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:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 325 of 325I am deeply touched especially when Lou Ann visited Raoul at his home after he was involved in a fight. She affirmed Raoul in fornt of his parent that he had done great and was innocent in the fight. She goes beyond the call of duty of teaching skills and knowledge in the classroom, to a teacher who truly cares and values the students as individuals.
She did not give up on them despite inital obstacles and difficulties in relating to them. She choose to find ways that enables her to connect with the student, and to work with them gradually, starting from their level of understanding. Eventually all her hard work paid off.
Hi U-Liang here,
I think Anne Johnson first step was to get the students attention. She was a former Marine, and she used that to her advantage. Once she got the students attention, she could work from there. He emphasized the "choice" the students had. Most of her students had a victim mentality from their backgrounds. By emphasizing that they too could seize their future and change it, she was able to inspire them to work hard and achieve. But finally what shone through was the fact that she cared enough to want to step into that difficult class and help them achieve their potential.
I definately think it is worthwhile.
She realised that to get their attention, she needs to get on a topic that was close to the students which are 'violence' & 'death'. The karate stunt was just something that involve physical contact that may invoke violence or to hurt the opponent.
She then talks about death & the act of choice. Clearly, life is about making choices. They may not be born with the silver spoon in their mouth but they can have the choice to make their life better. The first step was to choose to get on the bus & get an education. Education is a long term investment which could take them away from the ghetto they were living in.
For herself, she actually ditched her 'nerdy' look of a teacher & put on some cool stuff like jeans & leather jacket. This pysical transformation is important so as to demonstrate to the students that not all teachers are nerds & once this image is accepted, its easier to gel with the students.
It was also important to note that since music was something that was close to the students, she used it to leverage this with respect to poetry. They actaully fell for this & indulge themselve in poetry whitout realising it...Smart move...
Anyways, she knew all along that she was dealing with good kids, its just their situation in where they were brought up that make them who they were...
As the lyrics of the soundtrack goes...
" They got the situation, they got me facin'
I can't live a normal life, I was raised by the strip
So I gotta be down with the hood team
Too much television watchin' got me chasin' dreams
I'm an educated fool with money on my mind
Got my ten in my hand and a gleam in my eye"...
It was all worthwhile...
And so it is said...
Lou Anne Johnson reflect on her first lesson and follow up with the following actions to transform them:
1)She make the class interesting by using the terms that they are familiar with.
2)She adapt the style and fit in with the students.
3)She motivate the students by giving rewards.
4)She build up student-teacher relationship.
Brad Yeo:
1st she engaged the class by using their “language” to teach them
2nd, by letting students know that she cares and willing to work with them (talking to parents)
3rd and most obvious, by rewarding them in gifts and acknowledging their efforts regardless of their results.
This is Adeline Ho.
1) What action did Lou Anne Johnson do with her class to transform them?
I guess putting herself to the level of the students by understanding their culture and speaking their language. She interests them with provocative statements and games which are linked to the learning topics.
She sincerely care for her students and is definately a very patient teacher.
2)Was it worthwhile?
Yes. This is definately worthwhile. I still remember I had a class while teaching in ITE where students show no interest in studying. Thus, I can understand the sense of achievements when the teacher is able to interest the students and perform.
Kudos to Anne's teaching context. I share similar experiences and especially with some classes which no matter how I had engaged, chemistry do not exists. Instead of being demoralise, many times I highly reminded myself that I need to live, breath and preach "empathy". I understand student's needs and wants and praise when necessary regardless of the negative or rude attitude students had been adopting. Efforts paid off.
What did Anne do to transform the class? I guess the old saying, "Do in Rome as Romans do" rings true here to a certain extent. She had to "Understand" them, their culture and their lingo in order to connect with them. I guess the other important thing is that she cared. Truly cared for the well being of her students.
Yes, it was worthwhile. It is important to engage the students at a level they are comfortable with - using examples, icons, images, tools, etc. that they are aware of and comfortable with.
"It takes a lot of wrong to make a right". I like this phrase, because it means that our failure experience will only set us for greater success!
The take away for me for these 2 videos is that, one must be able to grab the attention of their students. We can see how much effort Ms Johnson take to be in their shoe, bring them for road trip, buy candy bar and treat them to a fancy restaurant.
I think by showing we care, the students will also care to learn.
Chan Yong Jiet Grace CLS
From the video, 3 points that stood out were:
1. Adapt style to the students
2. Make the lesson interesting/relevant to the students
3. Never give up !
ShuFen: She use poetry and poetic song lyrics, to help students to relate meaning in words, instead of the conventional way of learning English.
She rewards her students when they answer her questions well. She win their trust by praising them in front of their parents.
She does house visits to have a better understanding of the student's family background.
It is worthwhile as the students attitude towards her & towards learning has improved.
IVAN HO
1) dress appropriately
2) began a topic of interest (in this case violence / marines)
3) discuss on topic of interest (to DIE)
4) cive out a "interested student" in subject matter
5) sub-concious class "discussion" began amongst peers on "interesting subject matter"
6) run lessons with relevance to subject of interest "accidental learning"
7) reward system.
8) appreciating ones attributes rather than penalising ones actions.
9) tell them they have a CHOICE, the choice is theirs, NOT anybody elses...
10) YES, the money ain't that good.. LOL
11) associate present personalities with historical figures in this case BOB DYLAN - DYLAN THOMAS. present a challenge.
12) self motivated research... to answer their inquisitiveness.
13) no loosers, no one gets left behind. move and retreat as a unit.
Lou Anne acknowledged and continually use praises when her students responded to her questions. Praises along the way could go a long way in boosting the confidence of the students and also to acknowledge their efforts in their response and participation.
