teaching, we must have PASSION.:)
The teacher comes in to teach probably in the way in which she was taught - students know that they sit and listen and the teacher talks. When she realises that this is not going to happen with these students she has to adapt her behaviour to suit their way of learning. First she has to get their attention by relating to them in a way they understand. I guess this is what we have to do to - talk to our students in a way in which they understand. But the danger is that the teacher will not be respected if she becomes too 'relate-able' or 'friendly' with the students.
Lou Anne Johnson did a great job by overturning the attitude of the students towards her on the 2nd day. She altered her dress code and captured the students’ attention through introduction of something (karate) which was not related to her teaching subject. It helped to build rapport with students. She introduced a reward system to motivate her students.
She has even visited kid's parents which helped gaining respect and trust.
At the end she had acknowledged everybody as a winner as all of them shared responsibility; making everyone feel proud of their efforts.
A successful teacher should be adoptable and flexible to the need of the students.
Lou Anne Johnson had a culture shock on her first day in class. She had shown fear and could not hold the class long. She vented her anger on her colleague. However, she did some reflection after an advice from her colleague.
She came back the next day transformed into another person. She toned down her dresscode and tried teaching English in an informal way by relating the subject to their lifestyle.
She encouraged her students by giving positive comments and rewarding them.
I am impressed that she came back the next day(not to resign but to teach)with this concept:-
If she wants her students to pay attention in her class, then she would have to pay attention to her students first.
what did she do to the class?
Actually I doubt if I can improve on the above comments. So I will try to summarise a couple of them.
* adapt style to the students
* make the topic interesting/relevant to the students
* never give up
I saw the movie 10 years ago when I was teaching at Ngee Ann, its very good. It look at the problems of teaching (and its not just the students, its the issues from the system too). But it does not cover all the frustrations and heartache which comes with the job as well.
One other comment:
How is this related to action research?
I am still not clear on what that is.
It was worthwhile for what Lou Anne Johnson done in order to transform the students. She dressed down, spoke their languages (be a bit wild), taught kungfu, gave gifts, looked at the positive side of the students, have the competition, etc.
It is easy to be a teacher, however, it will never be easy to be a GOOD teacher. Teachers must have passion, and patient as well. But if we could see the transformation of the students, all the hardwork and effort is worthwhile.
Lou Anne changed her outlook, the way she speaks in video 2. it's definitely worth it cos she cant change the environment, she has to change herself to suit it! By doing this, the students are more acceptable towards her and she is able to deliver what she wants to the students.
In the first day,she was taken aback with the students' attitude,motivation,characters and low moral.After she consulted her colleague,she reflect on his statement of 'getting their attention' which was exactly what she had done on the second day.She gone thru all the reflection levels such as dressing down and introducing Karate (action and behaviour),reiterate the word 'choice'(theories and beliefs)and not to kick other's ass even she is a karate expert and as teacher,she ensure that all students have a fair chance to have an education(morals and ethics)
She adapted her teaching styles to the students she had.
It takes alot of effort on the lecturer's part but the effort can be rewarding.
She prepared herself mentally, shed the prim and proper demeanor in order to integrate with her students. She managed to connect with the students and gain their respect. YES! 100% worthwhile
She tried to build a rapport with the students by transforming herself (attire, behaviour) into one of them. Yes..Rapport is the key to a fruitful student-teacher relationship.
"Was it worthwhile?" This question really came to me...We strive to build a communion with the students but are working from different maturity levels. It is truly tough, like balancing a marble on the nib of a pencil. We can be their elder brother/sister but not their parent/friend: students need to relate to us yet a certain level of respect is desired.
She was shocked to find the students behaving like rowdies. She then decided to atteract their attention by dressing differently, changing her hairstyle as well as teaching some students Karate. This is a good strategy to begin with when dealing with such kind of kids.
Lou Anne Johnson did a lot of reflection after the first day in class.
She changed her style of dressing to 'fit in' so that she would be able to relate to the students.
First try to get into their world, then, introduce ideas and beliefs to them in the form of karate.
She looked into her students' needs and found ways to motivate them, by using a reward system.
Finally, she develops her students into responsible and motivated individuals, and also gained their respect.
She tried to change her usual dressing style and behaviour to relate better to the students and gain their respect. Whether such acts are worthwhile or not depends greatly on individuals. In the video, she has successfully engaged her students in learning. Does this always happen in real-life?
She needed to get the students to listen and enegage, so she let her own barriers downa, and engaged them on their level: Dressing, language, interests...then paring her teaching objectives, she encourages them to use these learning tools with these interests. She also uses a lot of positive reinforcement in visiting the student at home, and turning the visit around, into smething really positive.
After her 1st session, she made it a point that she will stay; thus, closing the option of leaving the profession. I think that is the turning point as after the decision to stay, it is clear to her that the only way out is through, walking out or carried out.
I think she used the opportunity of a student suspended from class as a hook to show her concern and ask for help from the student's family. No doubt that the student tell other students about it.
In addition, I think there is a critical component in her situation. The class is known to be one of serious social problems. They are at the bottom of the pit, edging onto crimes of social disaster. Hence, any step is a good step and she certainly has the support from top management of the school (or ministry) down. When I was a Resident Adviser last year, when crucial problems arise, the question is... will the college council support our (resident advisers') every move to sort things out or will the council turn back and say that we are wrong?
Do I feel sufficient support from the system to act on the situation without worries? No.
Worthwhile? Maybe. Will I emulate her on this feat? No.
1st Video:
- She was not informed of her class. She was not prepared!
2nd Video:
- She did not just quit, she changes her teaching style.
- She does a great job and I am amazed at just how she turns the table around by just changing herself (instead of forcing to change someone who is already used to it).
One thing which I have learnt: when you can't get to them, be part of them, and then work your way thru with a single thought.
It was worthwhile that her (Lou Anne Johnson - Michelle-gorgeous-Pfeiffer) actions yielded turnaround results. Lou eventually inspired her students, giving them the tools to think and analyse rather than facts and answers.
But in a rather hollywood kind of drama-mama way - from snack bars to restaurant treats, I think it is a potentially slippery slope where we could be giving out year-end raffles of iPods and DS2.
Apart from suspecting that throw-candy-bar-act (like a seal trainer) might not go down very well with SP children (or their parents), there is certainly reflection between the first (box suit running out of class)and second (engage their attention with karate)lesson.
Lou Anne tried changing her outlook to fuse with the students.Great job,not everyone can do that.Rapport is an essential with students like ours nowsaday.With that, it will definitely be much easier to get their attention during teaching
Chris here.
As we can see, she was not prepared, or rather, ill-informed about what would be happening in the class.
2nd video showed her changing her teaching style. Not every1 would be able to do that.
In the first video, she was ill prepared for the class and was not in sync with the students. In her mind, she probably thought that the students would sit down quietly while she teach. She was not mentally prepared for the rowdy bunch of students.
In the second video, it showed her changing her teaching tactics by blending in, teaching them from their angle, and motivating them to learn at their pace.
It was definitely worthwhile as can be seen the students changed their attitude in learning and started to learn something useful for their own good.
In reel life, anything is possible. But in real life, it may not be possible in such a short period of time. For many modules, it only last 1 semester, less than 6 months. To know how to handle the students, it would require a bit of time to know them, how they like etc. If all students are alike, the process is shorter. But if all students are different, it may take a bit longer. By the time we understand them, it could be well into half semester already, leaving a few more weeks before assignment and exam.
Faith said:
In 1st video, she did not expect student to be so rowdy.
In 2nd video, she tried to be in sync with students and build rapport with them.
Building rapport with students is very important in teaching and it can be transformative in real life as students r motivated and behave better.
At first the she did not expect the situation is that bad and uncontroll, the way the students behave and their attitude but she manage to observe and try to adpt to the situation by first change the image and dress and try to gain attention from the students by showing some self defencing martial art karate.Very important is the patient and approach towards the students.
Chee How Terry
My thoughts with movie clip 1 is that she jumps to straight conclusion that those kids are beyond hope at first impression without having deeper thinking. Of course, this is natural for anyone who faces such behaviors for their first time in their life. Definitely not for the faith hearted teacher.
In movie clip 2, she adopts several strategies to get aquaintance and gain rapport among the students. Examples like using terms they are familiar with in their learning process, giving rewards as forms of motivation, challenge student thinking in a fun way, etc. Thus making the learning environment no longer a boring and dry classroom.