Another incident was of where Lou Anne made the students realise and see that they have a purpose in learning so that they are more positive in their thinking and hopefully be more driven and motivated.
Her efforts definitely were worthwhile as she managed to engage and transformed the class.
What Lou did was to take the first step towards understanding the students. Understanding can be done through observation, research and reflection. Finally it is the act to interact with the students that will present an opportunity to transform them.
Sincerity > Empathy > Engagement
The action taken by the teacher in here is highly contextual. She empathises with the kind of students and takes an approach that relates to them. Most of the students we facilitate today here at SP are fortunate and hence the needed approach need not be the same but conceptually similar. More than anything the students needs to improvise their foresightedness and develop a vision towards their future ambitions. Hence just like the teacher in the video, one need to make the student realise their own importance and self beliefs and the fact that they can make a difference.
Ujjaval Parekh
Ya, i agree that being a teacher or a lecturer is the most difficult job in the world. We have to understand the attitute and thinking of the kids before we adopt a method to teach. In this process, we need a lot of patience, understanding and creativity. After all, students are human. When you treat them good, they will sure feel and know it. So, just dont give up, dear teachers. Put in our efforts, share your knowledge and help the students to improve
She got down to the students level in terms of her outlook and approach. She makes content of her subject more sizable for the students and draw their interest slowly into the subject matter. Yes, it is worth it. The students start to be less defensive, they become more open to what the teacher has to offer.
I love the movie. I think Lou Anne touched the students hearts to the core. She reinvent herself and her teaching to match the students expectation. she never gives up and she did not judge them and she even motivates them. They did warm up to her in the end and want to do well in their studies and theie life. Her efforts definitely pays off.
The students were really difficult to handle for female teacher.
First she brought down everything to the student's level. After that, she tried to induce participation from the students. She has started with Karate which can attract them. And she changed topics and finally she got them involved in the class.
I think very important thing here is that a lecturer should try to understand the students' eye level and induce interaction with students so that they can participate in the class.
Fantastic movie!
Lou Ann did some pretty magnificent work to engage her students, to summarize:
1)She posed a challenging proposition to catch the class' attention i.e. choosing to die
2)She showed her EQ but showing genuine interest in her students welfare even going to the extent of visiting her students' home (Raul)
3) She used highly contentious topics such as drugs in the 60's and related it to poetry, thus, making it real for the students to understand messages behind the poetry.
All these were definitely worthwhile. It would take a lot of of you to do this but it would be worth all the efforts.
On the first day, Lou Anne Johnson was totally shocked by the class as the students and their attitude were not what she had expected at all. She could not get the class's attentin and respect and was ready to call it quits.
Later on, it was obvious that she had done some serious reflection and decided to continue to teach, using different strategies to engage her class. She made her dressing more informal and changed her language to bridge the gap between her and her students. she used examples that the students (inner-city teenagers) could relate to e.g. 'death' and asked for opinions, hearing them out on the use of (to) 'choose'. She used prizes and sweet treats to motivate her students to answer (may not always work in real life) and related pop culture 'Bob Dylan' to literature 'Dylan Thomas', keeping the students engaged and helping them see connections between their lives and what they need to learn. She even visited a student's parents and spoke up for him, thus declaring her belief in him.
I think it was definitely worthwhile for her, as she could see the results of her efforts (ok, i know this is a movie, in real-life it may take a lot longer?). I think it was important to these students as well, for their teacher to believe in them and not to give up on them, as they stand at the fringe of society, probably hoping to be engaged but fearing to do so at the same time.
She tries to blend into the students world and understand them. Without understanding the students needs, she will not get the trust and get to the real problem.
It is definitely worth it as she leads the group into the right path and her practise will be passed down to the next gen as they will use her as an example
-Fang Siong
The teacher discussed topics that will interest the students, going alternative with the dressing, and providing a more relaxed environment.
Thinking of various issues were raised through life's decisions.
Caring about her students lives and motivating through gifts and rewards also helped.
She is my idol!
She didn't walk out on the students, instead she use an incredible approach to engage the students in the class.
#1 She uses phrases that are familiar to the students - "you choose to die" to teach them vocab.
#2 She reward them with fabulous dining opportunity knowing they are not able to afford
#3 She put in good words for the student infront of the parents, knowing the parents will not trust the words of their kids.
Excellent movie! Not defeated by her circumstances, Lou Anne Johnson revised her teaching style and methods around the students. That's important as an educator where different students learn differently and we could not use a one size fits all method to teach them all. I liked how she homevisited one of her students and told his parents how he performed in school. I also liked how she told the students that they have a choice to either go into drugs or come to school; that really shows how much she cares for them. I believe nowadays educators have forgotten that we must teach with our hearts. Its not about grades and becoming the best education institution. More importantly is to inculcate the right values into the students who learn from us.
From Goh Kok Min
Initially, the students refuse to accept or interact
Ms Lou Anne as their teacher.
Lou Anne tries to interact with her students and behave like
one of them.
She teaches the students karate to arrest the attention of
students, its a positive start as the students start to interact
with her.
Then she encourage students participation in class openly,
by even giving them small gifts like food in the classroom.
She even offered to bring the students to rollercoaster ride
which comes with free hotdogs meals if they do their poem
assignments.
From there at least the students willing to interact with
Ms Lou Anne.
She pay student home visit who gets into trouble and get into
fight. She encourages the student infront of his parent.
She encourages the students with words. Famous line from Ms Lou Anne "There are no victims in this classroom". She even held small contests in the classroom :-)
Lastly, Can somebody tell me whats the name of the country cowboys
song played in the 15:45 mins...i like it :-)
Salute to Lou Anne Johnson! Firstly she tried to build rapport with the students by bringing her image to their level. Then she tried to gain their attention by starting an activity which everyone can be involved. She went for Rao's home visit by talking to the parents that their kid was bright and obedient in class - thus gaining respect and trust. She used rewards and incentives to motivate student's self-learning. She emphasised the word 'choice' to students that they can choose to stay instead of doing something illegal out there, showing them an alternative of living. Her effort was all worthwhile as she managed to engage the students to participate in self-learning and self-thinking.
Amazing! I think this is something we should learn.. Many lecturers still can't let go of some traditional believes that they are superior..
I feel that Ms Johnson did a very good job by overturning the attitude of the students towards her on the 2nd day of conducting class. She changed her dress code and captured the students’ attention through introduction of an action to capture their attention. It helped to build rapport with students. She introduced a reward system to motivate her students to participate in her class and
engaged the kid's parents which helped gaining respect and trust.
She acknowledged every student as a winner despite of their differences; making everyone feel proud of their efforts. I suppose that a successful teacher should be adoptable and flexible to the needs of the students.
Often, we as lecturers want to do something different. We procastinate because we are not sure if this "something different" is an acceptable norm of the school. Then we revert to the conventional way of teaching which bore the student. Anne dare to do things the unconventional way that made a difference. There are risks associated in trying new things but the results are usually very encouraging if we dare...
She did the 'impossible' stuffs to win over her students. She really is a rare breed.
Sure! Definitely worth every effort if we all know the positive outcomes of such actions.
Simon Tan
Every penny of it!! She spoke to her students in a format that they listen and understand.
She understood that teaching is not learning. Learning is not just a cognitive process. Getting students to trust the teacher is probably the most important step. And to earn trust, offer to trust first by giving students choices.
Lou Anne Johnson reminds me of MOE's Mrs Chong, in that they are willing to go to extreme lengths for their students. Lou Anne went to great lengths to gain their trust and earn their respect by adjusting her perceptions of them and showing that she can be 'one of the gang'.
Edmund Lui
The video is great! Think as lecturers, we should adapt to the new generation stduents "gen z or something" the new way of communication in order to better do knowledge transfer and teach the student according to the crowd.
effective communication is essential to teaching in this new age..
I thought she did an excellent job in fine tuning her image yet not compromising her values. She put herself in the shoes of her students, understand their circumstances and reached out to them...
That's passion for her students!
Lou Anne had broken down the 'China wall' between her and the students by changing her point of view, learning the ways of her students. She 'connected' with her students by giving them what they are interested to learn. She had faith there is goodness in her students and did not write them off as 'bad' or 'losers' and that I believe that most important.
Dangerous Minds and Freedom Writers are 2 of my favourite teacher movies.
Lou came to her class the first day with a certain mindset about teaching. She left feeling devastated. However, she bounced back knowing fully well that her initial approach would never work on a class such as hers. What did she do to overcome?
1. She abandoned her "teacherly" dress code to something more street style, what her students would definitely relate to.
2. When they walked in, she was seated and had her legs up on the desk to portray that she was not intimidated.
3. Then she began to speak in their lingo, and courageously exert confidence in her tone.
4. She invested lots of time talking about things outside her curriculum and teaching subject, yet had links tied to them all over.
5. Getting the students to demonstrate karate was effective to show that she was involved with them, that she could actually teach them something, if only they were willing to learn.
6. Handing out rewards, big or small, was a clear sign that she was really interested in getting them to learn.
7. "People don't care how much we know, but they want to know how much we care". Lou won Raoul's respect simply by showing care and concern when she visited his home, and spoke well of him. Single isolated case it may seem. But a thing like this is contagious, as students will spread the word among themselves.
8. I also feel that Lou did something important by subtly identifying the leader or prominent alpha male of the class. Guess I'd have to borrow the DVD to find out where that led to...
9. Her teaching methodology was very commendable as she established the students' attention to poetry by first introducing a Bob Dylan song. Although the song was not popular at that time, the lyrics contained parallels which the students could directly relate to – eg. drugs, being "high" and dying... Through it, they learned poetic techniques such as metaphors, which would be impossible to teach them through normal classroom lectures.
Was it worthwhile? If I may... you betcha!!!
I think what she did was a true example of the reflection practice! She observed the students and always threw the ball to their backyard. She challenged them with what they liked or with what that triggers their attention. Such students usually want to be asked to do something so that they would oppose it!! But she tried to do things that they actually like to do. In fact she understood, felt, and heard them as well as learned from their reactions to be able to design her approach in educating them.
I suppose the word we can use here is "relative"...I remembered I took up a short assignment teaching Secondary School students who are known as "Normal technical" class. To me, it is a enduring challenge to teach the class for 5 days. Getting their attention is never possible. They have short attention span, and in the mean time attention seeker, from teacher or fellow classmates.
To turn around, I guess we need to reduce the "authority" as a teacher and be "relevant" to them, reward them like "kids" (Giving them the attention they want). And build a "relationship" with them..but "draw a line", they can take advantage of this "relationship" too. - Wales Ong, SB
I think it is worth the while to such transformation. However, we have to be very careful and we should ensure the transformation works to the positive and not negative. This is a very-very old show in the era of no handphones, facebooks, etc you know what I mean. In our era, we have to deal with technology! There is another movie of Morgan Freeman - Lean on Me where the approach is quite the opposite. Therefore, I do not disagree with Michelle and Morgan but I think I would do it with extra caresssss. - Cheong Kwee Thiam, SMA
To her credit, Lou Ann quickly realises that she needed to customise her teaching methods to engage the students. She tried to engage them using subjects that they could relate to, offer them rewards and even had honest discussions with them. More importantly, she didn't look down on them but sort to treat them with respect and as equals. That made the difference in how the students reacted in the first and second video. Definitely worthwhile as they got interested in learning and eventually, graduated.