Sorry, having problems viewing the two clips on my laptop, but from my memories of the movie, I think it shows action research in that she evaluates her actions after the fact, assesses their result and then works out a plan of action (change in appearance, approach etc) and then tests that out to see what works and what doesn't.
She reflect-ed and action research-ed to realise that "if you can't beat them, join them".
Lou Anne Johnson changed her style of teaching and did what the guy suggested to her. GET THEIR ATTENTION. Only after getting their attention, then it is possible to impart knowledge using various methods. She also made use of various resources (such as school fund) to sponsor field trip and also kind of rewarding system (chocolates bars) to encourage the students.
I think this is worthwhile as we need to use different marketing strategies for different target audience.
I am sure that SP students are a lot better than those students! Alas we missed the extreme experience! The first video is a very demotivating for a teacher. However the later video unleashes that these students also can be tamed :-) Tools in hand are : 1) Empathise and be one of them 2) Motivate 3) Reward 4) Do 1 2 and 3 but don't do it in a way so that they can catch your motive.
Unfortunately, some of our students are quite intelligent - if you try applying one of this techniques less aptly, they will pass comments : 1) he/she is trying to empathise 2) he/she is trying to motivate 3) he/she is trying to reward.
But I am sure - subtle and careful application of motivate, reward and empathise will yield result in SP as well
I feel that to mitigate bad behaviour by giving rewards is a dangerous approach if not able to handle properly. Students may respond differently to the teacher's action even if the situation is an ideal one.
In my class, students regard highly on grades rather than to be adapted like Dolphins. I will also pay attention to team work culrure and vote for model answers in order not to upset the well established system.
Yo daddy ain’t know any-tin bout poetry. You ain’t gonna make moi do that.
Should the teacher bring herself to the level of the student of the “hood” (stands for neighbourhood), being somebody not herself? This may back fire, because “poseur” is not welcomed in the ghetto crowd or the upper echelon.
Not all teachers were a marine and honourably discharged from the service, nor they all know some form of “cool” art, be it hit-hop, karate, ball-room dancing to appeal to the crowd. To begin with, academia maybe first boring place to be. There should be a more general strategy for ordinary folks like me to use. For example, the section in the movie, using the verb choose to illustrate a point, make the students think maybe for first time in their life they can make changes happened. Self-initiated/directed learning is the ultimate objective for the teacher to instil in the student.
Use a candy–bar reward on a too frequent basis, it might become a habit, and worst, it may be even harder to appeal to the student because of the “managed” expectations that we as the teachers have set by giving out the mentioned rewards. I always tell the student that their reward for their hard work is the grade they will receive and the higher starting point they can leverage to start their career with when they graduate.
What Lou Ann did:
- Put her to the students’ level; show an attitude and an image that is “in” with the students, not very formal but “cool”.
- Introduce as an ex-marine – an image that the students would somehow be intimidated or probably give respect.
- Engage the students, gave them activity to participate, something that would catch their attention and not feeling that they are in the business with the school’s rules and instructions and ordering them what they suppose to do in school.
- Show concern and genuine caring
- Use reward for motivation
- Give them freedom and yet make them feel responsible for their actions
- make them realize that no matter what, the effort made by the students to learn will be worth while.
I think she has showed everything what a teacher should do in the worst scenario or worst group of students… and now I feel very lucky to be in this school dealing with our kind of students here.
She is willing to change & adapt to the issues & difficulty. Changing the questions to provacative issues about 'death' instead of 'green peas'...to grap their attention, rewarding not only the right but also those who got it wrong for their effort.
Think its worth her effort...playing attention in class,making an effort to learn and communicating their thoughts.
Ok...who has the movie? Wanna watch the whole thing, interesting!
In day 1, her dress code is not suitable and she has a wrong expectation of the class.
From day 2, she changed her dress code, build rapport with the students and give rewards. Giving rewards might not always work and should not be done too frequently, otherwise it will defeat the original purpose and might be taken for granted.
din getta watcha vidz, coz there seem to be some tech glitch, but anyhow sorta get the pix frm comments. dun understand why need to change dress code to suit blend in, think if one manages to hook the student's interest and work on from there, who knows, the students in turn might consider changin their dressin to suit yours. dioni
What Lou Anne did was she went "down to earth". She captured students' attention by bringing up the karate topic. She learnt from her first day that she'll never get the students' attention by an ordinary way a teacher does. She's in the same page with the students, somehow.
Lou Anne Johnson projected herself as caring - not for the money as she chose to teach even if the salary was not so good.
Lou Anne was a dedicated teacher who rose to the challenge of giving hope, encouragement and inspiration to a group of impossible-to-teach students. She won their respect, changed her style of teaching and basically reached them by meeting the needs of her students at a deeper level before they even want to learn from her. Inspiring! Now, to figure out whether I can do 20% of what she did!! Keep looking up..there is hope yet :)
lou anne johnson changed herself to suit the environment
she altered her language and actions to that of her students in order to fit in better with the class
was it worthwhile? with the outcome of the movie - yes.
but in reallife, depends on quite a lot of factors.
1. the capability of the lecturer. not every lecturer is capable of changing even when willing.
2. the risks of the after effects on the students. the change in the lecturer may not go down well with the students.
3. class structure disruption. the students may realise the lecturer is trying hard to assimilate and take advantage of the situation.
Lou Anne changed the way she talked to the students, the way she conducted her lessons. She even dressed more casually to fit in. It was worthwhile as the students could identify with her and became more attentive in her lessons.
dangerous minds
The ever lovely Michelle Pfeiffer plays a really good role as the teacher.
Louanne, did change her style of teaching. She saw what she was up against and changed her tactics to suit the students. She dressed in a way that they could identify with. She used karate to catch their attention and she altogether built rapport with the class.
For most of our adult minds that are so fixated in doing things in one general way, reflecting on ways to do things better is one thing, to do it is another thing. If we are not comfortable with our classes, how do we teach them. If we have biases against the students, how do we encourage them. Transforming ourselves is the first step to transforming the students.
Louanne, transformed her dressing and her style of teaching. She later on transformed the lessons that she thought. She got more personal with the students and spoke up for them. Built up their self-esteem. Even pitted the class against each other with amazing effects that not just taught them, but gave them hope. I love that line... you need to get through alot of wrong answers to get the right one.
I feel it is worthwhile as each of our students are a work in progress and our purpose is not just to transfer knowledge to them, but more to help them achieve their potential.
As they see you try and try and try and never give up, they too know it and something inside them will click. That's why perseverance is such a long word.
Send me a message if you want to borrow the DVD, I do have it. dennis_wong@sp.edu.sg
We are in the teaching industry, which requires us to relate the information we know to the students. To make the process efficient, we have to "bridge" ourselves well to the students, which means communicating in the student's language/culture. Hence in the video, Lou Anne Johnson has has successfully captured the students attention and "speak" in her student's "language".
Zheng Rongyan
Its worth it all. Ultimately we are teachers/mentors to students. They rely on our professional as well as personnal inputs. A touch of sincerity and love would come a long way for us and the students.
Yes, what Lou Anne did was worthwhile. Sometime as we need to lower our level, lower all barriers and having patience to communicate with the students, having them to see us as a mentor in leading them into the right direction. Gaining their trust from the parents also help in their development as a character.
Sometime a small competition would help to power-up their eager to learn and let them their efforts are recongised.
The 1st encounter with the students, though surprising to her, provided her with the opportunity to 'fact find' or get a sense of what the class was like.
I suppose what is not shown is the reflective thought processes that she probably had gone through to think about how she should make herself more accessible to the students. Hence the changes made in the 2nd clip.
I suppose we all have to adapt ourselves to make us teachers more accessible to the students and this movie is perhaps a demo of the extreme case. But we all know that every class is different and this fact finding, identifying problem process, reflection and application of change is something we all need to go through for each batch of students. We all do it at various levels, just whether the process is a formal one or just an informal thought process.
She did lots of right stuff with her students to change the teaching environment and to build rapport with the students:a. Dress like them;
b. Do something that interest them like U.S. Marine, 'die', 'drugs' 'karate;c. reward them; d. include contest and competition in the teaching; e. give positive feedback; f. getting parents' support and home-visiting, etc. There are much more and I think we can learn and adopt some skills from her.
She adapted to her environment on the fly. She made the lessons relevant to her audience, and found ways to pique their curiosity because the subject matter was interesting to them. She gave them respect, gave praise where needed, rewarded where it was earned, and basically showed that they were worthy human beings. She built rapport, albeit a shaky one, with them, and earned their respect in return because she never gave up.