Jimmy Fan here. 'Dangerous Minds' did leave a deep impression on me when I caught it at Capitol (which serves to remind myself how young I'm). While I applaud Lou Ann for her determination and passion for the kids, I think it might not be possible for all of use to pull the same stunt off. It all starts with having your heart in the right place and translating that into actions. We just do what we can with what we have. The students (most of them) know where we are coming from.
Lou had empathy, she was able to identify the students' interest, or relate to their background, once she has captured their attention which are most intimate to the students, she was able to redirect her teaching approaches through that route.
The use of encouragement by words of affirmation or even giving physical treats to reward certain achievements are ways she found she connect better with the students and allow her to motivate the students to learn.
'It takes many wrong answers in order to find the right answers sometimes'... Lou. perhaps it too should dawn us, teaching approaches should not be just one particular approach, it should be flexible enough to adapt to different situations.
Lou Anne was totally shocked when she met her class on the first day. I think what she did thereafter helped her a lot. The fact that she has learnt what interests her students and adopt the right style and technique to communicate with her students really let her walk that extra mile.
Shwu Lan said...
Lou Anne Johnson was first shocked and upset by the students' behaviour. However, she changed her style of teaching after enlighted by her colleague and through reflection thought.
I think Lou Anne Johnson managed to overturned the situation because of her constant reflection thought and the "never say die" spirit.
Lou Anne customised her teaching method to suit her students and I think she did a great job. She was able to engage with the students so much better than before and she was able to stir up their interest in learning. Very inspiring! That's what we should do for our students as well!
Lou Ann Johnson truely had on belief and a sense of responsibilitly for her students and she did a great job:
- She put herself in their shoe and understanding their characters thoroughly. She change her image and blended with them inorder to capture their attention. Inorde to coomnuicate with them, she created relevant topis within their contect so as to trigger their attention.
- She was using coaching method and conduct caring and sharing session, thus gaining the students' respect and trust.She believed by changing her student's attitiude towards life, they could excel in whatever they are doing in future.
- Motivation & encouragement were the main elements for students to excel, therefore she gave rewards and incentives to student. Giving them choices or decision to do certain things instead of instructing them.
Overall, her effort was commendable. First, the students changed their attitude and perception towards life. Giving them space and time to understand.
Secondly, everyone is a winner so long you make an effort and that could change your entire life. Thirdly, create an environment - choose to learn, giving them a choice to decide.
LouAnne Johnson tries the unconventional methods of teaching to gain the trust of the students. It was worthwhile. After winning over her students with an impromptu karate lesson, LouAnne institutes a reward system, tossing out candy bars to anyone who participates in class and promising to take the kids to an amusement park if they agree to read poetry. They do, and LouAnne promptly introduces them to the lyrics of Bob Dylan's. This is followed by a contest, in which the students have to find a poem by Dylan Thomas that echoes the theme of the Dylan song. The kids seem to find matching poems and song lyrics pretty easy; mostly, though, they like the rewards........She went to visit the kid's parents to defend him and she's able to reach out to the students who need her the most and gaining respect and trust from them. The actions took by LouAnne Johnson with love, dedicated ultimately gets them to open up to learning. It was worthwhile.
I think she understands the fact that everything happens for a reason. She knew that must be a reason why the kids are not willing to study and thus she tried to find out the root of the problem. She is also not afraid of changes. Though her way of teaching is out of the norm, she still went ahead. As long its an effective way and though its not usual way of teaching, I think its still worth a shot.
she altered her look and behaviour in order to engage with her students better. it was worth it as they didnt' see her as just "another" teacher, and that she bothers to make an effort with them. this can aid engagement and bring the students closer to a learning mentality.
She was naive to go in thinking that she could manage the kids on her first day. So are teachers who go into a new class for the first time.
She managed to get the attention of the class on her first try, although for the wrong reasons.
She found out more about the kids from her colleague, which helped her to prepare her next move.
Subsequently, she dressed more casually in jacket and jeans and her language was more direct; less "teacher talk" but it was a lingo that the students could relate to. She also allowed them to talk crudely, to act cool, and to misbehave within limits and she asked questions to get the conversation going. Most importantly, she showed genuine care and concern. For example, she said positive things about Raul to his parents, which is something every student needs to hear.
She also went into the psyche of why the kids behaved the way they did and gave due praises and rewards to get them motivated and participative.
Yes, it may look like a miraculous turnabout of events but it all requires baby steps to get somewhere, and that's my take on this. Hopefully schools are as patient as Ms Lou Anne Johnson.
I think that Miss Johnson is a really brave tutor. I feel that as a tutor, we have to evolve with the generation and react with the situation. The first video showed that Miss Johnson was caught off guard, yet, she didn't quit on them. Instead, resorted to improve the performance of her students.
Lou Anne Johnson was unprepared on her 1st day of work- she had no idea what she was up against (i.e. her students’ background, attitude, what their lives on the streets entail, their interests/ fears, etc). She did not resonate with the students- they think she was just another teacher who was there for a salary. She failed miserably on Day 1.
She reflected on what her colleague, Hal Griffith, told her: that her so-called "un-teachable" students can be taught if she got their attention. She knew then that conventional instructional methods will not suffice & thought of alternative ways to engage them e.g. telling them that she was an ex-marine and even taught them karate.
She also started off by giving everyone an "A", which was probably unheard of in that class as most had considered them hopeless. She gave them hope that by working hard, they will be able to keep their "A" grade. She also engaged in positive reinforcement by rewarding them when they did well. The students could feel her sincerity & that she genuinely cared for them. With that, they reacted by working hard, knowing that someone actually cared and that they are not hopeless like what everyone else thinks.
Sometimes, all you need is that 1 person you trust & respect to believe in you. Lou Anne Johnson's believe in her students may have touched the students in differing degrees, but all have definitely changed for the better.
The satisfaction of seeing a good student flourished to his/her full potential may be immense. But the satisfaction of seeing a wayward student step back on the right path is priceless.
The 2nd movie clip, she tied to engage student and get their attention. She spoke their language. She motivated them by rewarding. Finally, she got the respect from them.
Lau Chi Kan
WOW!
i remember watching this movie when it first came out and later when it spun into a TV series called Boston Public and "reflecting" to myself that there is no way i am going to be a teacher in a north american school. I remember doing some guest teaching slots when i was an undergrad in Canada and feeling the same dread and feeling of anxiety that shows through so clearly in Michelle Pfeiffer's acting in the first part, and thinking Thank God that SGP schools ain't that bad. But like Wales, after doing a stint relief teaching in a Normal tech class and recently doing some seminars in ITE, i know now that the teaching in such environments are only successful and engaging when you first learn allow the students to teach you on how best they learn and acquire information from you. And this is what Lou Anne did the hard way and the best thing about this process is that the high that you get when the students and learners "dig" your style and see how your str8 approach connects with them, you eventually see them as the better students than any GEP/SAP/Independent school system can get you!
Research has shown that even in the worse inner city schools in America, the number one problem that hinders learning is time wastage due to poor classroom management, it is NOT misbehaving students as portayed in Dangerous Minds. Students are generally willing to listen but often the teachers and lessons are not engaging enough.
She responded in the moment, taught them something outside of the box, got personal with them through introducing herself and calling them by name. She wasn't just concerned with getting through the lesson plans, she was concerned with getting their attention and showing that she cared. The moment the students realised that, they were more open to her.
What she did - get their attention, share with them who she was (not just a teacher, an individual who brings to them her own set of skills, experience, and karate chops), and most importantly, up her street cred and gain their respect.
I wish I could do karate.
Agnes Tan said...
Few things that strike me about Lou Anne Johnson approaches to transform the students:
- She rewarded students accordingly
- She gave encouraging and inspiring words to her students
- She rebuked her students when they went way overboard
- She tried to fit into their culture by changing the way she dressed and behaved
- She did not give up despite students' poor response or even outrageous remarks
Frankly speaking, it is an uphill task to transform students. However, so long as there is one student that gets transform in the process or small positive changes among the students, I would say it is more than worthwhile!
Lou Anne obviously did some reflection after her dreadful first day. After that she took action: She dressed down. She caught attention with words that connected with the students. She relied heavily on extrinsic motivation (reward system).
One of the best shows I've ever watched in my life. Truly magnificent.
The 1st day of school for Lou Anne was terrible caused the kids just want her to get out of the class, to quit, to die. They are just a bunch of people that want to control the situation.
But having said that, Lou Anne went back home, did some reflection and research. She came back stronger. 1st, she showed them whose the boss here. But yet without much authority but convincing. That makes them engaged with her. She know they are aggressive but deep down, they have made the decision to study instead of outside doing bad business. So she used 'karate' to engage with them.
- She used class lingo to relate to her teaching materials. To get in tune with their frequency to engage better.
- She enticed the class with quests and rewards. Students in her class fight for the quests not just only for rewards but they have their ego to be better than others. And after sometime, they started to participate as norm.
- She look at the kids positive side of their character and work from there, encourage them instead of biting at their negative side.
- The more they challenge her, the more she 'fight' back with justification that convinced them that their thinking were wrong or need correction - She just don't give up.
- Even though the kids did not manage to get the correct answer, but she still reward them for trying - Again, never give up
'Sometimes there's are lot of wrong answer, to get to the right one'
Absolutely stunning!
Ye Wei said:
The twist of events and a "Eureka!!" thought from her was really amazing. From the inital rowdy and challenging class to a respectful and attentive class, she put in a lot of effort to change the students. She really used her actions to move them and changed the way that the students looked at her.
I feel that Anne was just as distraught as anyone else would be, when she was thrown into the class of "rejects of hell".. But I think she took it as a challenge after the head-slapping yet encouraging words of her colleague that made her take up the challenge to win their attention first. And once she made the effort to show the students that she cared to go the extra mile in their way to win their hearts, they took her seriously and even got subdued to her care and concern of hers on them.. What could not be achieved with mere authority and power alone, can be achieved with sincere, nobel and genuine thoughts.. and yes, her attempts was much worthwhile indeed..
Fayth
Bravo.... Excellent teacher.... Dare to be different, willing to go that extra, extra mile...
It is really about passion and the joy is seeing the kid grow. If she can manage a class like that, she is ready for anything.
I believe she really have her student in her mind all the time, she is thinking how she can engage them. You see her flexiblity to change the question in order to enhance the learning. A big heart, a giving heart.
she is kind with her word. She didnt take every chance she has to compaint but she see the value of each individual.
Really inspiring. I think Lou Anne was brave and positive not to let her first impressions on her first day of school diminish her hope and belief in the potential of the students. First and foremost, I think it is a true mark of a good teacher to be able to see the goodness and potential of every student, regardless of how recalcitrant and defiant they may be - it is not easy, but it is an essential starting point - one that I need to be reminded of constantly, especially when I'm frazzled and exhausted from facing difficult students.
There are many things that Lou Anne did right in her subsequent classes. These include using attention-getters and building on students' prior knowledge by using examples and tweaking questions to make them more relatable to the student profile e.g. the karate session, the "I choose to die example", the Bob Dylan versus Dylan Thomas contest etc. She also tried to instil motivation in them - both intrinsic and extrinsic - she rewarded the students with prizes when they got answers correct; she also encouraged and inspired Raoul by putting in a good word to the latter's parents.