Yes, it was worthwhile because finally, the students learnt how to learn and began believing in themselves.
But a teacher who was less patient, persistent, or insightful probably couldn't have lasted as long. She's practically a saint, in my book!
Well, most of the criticla points have been discussed, I'll just add that it helps that she is single.
Zhou Wei said...
Add one more comment. To be good teachers, we must be adaptive.
As what Lynus said.. most of the points are mentioned.. but I'd like to add another point to Lynus's point though..
She's hot.. and single..
since all the correct answers have been listed above.... all i like to add is that it takes a lotta heart and effort to do what she did...
key word was getting their attention, and talking to them in their language. its all about sharing experiences rt? i always preferred the term sharing than teaching....
:)
It might work somehow....some NOT all students tend to be kinda rebellious in nature & bear pessimistic negative views in nature. Especially they find coming to school is a chore though what they want is the paper certificate eventually.
Engaging them is a smart way to gain their attention (start the engagement with common topic of interests).
However in singapore, we have to be cautious as there are also many 'taboos' where the teachers are highly discouraged to use.
Commanding (not demanding) the respect from the students will definitely be a good start to this noble profession. haha...
What Lou Anne did was very inspiring, after first day experiencing a bad day in class, she reflected back and changed her teaching approach to capture the interest of the student.
Chiam Tow Ming said:
The video is unable to show. Not sure if it is my internet setting. But i guess that from other people's comments. The take home point is that We should continually reflect and action like a close loop circuit as long as we are in this teaching industry.
The two scenes left the following impressions on me:
1)You have to break down/dispel the stereo types that each party (both teacher and students) have of each other. We can do this through empathy. How? By trying understand the world view and circumstances of the students and pitching to them using language appropriate to them.
2) Value them - show the students they matter and that you take them seriously.
3) Inspire them so that their hope exceeds their grasp. Students already know that life is tough. They need someone who believes in them so that can strive for what is beyond their realm of possibilities.
Julian Ong
October 9, 2007 4:52 PM
Capt Mohit
She failed to connect with the students at the first instance. Incomplete or partial sharing of information about the last teacher did not help her. It was the class controlling her rather than her controlling the class.
During the 2nd instance: She changed her attire: Connected well with students by teaching them a few things the way they understand it better. She established her control in the class by using the Kung Fu tactic. I beleive it was worthwhile.
She had reversed her strategy by 180 degress on the 2nd day & it helped her.
She did not know what she was getting into on her first day, i.e. what her class of students were like, what she could expect of it.
After reflection on the second day, she could use her previous experience to protet herself, and get the class' attention, whereby she knows she can communicate and get through to them, if she becomes more like them, instead of the 'teacher-pouring-info-to-students' mould.
She had the street-smarts to deal with street kids. If she did not, she would have failed like on the first day.
Question is, what do SP students have, that we can connect and grab and hold their attention away from the various distractions that their generation has now ?
How can we relate to those things that have caught their attention ?
In this movie she has the luxury of 'artistic license' and be able to not follow any syllabus. She can be teaching them to live their lives better as a social being.
In order to communicate effectively with those 'not-so-fortunate' students, She has transformed her image from 'lecturer' to 'friend'. She use the students 'language' to effectively communicate with them. On the same time, she showed great empathy to her students and in turn gained trust from her studens. She rewarded her students when she saw there was improvement from them.
She had apparently try to blend herself in with the student by dressing and talking like them, sort of coming down to the same level as the student so as to get the student's attention. This different approach to teaching the student seems to be worthwhile.
After the first day experience she tried to adapt herself to the student's world ... dress like them,talk like them,act like them etc.By this approach she caught their attention and interest.
An ideal teacher is one who can modify oneself to the same level as the students to get them interested so that they learn.
Vincent Goh here:
The advice on the first day to stand one side and the students will quiet down did not happened. So this shows that we need to adapt to the situation. Being informed of the students wildness perhaps could have helped her be better equip to teach.
She stand and reflected a while in the second day and with what she wrote, she started to capture the some students attention. From their responses, she managed to turn the teach them English! Wonderful. The rest on dressing and Karate and others are all mentioned.
I think I watch the film too many years back. Can't remember much on it now. A good film but take it with a bucket of salt. We might not be able to do the same things. Reminder: This is from Hollywood!
As a story, the videos certainly portray the kind of "success" we all seek in our teaching - and which is obviously worthwhile. Equally, obvious, the key to her success was her identification with the students and "speaking" to them in their language - as has been pointed out be several others.
Ryan QinJiMing says:
Well, most of the criticla points have been discussed,
and some people even mentioned the point that she is a single.what I think in this point is maybe she is not,but she did performance like a single.I think this is pretty much like what a film star did.they are not single.but they make them looks like a single.underground date or secret marriage.
the only reason why they do this is they want keeping attract their fans and close the relationship between they and the fans .I think the most measures that the teacher used in the film is try to reach this goal.
BTW I just wondering maybe this measure will not effictive if a male teacher teach in a all boy class.
Ryan QinJiMing
I suppose the most important thing is to be able to connect with the students at some level.
It might not have to be the same as was portrayed in the video.
For instance, Robin Williams does it quite nicely as well in "Dead Poet's Society".
It really does depend on the students and the lecturer and what kind of potential there is for connecting.
-Hans Lee
Mei Pheng says...
I suppose the important thing is to connect and adjust to students level. In this case, her sucess comes from trying to speak their language and dressing to obtain their attention and finding ways to encourage them.
She realised her expectation of the class is way beyond her thoughts. She has to do something with her action (dressing, behaviour and the way she speak to the class).
Her strategic action wins her engagement with the class, feedback by the class responded behaviour, where she realised (reflective) she is on the right track to encourage and lead the class to learn.
Thus, the lecturers action (way of teaching a class) may not necessarily always "one" or "same" method, as different class of student may need different action!
From Yeow Heng
HE Yingjie's comments follow.
I believe that Miss Johnson has done a fantastic job in winning students' hearts back by understanding them and boosting their confidence. It takes courage and humbleness to adjust herself to fit into students' mindset in order to understand their thoughts and causes of these. It pays off abundantly.
Put into their shoes and then encourage each one of them in all kinds of situations, eventually the lecturer will build up very good rapport with students and also understand students' needs more. With frequent reflections and corresponding actions, Miss Johnson successfully won students over. We can do the same thing!
Understanding the students needs and behaviours is very important that what i have learned
Natarajan Balaji
Lou Anne succeeded the impossible task by earning her students' respect (not commanding respect). Leaders, superiors, teachers, parents; those who are superior are often deemed to be authoritative. This way of communication is outdated in today's context and can only backfire. Joanne
Adrian Chan here:
She failed to connect with the students as there was different expectations.
After reflection, her expectations were better managed and she was able to connect well with students because she took a different approach.
gopal venkat,
Understanding the psyche and moods of the students and treating them like adults is a workable way around any kind of audience.
She has successfully made the connection with her students. I believe that she was able to do that after much reflection and planning. She has put in a lot of effort and resources and I think that it is certainly worthwhile, to be able to transform lives.
This is Ro Ann
I think she really devoted time to reflect and plan on how to handle this very difficult students. I guess she is an extremely good teacher who deserves an award.
I believe she had a tough time but after a while she was successful at it and she is fulfilled.
Capt. Kyaw Thet Aung from SMA said
Action research base on the video journal,
Looking at the video, reflective practice engaged resulting positive outcome by shaping the class in the desired direction. Seems all 3 level of reflective practice had been integrated and especially level 3 reflective practice of moral and ethnic had been dissolve to over come dialectical reflection proof none the less success.
Final part of this “action research “ video journal revealed desire learning out come had been attained using reflective practice and by and large engaging feed back from the pears and colleagues to get around the pit fall.
Inspiring! I watched this many years ago, but watching it again now, as a teacher, brings a whole different level of meaning.
What I learnt from Lou Anne is to have the spirit to keep on trying. Success doesn't usually come on day one, but what I can strive for are little improvements bit by bit.
Jacqueline Chua said:
This is a real inspirational movie!
Lou Ann was demoralised at the start and she had to be innovative to connect with the students.
I love the part where she stood up for Rahul, in front of his parents. I think she is a motivational teacher!
Lingtzi:
These videos shows the process of motivating students to learn.
The teachers reward everyone who attempted to learn regardless of thier results and she identify the good points of each student. The home visits bring the student-teacher relationship to higher level.