- Julian Kwok
Really inspiring. I think Lou Anne was brave and positive not to let her first impressions on her first day of school diminish her hope and belief in the potential of the students. First and foremost, I think it is a true mark of a good teacher to be able to see the goodness and potential of every student, regardless of how recalcitrant and defiant they may be - it is not easy, but it is an essential starting point - one that I need to be reminded of constantly, especially when I'm frazzled and exhausted from facing difficult students.
There are many things that Lou Anne did right in her subsequent classes. These include using attention-getters and building on students' prior knowledge by using examples and tweaking questions to make them more relatable to the student profile e.g. the karate session, the "I choose to die example", the Bob Dylan versus Dylan Thomas contest etc. She also tried to instil motivation in them - both intrinsic and extrinsic - she rewarded the students with prizes when they got answers correct; she also encouraged and inspired Raoul by putting in a good word to the latter's parents.
- Julian Kwok
Really inspiring. I think Lou Anne was brave and positive not to let her first impressions on her first day of school diminish her hope and belief in the potential of the students. First and foremost, I think it is a true mark of a good teacher to be able to see the goodness and potential of every student, regardless of how recalcitrant and defiant they may be - it is not easy, but it is an essential starting point - one that I need to be reminded of constantly, especially when I'm frazzled and exhausted from facing difficult students.
There are many things that Lou Anne did right in her subsequent classes. These include using attention-getters and building on students' prior knowledge by using examples and tweaking questions to make them more relatable to the student profile e.g. the karate session, the "I choose to die example", the Bob Dylan versus Dylan Thomas contest etc. She also tried to instil motivation in them - both intrinsic and extrinsic - she rewarded the students with prizes when they got answers correct; she also encouraged and inspired Raoul by putting in a good word to the latter's parents.
- Julian Kwok
Really inspiring. I think Lou Anne was brave and positive not to let her first impressions on her first day of school diminish her hope and belief in the potential of the students. First and foremost, I think it is a true mark of a good teacher to be able to see the goodness and potential of every student, regardless of how recalcitrant and defiant they may be - it is not easy, but it is an essential starting point - one that I need to be reminded of constantly, especially when I'm frazzled and exhausted from facing difficult students.
There are many things that Lou Anne did right in her subsequent classes. These include using attention-getters and building on students' prior knowledge by using examples and tweaking questions to make them more relatable to the student profile e.g. the karate session, the "I choose to die example", the Bob Dylan versus Dylan Thomas contest etc. She also tried to instil motivation in them - both intrinsic and extrinsic - she rewarded the students with prizes when they got answers correct; she also encouraged and inspired Raoul by putting in a good word to the latter's parents.
- Julian Kwok
I am watching the movie! Havent had time to do that but this short portion made me want to watch it.
I think that she reflected on her actions (being a straight faced lecturer) and transformed (integrated) herself with the class. She sees things from their perspective (eg. they are poor and not able to dine in fancy restaurant) and use them to encourage the students. Using interesting techniques (wordings/phrases) relevant to the student's daily routine helps them to understand more without being too explicit that it is for learning. I liked the last part where she gave prizes to the rest of the class despite picking the 3 winners. This action is very commendable as it makes the other students feel that they are not losers (which might make them dwell deeper into the dark). Also, many wrongs make one right, a very apt message to bring across. I always believe that students are allowed to err. That way, they learn faster!
After the first day Lou Anne did not give up. She definitely went home after that first day and reflected on how to teach this class.
Firstly she captured their attention by writing on the blackboard instead of shouting. She rewarded all students giving them motivation, and always had deep and inspiring things to say to them. This ultimately led to the students' respect for Lou Anne.
She related everyday things to the lesson's objectives for the students very well. This strategy kept the students engaged and aided in their learning.
Everything she did was definitely worthwhile, thus transforming the class as seen in clip 2.
When you can't beat them, you join them.
Building rapport and getting 'in-sync' with the students is one effective way of getting their attention. based on Anne's approach, it is essential that we structure our approach based on the charactheristics and persona of our class.
She dressed in a similar way with her students compared with the previous time. She was far more formal then. And she managed to grab her students' attention by posing an interesting problem: Karate. Teenagers at that age are quite into it. Slowly she can interact with her students and get them listen to her. Well done!
Xinli @ MS
This is a very inspiring show. It shows that it you are sincere and cares for the students. students would also reciprocate the feeling and respect. it may take time but its worthwhile.
The teacher actually try to understand the students not only at classrome level but at personal level and this allows the connection to be made.
Great job :)
I think Lou Anne Johnson did a great job in connecting with the students. She started off badly in the first clip, but managed to teach the students poetry in the end. She did a few things to connect with the students:
1. taught them something that interest them in the start (karate).
2. motivated them by giving rewards.
3. made them understand that the intention to study is their choice,
4. taught the students poetry by choosing materials/topics which they can relate to,
5. gained a student's trust and respect by defending the student,
6. cleared up the misunderstsanding that teachers are there to teach for the sake of money.
Paul Oh-
She caught their attention through using terms and situations they are familiar with, e.g. She uses terms such as "shoot", "die" and uses situations like drug-dealing and karate fighting. She also utilizes games in her class to keep the students interested as well as "forces" them to conduct "research" in the library in order to win the game. She respected the students by accepting them as what they are and providing encouraging words (e.g. visiting the family of one of them and telling the parents how good their son is)to boost their self-esteem. From the last few scences in the video clip, the students seem to have accepted her as their teacher (there is even a scene of a student apologising to her about being noisy). What she has done is defintely effective.
Clip 1
Probably Lou Anne was full of inspirations in her first day in class but she kind of "failed" miserably. Well, I thought her male colleague did the right thing by not telling her what to expect from that notorious class. Let her experience for herself. "Swim or sink" analogy but she overcame her initial disappointment and took off from there.