It is always worth the effort to motivate student to learn. The difference is how...? Engaging yourself as part of the class is good but there's a thin line between "friends" and "leader". A tutor can be a friend, who would be well-like amongst the group. A good tutor is like a leader, guiding the team to success, winning the group's respect. What Lou Anne Johnson did, to me, was winning the respect.
Really inspiring! But I wonder how far should we go to merge with the students and yet, not undermining our status as a lecturer.
A very motivating video where the teacher moved from lecturer to friend with the students. I feel it is worth the effort as our ultimate aim is to impart knowledge and value to our students.
This reminds me about "To Sir With Love", but the behaviours of the students in this movie are probably worse. Lou Anne Johnson played her card well - she chose to get their attention with an unique approach - and with reflection from the classroom discussion and observations, she started to put herself in the 'comfort zone' of the students, and gainning their respects and participations.
Having said that, not many teachers are able to deal with these type of students....
Oh, pretty cool movie. Is it available in our school library?
Anyway, yeah I think what I caught most is for us as teachers to come down to the students' level. Finding things that the students can relate to. Words they are familiar with. Things that they like to do.
- Erik
Chris Goh:
Thought it was inspiring to see Lou Ann Johnson do whatever it takes to coneect with the students, even if it means trying new approaches and techniques that she is not familiar with.
Think its interesting how she crosses the line of lecturer to friend.
She researched her actions! Hence, Action Research in Progress! In other words, she reflected on Day 1, and changed her actions on Day 2 to try to connect with her students. She moved from being the "authority" figure that they obviously do not care for (to put it mildly) to being "one of them". It certainly was worthwhile!
Watched it long time ago while I was still a high school student, now that the role has switched I must watch again!
As a new teacher she reflected and innovated on her approach and mechanism, which came from her "being" and vision for the students, ultimately empowering them with choices and touching their lives!
That's really cool. I admire her courage to take on the challenge. She tried to connect to the students and found innovative ways to get their attention. Along the way, she also made use of little rewards to build up the rapport with them. Of course, throughout the process, great patience, care and concern are shown. Finally, I think she really empowered them with the interest for learning.
Really inspiring video. :)
Lou-Ann kept on finding and trying different and innovative approaches to reach out to the kids in her class (key word - reach out, as opposed to teach).
After the 1st encounter, negative as it may have been, she pressed on and was determined to connect with them (key word - connect) as shown in the later encounter. She didn't go down to their level to "buddy" with them or be like them. But she kept the relationship at the teacher-student level, persevering in maintaining a measure of respectability as an educator, and winning them over with her determination.
Lou-Ann was genuine in a desire to help the kids in her class, going to the extent of visiting a troubled student at home, and giving his parents a good word about him.
Good movie.
First she try to changed how she dress to make student feel like she one of them and try to talked about what they really interested insted of common text book. After she gained interest from student then she slowly brought them in to her lesson. Later she try to get closer to student by go to student's home and talk to parent. She very polite, patient & respect student. I think it still quite important to talk to student's parent sometimes to understand some situation when student at home because student may be not open with lecturer. I think the most important for the first step is how to make student feel like lecturer and student have same interest. It's worth to try to get closer to student, but it may take sometimes.
Lou Anne Johnson had a culture shock on her first day in class. She vented her anger on her colleague. However, she did some reflection after an advice from her colleague.
She came back the next day transformed into another person. She toned down her dresscode and changed her teaching style by introducing English teaching that relate to daily life to catch the students attention.
She encouraged her students by giving positive comments, spoke up for student to build self-esteem, and rewarded them for great efforts done in class.
To transform our students from filthy carbon to shining diamond, its defintely not easy but I won't say it is impossible. I'm still new in teaching, definitely there is a lot to learn. With that thought, it will motivate and inspire me to carry on doing.
Initially, Lou Anne Johnson was prim and proper. Subsequently, she changed the way she dressed, wearing jeans and a leather jacket. She also captured the students' attention with questions on marine and karate. By sharing with them about her background, the message was that she is actually much tougher than what they had thought. When she put in a good word for one of the students in front of his parents, she really boosted the students' self esteem. Lastly, instead of merely assigning the students homework, she organised it in the form of a contest, hence motivating the students to read up on their own and learn as a group.
The first clip showed her turning up for a job as a teacher, and what she projected of herself as a teacher: prim, proper, upper-middle-class attentive students kinda vibe.
The second video showed how she cleverly reacted to her situation to win the students over, changing her dressing, her teaching approach, her language etc.
Lou Anne faces a class of bright students with social problems. The students actually are testing her to see how they can get away with and to see what will set Lou Anne off, and they succeeded with joy. Lou Anne was clearly angry and depress but talk it out with her colleague. Upon further reflection, Lou Anne strategise to establish common ground with them. The students can identify with violent and fighting with Lou Ann’s marine and karate experience. This got their attention. Following shows Lou Anne using rewards (candy bars) to get students to participate in class and later using poetry competition to spur their English skill. Students were motivated because their prize is a costly dinner in an upmarket restaurant. Somehow with this bonding, Lou Anne earns the right to lecture them; asking them to leave the class if they don’t like what they are doing.
It is definitely worthwhile in spending time to reflect on the appropriate strategies to motivate students as it is a real pleasure to teach in class of students who are ever eager to learn versus a class of rowdy and disinterested students. However money spend on the various rewards may lead to higher expectation and there will be a point of diminishing return. The impact of a home visit is also appreciated as it creates an alliance between teacher and their parents to further encourage the student. This is something I’ve experienced merely through phone calls to parents. Most of the students turn better after a talk with their parents.
As the saying goes: “If you can’t win them, join them!” =D
I think she did a great job in engaging the students despite being “put off” during her 1st encounter with the students. She showed a great example of putting reflections into action. However, as highlighted by Irene, the question about how far we should merge with the students and not undermining our status as lecturer is a crucial point. I personally feel that lecturers themselves must ensure that there should be a certain degree of merging with the student and have a clear line drawn to avoid being “over-friendly”.
I guess she did a great job in getting 'in'. I guess the beauty of this is that sometimes we cannot always see ourselves as a lecturer or someone with the higher authority. Sometimes u need to lower yourself a lil to get into their minds.
For example, I have a student who doesn't seem so interested in my classes - always dreaming and playing with his game.. I could have choose to scold him and punish him but like what Michelle Pfeiffer did - I became 'a friend'.. join him.. and it works wonders - he is more positive in class and he actually got a A+ for his last project and what touched me was he came to me and say - thanks sir...
I guess the I am a lecturer u are my student thing is very much our asian culture - when I was in Australia the lecturer were pretty much a fren - like how michelle pfeiffer was and honestly I blossom alot more...
But then again I must say that such approach cannot be use on every student..
- Muhammad HALIM Bin Ab WAHAB
She was shocked in the beginning to find out what kind of class she has got! 2nd day she changed her appreance, tone of voice, tactic to deliver her message and above all, she offered rewards for every correct answers given. The highest reward was offered to Dylin/Dylin contest which was a very smart move. Bob Dylin was a very famous song writer, singer and performer at that time, and I believe he must have been an idole for most of the students if not all. So the effect was the students will do some reserch in connection with their hero, which motivate them to go all the way.
In the first vid, she was doing what most teachers feel they are trained to do: teach in a particular way, and deal with things in a fixed format. This does not work everytime, all the time. Like that class to a normal class, sometimes a more flexible approach, where one comes from the direction of the students can work. We were, after all, all students once, and sometimes we need to reflect, and understand them from their level, to be able to reach out to them. We have to be careful that we don't get too caught up in that, however, and get walked all over upon. In the vid, the teacher was cool, mainly cuz she had the kind of background that the students could respect: alpha female in a sense, so sometimes we can play up to our strengths.
After one shocking day by her students, she tried put herself down at the level of her problematic students. And how she engaged her studnents in her own teaching style was time consuming and dedicating.
When her studnents finally opened their minds to her, it was such relief. She tried so hard to be friends with them. But still she was a great and patient teacher the students never had before.
I think Lou Anne didn't let the first experience get her down. She thought of creative ways to connect with the students and make the lesssons more interesting. It was definitely worthwhile as the response is so much better. The students are learning and she is enjoying teaching them too. This video demonstrates that every teaching situation is different and it is important to reflect on the events that happen and try to make the next lesson a better one.
She did a little bit of reflection on her first day, and decided that she has to be the one to bridge that distance between her and the students. The change in dressing and behaviour, not necessarily to be like them, but to be able to relate to them, made her more approachable.
She also was able to get into their culture, and use some of that in her teaching. This sparks the students' interest, and hence they will be better able to relate what they learn to their own daily lives.
She was also generous in her appreciation of student's efforts, by rewarding them not just for outstanding performance, but also putting in effort. To be generous with praise sometimes makes the students want to perform.
Also to be generous with this praise in front of the students' parents was magic. This raises the student's esteem immediately, and when he knows that both the teacher and the parents appreciate his efforts in class, this will be great motivation for him to improve.
In summary, we as lecturers should try to bridge that gap (age or cultural etc) by trying not so much to assimilate into their culture, but getting to know their culture, and thus be better able to relate to them, and be relevant.
Basically what Lou Anne did was to change her approach to establish a rapport with her students. She worked very hard to be "one of the homies". Her initial approach of trying to make her presence felt by shouting above the classroom noise proved ineffective. She then went back and changed her approach by being one of them, by appearing more approachable. Different students require different approaches. Back here, we have to find our own approach to reach out to them but ultimately the most impt thing is to "keep it real" or come across as being sincere.
Just a side note: Really found this show very inspiring. It helps to watch this every once in a while to remind us teachers why we're doing what we're doing. I particularly liked the scene where Lou Anne was challenged by a student abt why she cared since she was just a wage earner. And her response was that she made a choice to care & tt the money wasn't very good anyway. Hitting quite close to home here.
Which brings me to the question: Was it worthwhile? It is worthwhile if the teacher is there because he/she has a passion to teach and guide.
On her first day in class Lou Anne Johnson had a culture shock. She showed fear and could not hold the class long. She then walked out and vented her anger on her colleague. However, she did some reflection after an advice from her colleague "to get their attention".
The next day she came back the next day transformed. She toned down her dresscode and changed her style in teaching English - an informal way by relating the subject to their lifestyle.
What is impressive is that she came back the next day not to quit but determined to teach this bunch. To get her students to pay attention to her in class she had to to pay attention to them first. What an impact she made.
She used positive comments and rewards to encourage her students.
When they responded positively and made progress - it made all the effort worthwhile. That is an encouragement to me indeed.
Lou Anne was surprise by the students behavor the first day of lecture, probably she went back to thought about the behavior of the students and come up with solutions.....
Video 2 shows that she emphasise on praising the students rather than putting them down or scolding them.... perhaps this is link to their action in class. I think she also make a visit to one of the students family . This could have been the ethic/moral reflection that goes beyond school.....
Handojo said,
Her personal emotion was suppressed. It took a lot of efforts to tranform ourselves to compromise with a situation that can be totally different from our real life and sytle. However the teaching challenge can be very rewarding if we can make a change to students.
Poor new teacher steps into the classroom without knowing the real situation in there. Of cause she was shocked by the status of students of her class. So she got to change her methods in the next day starting with her appearance followed by delivering method. Later she ghot their attention by introducing Delyn / Delyn contest.
It just proofed that to have humane side, as a lecturer is vital for a good group of students. As a lecturer, the best way to understand them is by standing on their side, understanding the reason behind their behaviours and also their lifestyle. Only then we would be in an upper hand in handling them.
It is extremely important to be able to connect and relate to the students and make their expectations align with yours or yours with theirs. Only when both parties are able to connect can then lectures be conducted properly.
She engaged her students, made it relevant, made it interesting, bridged the gap between the theory and the real, dared to be real, dared to care. The most difficult part was that she got involved in her students life. Was it worthwhile? Yes of course. But getting involved is not without its obligations / responsibilities...
Love the movie very much ! it is so encouraging and eye-opening as we might come across those students someday. It is definitely worthwhile doing all what she did for the class. A lot of efforts on her side.
This movie showcase the meaning of a teaching career and something which I think each one of us got to remind ouselves now and then.
Johnson conveys the deep passion she has in teaching and how she engages the students and connect with them. She can easily just deliver her lessons or choose to walk out or give up. But she did some reflective thoughts after her first day and strategise and thought of how to relate to her students and also close hte gap between herself and her students.
If there is the passion in the career, anything is worth trying/attempting to reach out to the students.
In the first day, she had a preconception of how teaching should be, and she expected going to the class and talking to a group of well behaved students.
Eventually, she adjusted herself to fit into the culture/style of the class.
To be honest, I think this is something that's very difficult to do, and I think it'll be quite a sad day for teaching when every teacher has to go to such lengths just to teach.
In the show, it was worthwhile and the class did open up to accept her into their culture.
Kelly Koh
I think as teachers or lecturers, we should adapt to the stduents modern way of communication as well as their 'new' culture so as to connect more effectively.
effective communication and understanding is a must. I feel we should sometimes give and take on certain rules if the results are effective.
she is really good in action ...
she first identifies the class situation, she plans a solution, she also carries out herown research to gain the class interest, she performs a detail observation for each students character / strength / interest, finally she puts all her work in action. Of course this action is a continuous assignment and a repeating process. And it is worth to do so in fact.
However, it is a movie, in practical situation ???
Lou Anne was her own classroom observer! She observed how it failed miserably, and importantly, she reflected upon it in a strategic manner. She had the will and determination to follow-through, in the face of such complex and challenging students, that is sheer power!
What I have extracted from this is her ability to reflect in an active manner as opposed to stopping short at being contemplative.
Kong Yuen Ho:
She did a gd job in changing the the class's perception of her via a change of her dress sense. Then she started with an activity which both the class and herself can relate to. I believe the greatest satisfaction in teaching is when a teacher realises that the class is motivated intrinsically by what she teaches and says and appreciates his or her effort in encouraging the students to change for the better.
(Level 1) She put herself in their shoes and thought in their perspective of life and what they wanted. (Level 2) She changed theoretical teaching methods into methods that resonated with them to teach them the concepts they needed to learn. (Level 3) She also taught them morals, ethics and society issues.
It is defintely worthwhile.
fangyen here...
from the vido it shows when we are new, we have preconceived ideas about our students and job, but as we get more informed, we must change to adapt to the needs of the students.
Linda Liew Shared:
What action did Lou Anne Johnson do with her class to transform them? Was it worthwhile?
> She changed her dress code & mannerisms - such that she is able to "relate" more to her students. She shared that she was a US MArine and that caught their first attention. The display of Karate - helped to shift the "power" to Lou Anne - if we recall, the first video showed the students having all the power & control. It was certainly worthwhile, as she was more successful in getting some attention and even getting them to do things for her (e.g. shift the table, respond to her question on verbs).
ONG Chai Lin said..
The teacher in the first video clip was really 'shell-shocked' by her first taste of teaching students who were rowdy, impolite, out to discredit her.
The 2nd time, she somewhat changed her posture from 'intimidated and quiet' to more of identifying with her class in her dressing and her mannerism (to some extent by putting her legs on table to possibly show she 'did not' care about rules and was a tough cookie). This was the first of many methods she used to get the class interested in the studies.
She came up with bold sentences about teaching english eg'choose death' than the usual 'have green beans', contest and prizes for completing her assignment, same treatment for every student and care and concern for troubled students.
Tan Hai Su:
She is definitely great in transforming the students. It is definitely worthwhile. It takes passion and lots of patience to devote time and life to teaching. Family and friends also play an important role too.
Frankly, what she did is fabulous. The way she change herself to suit the students, her intelligence to dig out the inner self of student’s curiosity and drive towards their needs. The unorthodox ways of gaining student’s interests to learn etc. Ultimately, I assume most students improved tremendously. That was definite worthwhile.
But I have some reservation in mind. If any of us have half her capacity to transform, does our environment allows us to do so? One example is i guess most of us realise >80% of students wear slipper in campus, so in order to “click” with students, can we wear slipper as well ???
It is worth doing this change for Lou Anne Johnson. She successfully transform the students by different dressing, similar behaviour to the students, et. al. This is really a new and good teaching approach which holds a novel idea. We may consider some creative method when the students are boring in the class.
Frankly, to simply stay with the job after the "shock" and set her mind to transform the students is enough for me to admire.
However, I do hold doubts if there is time for such a big change take place before the students get kick out or drop out of school? In additional, I do find giving out gifts as a reward is not very practical. But I do like she hold contest among the students to motivate them in learning.
As to whether it is worthwhile or not, that's simple. A change is still a change no matter how big or small as long as the change is good. Thus, as long as we see good change, no matter how small, be happy. :)
Patrick:
She grabbed their attention at the beginning of the class by telling them about her ex-marine status and talking about karate. Her use of rewards also got the students involved.