Clip 2
She kind of "played along" with the students using the lingo which they are familiar with to get their attention and connect with them in the English language class. Active based learning was also adopted in the "Dylan & Dylan" contest. Pretty engaging I would say.
One thing that touches me was that she was able to go down to the student's personal level and spoke to their parents and even said positive things about the student which elevated him. Kudos to her!
LouAnne Johnson had a bad experience in the classroom the first day of her teaching job. She was confronted with unmotivated students, who were mainly African-American. However, she reflected upon her unsuccessful first encounter. Subsequently she wore a leather jacket to her classes, and adopted lingos used by her teenager students. She modified classroom activities that invoked interest in her students, awarded them with high grades and enticed them with incentives (candies, restaurant dinners, theme park excursions). To teach the students poetry, she came up with a contest-based activity. Last but not least, she showed genuine concern for some troubled students, giving them encouragement and even protection.
Initially she is highly strung and couldn’t manage the class. 2nd time she is more cool and students are able to accept her and learn from her lessons. This is not only worth the effort but is necessary.
Joe Ong;
LouAnne Johnson did not expect such a experience in the classroom. She was totally unprepare to handle such students.
Subsequently, she adopted lingos, the way they behaivour/act to suit/blend with them.
She motivate the students by interaction, activities and not bored them with the main topic. She rewarded them with small incentives like candies, restaurant dinners, theme park excursions. After she gain the trust and liking of the students then she start to teach the students poetry, she also come up with idea to make the lesson interesting (contest-based activity). Lastly , she showed care and concern to troubled students, giving them encouragement word and not giving up on them.
It is definitely worthwhile to do. Becasue, if the students can listen or learn anything from the teacher then it better not to have the teacher in the first place.
a little too romantic for me. but i observed her not giving up on the first go. Finding a common ground where teaching and students' general interest meet is critical.
I think with challenging students , the lecturer should quit wasting time to teach in traditional methods rather spend time to gain trust and catch their attention. once that is done,the lecturer has to keep up with the same energy to try to keep the students' attention. We have to bear in mind, that these students are least bothered about grades and getting into good schools.
Gail GOh says:
I think the teacher was being "bullied" on her first day to work. However, she used that chancce to assess her students and from then develop a teaching strategy to gain the attention of the students. As a result, at the end, she is able to teach the student and input knowledge into their life. Not only that, she taught them some valuable principles that they can use in their life.
She did a fabulous job in turning around the students' life. What caught me was that she actually sacrifice her own resources, like money to buy treats for the students, taking them out to dinners. Not to mention, her guts in changing how the lesson is taught and her time in developing lesson plans that will engage the students
Miss Johnson is so brave. Honestly, I am not sure if I have the courage to stay if I were in her shoes.
Most important step was she showed that students that she does not fear them and she is interested in the students' lives. In order to communicate with the students, the first thing she did was to transform herself "speak the lingo" of the students. She changed her dresscode, started on topics that interest the students (Karate), and involved the students in the lesson.
Her dedication paid off and the students become more appreciative and started to take interest in learning.
Students don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care.
The first thing she did was to capture their attention by changing her dressing. The students coming into the class immediately spotted her change and that make them responsive.
She chose simple words that they are more familiar with. Different students are motivated differently, in this video she uses rewards to motivate them.
In the meeting with the student parents, she gave positive feedback and comments on the student.
Shawn Lim (SMA)
I personally felt the changes were worthwhile. the ultimate aim/objective is to have the student studying well/understanding the topic well. in order to reach that, she needed to get their attention. she started slow with the karate thing and slowly on using different words combination to get to the job and eventually the dylan dylan contest which make the student work hard to win the dinner. she even acknowledge the hard work put in from the remaining student by rewarding them with gift.
I personnally like when she asked the class if they want to talked about "it" and then go on to explain about the choice topic.
She was fail in her first day, but not given up. She try to get their(students) attention. she used many ways to engage the students, some ways are not really work well. she quickly changed as reflected (reflection on action). she show her care and concern on them and gradually built-up the trust.
Teaching strategy- she started sample lessons to improve gradually till students' own research. she used the Rewards to motivate the students in their study. finally paid off.
I love that she announced that everyone is the Winner because of they all put in the effort.
I believed that our students are not that bad and we may not need to show off our kong-Fu skill??
Kher Hsin-
Miss Johnson reflected on her approach in engaging with her class after her failed attempt to teach on the first day. In her second attempt to teach the class, she made changes in her appearance and attitude towards the class so as to appear more approachable. In addition, she also used “karate” which was unrelated to her teaching subject as a common topic to kick start the engagement with the class.
Following the success of engagement with her class, she tried to deliver her teaching subject to the class which was again, unfortunately, unsuccessful. Miss Johnson reflected on her teaching methodology on the spot and went use on to use an unconventional topic which was about death to introduce her teaching subject to the class. This method evidently helped to capture the attention of her class and she was able to deliver her syllabus successfully for the day.
To make her way in to teach her subject in depth, for example poetry, Miss Johnson made use of topic such as drug trafficking which is well associated to the social context of her students to deliver her teaching subject. She was also there to extend advice and motivation to her students which all in all result a closer ties between her and her class. On top of that, she motivated her students to be more responsive in class and develop self-directed learning via reward system.
I believe it is worthwhile as long as she is able to get the attention from students and effectively deliver her teaching subject.
Aww, Dangerous Minds rocks - as does Lou Ann Johnson. Her book, Teaching Out of the Box is one of the books I read before deciding that I wanted to make the career move into teaching.