Her actions are worthwhile as she engaged the students to participate. The scene where the students went to the library to do research is a demonstration of her success.
She "became" one of them. The dressing, attitude and the smart remarks.
She also enticed them to learn by using something that they are familiar with.
As Randy Pausch said "Head Fake everything you teach."
Yeah. Its worthwhile. The students learn something but most importantly they feel good.
I like the fact that you guys have picked up on the "heart" part. If you think about it, students are touched if we go in with sincereity and "heart".
That is the best clip far. Lou Anne was very brave. I might probably walk out on the first day and never get back. What she did were of course very effective and worthwhile.
As her colleague suggested, getting the students attention was the first step. Hence, she made an effort to behave like them. She spoke like them, she dressed less formally and she thought from their point of views. Slowly, she understood why they behaved as such.
She cared for them and she was proud of her students. That made her students believed Lou Ann was different and they too, have a future if they choose to have one.
I think Lou Ann approach in using prizes and contests to attract student’s interest in doing assignments was brilliant. If only we can have funding for such activities…….
I must admit that assignments that Lou Ann selected were very meaningful. Poems made students value life.
The best line from this clip:
“Sometimes it takes lots of wrong answers to get to the right one.”
Gabrielle Koh.
The God has created every individual with a very unique and special personality. Interestingly, they are looking for one thing - LOVE. We can see from the video, Lou Anne Johnson showed her love and concern to all the students in an appropriate manner.
Besides, she was not just teach, but she did blend with the students. The way she put up a statement or asked a question, is particular and with intention.
Overall, teaching need to be creative. For example, when she wrote "I want to die" on the blackboard, those students did pay attention and start arguing. Then, this is the began of lesson... Therefore, design a teaching environment by based on different types of classes is rather more effective.
What action did Lou Anne Johnson do with her class to transform them?
She tried to understand them by being one of them. She slowly controlled the situation and bring them to the right learning attitude by showing more care and concern.
Was it worthwhile?
Yes, it was worthwhile. Her efforts worked out well and the students learnt.
Every one of us must practise SP CORE Value.
Lou Anne expressed her love and showered concern to all the students in an appropriate manner.
Besides, she was not just teach, but she did mingled with the students.
As an educator, we must conceive that teaching need to be interactive and creative. Thus, adopting different teaching apprach for different class natures would definitely be effective.
She returned to the class with determination. Act and speak like them (identify with them). Helped them to recognise they have choices. Get them interested. Used rewards. Showed love and concern. btw are there funds in SP for us to draw on or are we allowed to raise funds?
It was definitely worthwhile to see the change in attitudes.
Video 1: What happen during his first day teaching
• The students were rowdy and they were not bothered with the teacher. Even she shouted out to get their attention, nobody responded. They continue with their talking, laughing and ‘games’ in the classroom. One student even walked up and ‘confronted’ the teacher. The teacher walked out of the room . After talking to another teacher, she got the idea…’GET THEIR ATTENTION’…
Video 2: What did he/she do or actions taken to overcome the problems
• She started to ‘work with the students..’ Get their attention…and motivate them.
• She gave ‘chocholate’ to the students when they responded correctly to her questions, she encouraged them and praised them to learn ...
• She visited the family of the students to show her care and concern on the welfare of the students
• She eventually won over the heart of the students and the conduct of the class went on well with participation from the students, lively discussion and happy learning environment…
I must credit Ms Johnson for her persistence, patience, hard work and passion to want to teach. One very important highlight for me is that she is able to connect with the students by 'being relevant' - talking to them about things that they are interested like music.
However, I am unsure about giving them snacks when they answer a question correctly. Hm....Also, I do feel the students need more discipline. In reality, there are not many Ms Johnsons around.
From the video I have also realised everyone deserve a chance. If Lou Anne did not give the student a chance then the show cannot continue anymore...hahaha.
As an educator we should give every student a chance instead of condemning them and cast them aside.
I read an article. It said that generally, students(I'm not talking about those super 'on' self motivated ones) do well in their studies or change their negative behaviour because they want to 'please' their teachers.
They want to 'please' you if they respect you and know that you genuinely care.
Wow, I really salute to Ms. Johnson for her patience, efforts, passion in teaching and determination to change the students! She must have done more than what have shown in a 8mins clip. She become "part" of her students by understanding students' needs, backgound, behaviour and interest. Frankly speaking, I may have walked away and gave up on such a group of students on day 1.
It was definitely worthwhile to see the change in students' attitudes. I leant from the videos that will consistent loves, care and patience, students will appreciate you eventually.
Lou Anne transformed her class by:
- identifying with her students (by wearing their kind of clothes)
- catching their attention with what she wrote on the board and teaching them a karate move
- sharing her life (by saying she was an ex marine)
- teaching creatively like finding a topic which catches their attention and asking them to participate by replacing a verb in the sentence
- rewarding them by giving out chocolates for right answers and bringing them to a place to eat
- showing concern for them by getting involved in their lives.
All these was definitely worthwhile as the students get to learn what they are supposed to learn and by implication will be able to graduate from school and for some, get into good schools for higher learning which will lead to a beter future in terms of career. They also get to learn things like character building which will put them in good stead for their life!
Ms Johnson was very patient with her students even though they were a hopeless bunch of brats to begin with. Even though we could sense her frustration, she didn't give up on them. She tried means and ways to get through to them and connect with them. Her efforts paid off at the end and they relate to her when they sense how genuine she was. Remarkable! :)
Johnson had one belief that made this whole episode possible.
What she did was to put this belief into actions:
- Relevance to the topic was waht she was successful at. She drew relevance to the nouns, verbs, vocab, etc from the every things that they see and experience in their world. (e.g. karate, food menu, neighbourhood)
- Coaching rather than teaching. She had to start with where they were and lead them step by step to where she wanted them to go. Reason: They see no reason to move to wherever she pointing to but she believed that they could start learning.
- Encouragement through rewards, incentives. The class was probably looked down upon by the school, and they believed that they were lousy (which Johnson obviously didn't see eye to eye). A push factor to learn was the encouragement that Johnson gave. (e.g. good marines, home visit, incentives for even those who tried the poem and didn't succeed)
Some thoughts: She could have focused on a few who were better, but it seems that her objective was not for the whole class to attain a certain standard in english, but for them to begin to choose to learn, whichever pace they were in. It leaves them to learn more spontaneously.
What did Miss Johnson Do?
I think she made them reflect on their future. They became aware that there is a choice in everything they do . They can make a difference if they only choose to do it . They might not know if they will succeed but they can try .
She empowered the students, and paced the lessons and changes slowly when she felt the students are ready for the change.That is important.
As the students got more competent they became more motivated and and see studying as a challenge instead of a chore.
She was genuinely passionate about reaching out to the students. She made a choice and stuck to it.
I think she managed to adapt her teaching style to reach out to the students. The topics that were discussed in class also appealed to students because they could identify with them.
She rewarded the students during classes, contests, and spoke up for them when situations called for.
Lou Ann never give up herself or the students. She showed her passion in teaching as well as her caring for the students. She was trying hard to build rapport with her students, motivate them with incentives, showing concern on their study and personal life, and praising student for their hard work.
Though it is a drama, her efforts and materialistic input paid off as she had successfully drawn attention of the class and put them back on the right track.
I think that Johnson did well in
- building rapport with the students
- understanding them well enough to know what will capture their interest
- showing them that she cares
I think Lou Ann did a great job in winning the students over, through genuine love and not by power or authority.
Having done that, the students are able to commit themselves willingly to her teachings and instructions.
Some of the things she had done include changing her exterior image to relate better to them, giving out rewards to motivate them, using activities for learning etc.
This was deemed the worst class in school. The students were from the ghetto where people were poor drug dealing was prominent. The students were probably deemed hopeless and despised by everyone else. And all before Lou Ann had failed to rein them in.
Lou Ann, determined to teach, accepted the students. She used a series of chats and activities to learn more about the students and connect with them. At the same time, she modified and incorporated her lessons within the interactions. The turning point came when she made the students realise that learning is a choice, though difficult but must start from them, not her.
She convinced her students that her concerns for them were real (by not putting her student down for fighting in front of his parents) and used extrinsic motivations (short-term goals) to encourage the students. She eventually gained the respect of the students and succeed in teaching them.
It is definitely worth it, since many times, students lost track of their long-term goals and failed to make the best out of their education. It is then up to the lecturers to try to guide them and hopefully lead them closer to their eventual goals. Again very difficult but we did choose to be lecturers!
Thanks Mark, for sharing Dangerous Minds!
Lou Ann managed to:
- heal herself mentally from the hellish first day
- attract student's attention
- speak with the student's language
- show that she care for them
- activate student's prior knowledges and relate them to her subject
- motivate the student and develop good thinking
Yes, it was worthwhile.
Out of all the achievement that she acquires, I think the most important ones for my classes are attracting student attention, using their prior knowledge as initial launching point and ultimately show that you care for them.
I think one scene that left an impression was when Johnson wrote something on the board, then rubbed it off and wrote "we want to die". Sometimes, or often, teaching can be spontaneous!
Ah ha! Yes Norman, I agree, sometimes teaching can be spontaneous. Watch "Freedom Writers" and you will see!
Lou Ann really give her best out of her. She give the students her care, her love, and her attention.
From my opinion, it is very worthwhile. Believe it or not students will look at us as their example.
She caught their attention by putting things in context to what they can relate with in their daily lives. She also brought to light the idea of choices.
She sought to change perceptions by talking with the family of the students. This worked both ways; It gave hope and pride to the parents, as well as encouraged the student. This enabled both the student and his parents to see himself in a new light.
Good methods, though I think material rewards may work only at the beginning, after which they might start taking it for granted. .
What see did was to relate with the students using their common interest such as she changed the way she dress to be just like the students, she also used some slang the students frequently use and give chocolate bars to the students that answers her questions.
She also shows a genuine caring behavior to her students by visiting the student's house and talk to the parents and mention that the student is her best student. By doing these she gained the students respect and also in the similar way motivate the students to be a better individual.
Lou Anne built up rapport with her class by attempting to speak like them, dress like them, expressing genuine care and concerns for her class, hence winning them over.
It was worthwile in her situation as I don't see any better way of dealing with those "Devilish students".
Few things she had done:
- Flowed with students (dress-wise, behavior-wise, tone-wise)
- Started small by going through foundations like noun, verb & adverb and related them to real-life activities the students engaged in
- Encouraged them by telling them they have a choice
- Built rapport slowly
- Motivated the students with incentives
Lou Anne Johnson was a teacher with great patience and care (attributes which we ought to have). To ultimately motivate the students, she took a longer path by first building rapport with her class by "blending" into them, letting them know that they were masters of their own choices, and of course, providing little incentives to motivate her students. It was worthwhile as her efforts paid off well.
Well, she did several things after the traumatic first lesson (probably after some reflective practice).
To first establish a “connection” with the group.
• She changed her dress attire and mannerism, her formal looking business suits were dropped for more casual outfits, she switched her tone to a more casual but confident one.
• She let them in on the information that she was formally an US marine. That probably triggered some interest from these kids, since most of them came from complicated backgrounds where survival skills is more than asking their mums and dads for pocket money.
• Instead of diving straight into her lesson, she used non curriculum topics (e.g Karate) to arouse the interest of her students. She also adjusted her teaching standards to make it easy and relevant (poems and drug pushers?) to her students.
To encourage and sustain the interest she has aroused.
• She used extrinsic motivations (the candy bars) to continually engage her class.
• She showed genuine concern for her students.
What is very obvious from the video is that the things she does actually works for her; her class went from being highly rowdy to almost like the “white kids” from the next door (very settled and attentive).
She tried to relate to the students, be it the choice of words (e.g death, choice), activities (e.g karate, reading poems) and means in teaching (e.g put in efforts and getting rewards, relates to life examples). She showed care, and with the persistent efforts, student at the end identified with her. Worthwhile the efforts!
Hi David here.
Lou Anne thought it was effective to dressed and acted as a teacher to command the respect. However it wasn't the case. The students were immune to such convention and appeal and in fact responded with the same reactions to teachers before her. I believe the change of outfit was strategic and symbolic so to relate with the students as well as to provide them a alternative approach and perception of her. She attempted alter her lesson materials so to grasp or relate to them while still achieving the lesson's outcome. The reward system was effective I believe was due to the conditions and background of the students. They under privilegded and under appreciated. Hence underlying the rewards, she showed love, concern and even giving compliments to drive them positively.
Lou Anne has demonstrated how to win over the students (whom may appear extremely hostile at first) by communicating with them with their 'language'. She realised that the conventional ways is not going to work out and therefore have changed herself & her teaching methods down right to the contents so that she can engage with the student first. Subsequently her hard work paid off as the students starts to communicate with her...and that's where teaching begins to be effective.
In the film, Lou Anne found the way how to get the attention of the particular group of students. She knew what the students needs, she spoke their language and showed her care on them. Nowadays, students need people attention and care.
Was it worthwhile ? It really depends on how you think about your society, your role and whether you would like to transform our students. As a teacher, you should try .... Think about any teacher in your life that give you some impactful effect.. or change your life...
Would you like to be another teacher that can tranform our students?
Lou Anne Johnson did a lot of reflection after the first day in class. She tried to engage to the students by transforming herself (attire, behaviour) into one of them. Biulding Rapport with students is essential nowadays,it helps to attract student's attention during teaching.
Is it worthwhile? If you are comfortable why not? A successful teacher should be adoptable and flexible to the students' need.
Lou Anne Johnson definitely doesn't take no for an answer. But it does take a desperate situation to inspire someone like her.
Although our situations are definitely not as desperate, we could surely learn a few trinks from her.
Her way of using LOUD statements and SURPRISE tactics are very brave considering she wasn't sure if it would work. Although we are told all the time to announce clearly our learning objectives, I would much like to use her methods of slipping things in without them noticing.
One thing the show didn't mention was how much it cost her financially to achieve her goals. There is a price to way for desperation.
She chose (pun fully intended) to stay on and take a step closer to sainthood by forming ways of relating to the students. She could not have done it without patience, humour and guts.
If there is a will there is a way.
She would hv call it quit but she persevered. Patience is a vitue that is slowly eroding in our society. 100% success maybe not but with patience a great deal can be acheived.
Watching this movie both before and after joining SP makes the experience entirely different.
Some tips to pick up are to learn the names of your students quickly and to be prepared to change your lesson immediately if you see your initial plan is not working!
However the candy bars are extrinsic motivation and I wonder how long that will be effective :)
Lou Anne did a number of things, but I think it all boils down to understanding her students - who they are, where they come from, what engages them, what motivates them.
One specific thing I like (which I find it hard to do) is to improvise, to ditch the plan when it doesn't work. I would guess that this takes experience? That a teacher should have an arsenal of techniques at his/her disposal?
Thomas Lam said..
It is far easier to leave than stay. Lou Anne is brave and she is so committed to teaching and really wanted to transform them. What she did were worthwhile and I think if we care and deliver msg to students for their own good from the bottom of our hearts, they (some if not all) will feel it and return back nicely. I think most of the problematic students are due to lack of understanding and care. Of course, the process can be days, months or years…But if she is not brave enough to step into the class for the first day, the class will not be transformed.
Lou Anne has made a commitment to continue teaching the worst class. She understands and care for each of them, thereby touching their heart.
More importantly, she makes them realise that they can make a choice (be it good or worse). She talked sense to them to let them reflect. Over the time, she reaps her efforts in transforming them. Great!
First, most of us would probably be scared off and not know what to do.
For this case, Lou Anne has identify the problem, then comes the plan and research. She then implement her plan and observe followed by reflection and act to redefine the problem. And the process goes on.
Clearly the main motivation here is she cares for the students and believed in them. If there is no such element, then she would have given up long ago.
Her actions are definitely worthwhile as she has managed to bridge a big gap between the students and herself from the first time she entered the room till the end of the clip where students are motivated to learn. She has made learning easy and interesting using current events and topics to engage the students. She uses positive encouragements i.e. giving rewards even to students who did not get the correct answers and commending a usually misunderstood student in front of his parents. These actions not only build trust but self-worthiness for the students.
video 1 - her colleague did not inform her about the class and she was not prepared for it.
Video 2 - She change her ways/style of teaching so that she can interact with her students.
This is really amazing and I think it is really worthwhile. And she very understanding and caring for her students
She grasp the learning habits/style of the students in this particular class and used it effectively to ignite students' learning interest.
Its definitely worthwhile.
She tries to blend in with the students by reaching out to them in the student's style.
She puts the theories of action research into practice.
For her case, she managed to see 'returns' of her 'investment' rather quickly, which makes her efforts seem so worthwhile. In reality, that usually is not the case.
I’m still figuring out whether Ms Johnson really knows karate. Anyway, she didn’t give them the “judgmental” attitude but brought herself down to their level to understand the class.
I think it was worthwhile as she managed to continue in the job without going crazy, but more importantly, the students changed for the better.
Both videos have several teaching points. The first video highlights a very real issue. If a teacher is not prepared and is not open to being flexible and innovative, then he/she can easily give up in such a situation, never to return to that classroom again.
There are several things that Lou Anne did to relate better to her class, from changing her dressing, adopting a less structured teaching, using rewards to motivate the students, being more relaxed with the students. Fundamentally however, I feel there were two important things she did:
1. She showed the students that teaching was not just her 'job' but that she cared about the students. She tried to focus on their strenghts to build their self-esteem.
2. She made the effort to understand the students, their backgrounds, their thought processes, their needs and wants, without being judgemental.
She went to hell and transform hell into heaven? or devils into angles? whatever...
Morale of the story is all students can be taught, just that the method has to be correct. Important to get their attention by friending them,"if you can't change them, join them and guide them to the right path", sounds easy but difficult to accomplished. She really has a strong passion and good that she knows karate .
Lou Anne changed her appearance, adopted a different outlook from her original 'they are social rejects' outlook and started to adapt her classes to include relevant ideas and topics from their current lives, culture and era. She also adopted 'rewards' in class to motivate them. She also stood up for them ( visit student's parents) and got to know them on a personal level.
It was worthwhile because, she would not have been able to get close enough to teach them and help them gain knowledge which is the ultimate goal if she had not been flexible and innovative.
Lorain Kok
In the first video, it's pretty obvious the rowdy class got the upperhand and Lou Anne is on the verge of a breakdown after being intimidated by the students.
In the second video, Lou Anne probably did some 'strategizing' (reflective practice level 2 and 3?) beforehand and made excellent progress in building rapport with the students, notably by:
1.) Establishing herself as a tough persona (ex-Marine, skill in karate).
2.) Eased them into the learning literature by starting with subjects familiar to those kids from tough neighbourhoods (fights, drugs, death, etc.).
3.) Being a moral beacon (short lecture about having choices in life).
4.) Being caring (taking the trouble to visit a problem student's family and building rapport there).
5.) Being fun (the Dylan-Dylan contest).
From being a place where the students loathe to be, she has transformed it into a participative and cohesive environment.
Strategy (1) and (2), reminded me about a golden rule I had once learnt from some course in negotiations: find a common ground to start relationships.
Lou Anne did a fantastic job in the movie. She must have had identified the traits of the class after reflection and came up with a way to handle the students. She knew that by teaching them the "proper way" was useless, hence, she used a "negative" way to engage the students in the class. Slowly, she reviewed the class progression day by day and brought them back to track.
Lou Ann was trying to connect with the students after the first day in the classroom. She try to change the way her dressing in the classroom. She is trying to bring herself closer to the students. She also try to communicated with the student by letting them know more about herself and once she got the idea what will engaged the student she work on those points (the question she ask about karate). She engaged them (not all) by doing some hand-on karate practice in the class.
She also did some reflection on the teaching methods during the second part of the show. She was trying to get them to learn verb and nouns, but all seem uninterested. So she reflected and change the way she delivered the lesson, which get some of them interested in the verb and noun. In the next class, she used come rewards and get them continue interested in the learning. And at the right time, she introduced poem to them and give them some good rewards after them complete the assignment.
In the next section of the movies, she was trying to make the poem much simpler to understand. She trying to related that to what them are facing daily, gangster, drug dealer etc. This had caused a discussion in the classroom which them learning more.
The next section of the movies shows that she cares about the student in the class by visiting the problem kid at home. At the home, she doesn’t belittle, scold or complain the student where some problem arises in school. She explains why he was punished and compliments about how good the student is. This has built the confidence the student have on the teacher in the future. She not only cares about individual student, she talks to them about the morale of coming to school and show she care for all student in the class.
At the last section of the movies, she used a competition to get the student to do some poem homework. All the effort she put in to engaged the student, rewards given for work done, simplify a difficult work and show that she care has made all students want to study.
i love her passion for her job! it's definitely true when she said that 'this job aint pay that much' !
she showed the 'unteachable' students genuine concern, love and care. she took the time to build rapport with them. finally the students were moved by her sincerity and connected. the Dylan/Dylan competition taught them teamwork.
love this movie !
I think what she did was worthwhile. She tried to get the students attention, and bring the lessons using things that the students can relate. That was a bit controversial for the students board (I watched the movie finally), since they don't allow the teacher to teach karate :p. But it seems that it works for the students.
Oka Kurniawan.
Miss Johnson captured the attention of the rowdy kids by doing things which are at “their” level and interest. Progressively, she moved on by showing them that she CARES, genuinely and sincerely. She addresses the key dilemma the kids were facing, i.e they felt that they do not have a CHOICE to be who they are now, but she showed them otherwise. Lives of the kids were transformed when they witnessed their potential by CHOOSING the right CHOICE. Worthwhile? Definitely a big YES! She’s my idol! :)
Miss Johnson did things progressively. When her initial handling of the class didn't work, she must have thought reflectively what was needed to teach her class. First she caught their attention by writing on the board, because she knew they are not listening to her. By talking about marines and karate, she captured their attention. Slowly, she introduced grammar. As she taught, she started to talk about how they will do well in poetry, causing them to wonder what this whole poetry thing is. Again, it is to arouse their curiosity and attention. She also showed an interest in the student by going down to his house to talk to his parents. Using prizes, she was able to get them to do assignments and answer questions.
Lou Anne did a fantastic job in turning around the difficult position she was in.She take progressive steps to improve the situation through changing her dress code, showing care towards her students and reflecting on her teaching methods. Motivating students through small rewards are effective as I also experience this during my own class. Students these days like to be praised and motivated.
Most importantly, she did not assume that they were "bad" students like other teachers did and she respected and trusted them, which promoted the students' self-esteem. She tried to understand and be friends with the students. When the students were in trouble/difficulty, she showed real concern for the students and tried her best to help them instead of walking away and being indifferent. As for teaching method, she began with beautiful poetry to "seduce" the students into learning grammar, and when the students' interests were aroused, she continued to motivate them to learn using incentives/rewards.
Xiong Fangli
Personally I think the "If you can't beat'em join em" approach and the key is to "get their attention" is a simplified Hollywood take on how I'm sure the real Lou Anne had to spend months and possibly years dedicated to winning the trust of these students and learn their psyche. But yes it shows that reflection is crucial, but more so "preparation" is essential. I don't think a public school teacher in the US would be caught so unprepared or briefed so poorly on what to expect from a class.
I can apprecaite the fact that she has the platform to demonstrate creativity, fun and genuine concern for these kids and it seemed that all these student really wanted, was someone genuine. But overall I still think the situation is too simplified for us to say that it can applied as successfully here.
Carolyn Liu Yang said...
What Lou Anne did was to get the attention by bringing up topics that interested the students. After that, she gradually built trust between the class and her. She treated students with respect and sincerity. She cares. I believe that's how she changed the situation and it is worthwhile because she made a difference in students' life.
She believed. She believed she could do it and so are the students. The belief made all the difference.
I'm sure it was worthwhile for her because it's a choice she made. I'm sure as educators there is nothing more worth it than to make a difference to a student's life.
Hmmmmm, De Yang, I like your comment on the fact that she had the belief in her stduents.
Nice movie and fantastic teacher. She knows that she cannot use ordinary teaching methods to teach non ordinary kids, and her effort is worthwhile.
She has done some good reflection on how to captivate the students and she has tried numerous ways to engage the students. Initially some of the methods did not work that well but she was quick to adapt to the students response and her efforts finally paid off. What she did is also a continual process where she has to increasingly engage the students.
Totally inspired to become a teacher that cares. It made me realise that it takes much more than providing great teaching materials for students to receive the knowledge. It takes a teacher who puts himself/herself into a student's shoes to understand the obstacles that a student face. It is definately time consuming but I believe that the outcome will be priceless.
I am especially touched by the part where Anne chose to commend a student on his good work and not let one incident completely change her view of him. Ultimately, with the change in Anne's teaching context, it has helped students to relate better. Topping it with the rewards that she contributed, it definately paid off eventually.
Amazing stuff, what reflection can do for one.
I like the part that her colleague screamed at her and asked if she was here to teach or what.
And that hit her i guess that she was here to teach and it also meant teaching students that are not your "A" students.
Her total rework of her modules to cater to the students learning style was superb. and using karate to reach out to them was a great way to get the students attention. =0)
janice
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