The point of the clips is that yes, she got the students' attention, but she also related what they were learning to the real world, to the situations they were in, the lives and deaths that they saw around them every day. She decided not only to get their attention, but to do more than teach - she wanted to reach them, make a connection, maybe even show them that they and their lives had value, and even when they thought that they had no choices, they still could make a choice.
Cassy says:
I think what Lou Ann did was really commendable. It was all so well thought out--from teaching a few karate moves to get the class warmed up and respect her for her 'chops', and then proceeding on to doing a poem that relates to the students' lives. It's all about winning the trust and hearts of the students first before doing any real teaching. The rapport building effort is time consuming, but this movie shows that it really pays off in the long run
I liked the Karate lesson!! I felt that the risk she taken was worthwhile and it paid off quite a bit. At least students start to notice her.
Overall, I respect her never-give-up attitude. She reflected on her teachings and tried to change her teachings for the students. I am not sure if I can be as strong as her in handling this class.
Lou Anne Johnson essentially won over the class by getting their attention, trust and respect. It is very inspiring to see her transforming her class of "rejects from hell" to students who are motivated to learn (with rewards and encouragement). It takes a lot of courage and perseverance to believe in the students but yes, her efforts are definitely worthwhile.
I think getting students' attention, building rapport with them are difficult but crucial to an effective teacher.
Lou Anne had a difficult time getting students' attention initially. But she tried to blend in with students in many aspects, dressing style, martial art, and changed to use examples to the students' interest.
Lou Anne was generous in giving positive reinforcements, such as verbally at the family visit, giving tokens of appreciation for assignment, not only for the good work, but also for the effort. I believe that this helps to strengthen students' intrinsic in addition to extrinsic motivation.
Lou Anne showed students that she cares for a better cause than getting paid. Students would truly show rapport to a teacher that they respect.
Although we do not have the luxury of time to conduct a karate workshop to bring the teacher-students relationship closer, the efforts (which can be presented in other forms) to get students' attention and build the rapport are worthwhile.
Anne did a fabulous job as a teacher. Some of the ways she tried to get attentions from students and build trust and students' self esteem are worth learning and all the efforts she put in are worthwhile. But I doubt the way she tried to use chocolate bars as rewards to get students' interest would work nowadays. Students like to be treated as "adults" and getting rewards after answering some questions may get some to have the feeling that they are treated like trained dolphins which may make them purposely resist this kind of rewards. This is the trend I notice on my students.
I think Lou Anne did a great job in getting the students' attention by looking like them, speaking like them and more importantly, understand them. This is important to build a strong rapport and trustwortiness between students and teacher.
yes it is worthwhile to see the reform in her class. she start with informal question and answer, slowly buildup the trust from the students by rewarding them in the class..
She never give up on students and believe what she is doing is worth it.
She did a couple of things to capture students attention in class: dressed down to suit students, praticed karate to attract students attention, asked 'why?' question to build rapport, gave positive feedbacks in front of student's parent to encourage student by giving second chance, distributed chocolate bar as rewards to motivate students in learning, create competition to initiate students in searching the specific topic.
Another act she did that stay in my mind is she even distribute reward to students that did not win the competition because she appreaciated and recognised the work of other students.
It is indeed an inspiring video clip.
Wow.... Thank goodness my class is not like that! But it is definitely worthwhile; especially so when Lou Anne Johnson is able to transform them.
Afterall what can be more rewarding than a job that allows you to really make a difference in another person's life? Reminds me of the film Coach Carter.
After her first day which was a disaster, Lou Anne Johnson reflected about what was wrong in her classroom. She changed her teaching methods and approaches so that she could engage the students' attention. She built trust between the class and her. She treated students with respect and sincerity. And most importantly, she showed them that she really cares about them.
I'm not sure if giving material rewards is a good way to motivate students. They may get the idea that it is an entitlement and take it for granted. Having said that, I have yet to try that on my class, so maybe it'll work better than I expect.
Lou Anne Johnson did a good job of getting the student attention by incorporating inconventional technique to convey her teaching. Sometimes you need to find a way to get the students attention first before you can start inputing, this is the first challenge of any teachers.
Lee Martin:
She got the student’s attention with her tougher attitude and mini karate lesson. Getting their attention with something that interests them was a good idea but personally I think it was a poor choice of activity (dangerous and almost escalates to a fight!). She then went back to her old ineffective teaching approach, but quickly realises her mistake and changes the sentence to something more dramatic (‘want to die’) and regains interest.
She uses snacks as rewards and the students are seen to take notice: when someone participates and answers questions they get an instant and tangible reward.
Another memorable scene is where she visits the students family (takes a real interest in the students life and learning)
I loved these clips! Thanks for sharing them.
Ms Johnson's efforts were totally worthwhile, but they must have taken her A LOT of hard work and effort. Here are some of the strategies she used:
1) Establishing authority. Being a teacher was not 'authoritative' enough in that context. Being a US marine and a karate expert, perhaps.
2) Using examples that students can relate to.
3) Empowering them by emphasizing that education is a choice.
3) Never losing her cool.
4) Extrinsic motivations such as chocolates and treats.
5) Caring.
My first thought after reviewing the two videos is that Anne is certainly a determine and good teacher.
Although she is unable to handle her class during the first lesson and has to walk out, she didn't gave up and has the courage to return to her class to try out new ways to interact with them.
For actions, Anne adjusted her teaching and interaction techniques with her student, which reaped rewards and allowed her to progressively build up the trust and rapport with them.
Lou Anne Johnson when first enter the class with the format dress and behave in a way last time her teacher behave. She realised she totally cannot connect to her students.
Later she dress in a more casually, and adjust her interation with the student and get student attention and building rapports. She engage the student with competitions in groups. She never regard her students as 'rejects". But competition with prizes .... who should pay for it? Lecturer?
Lou Anne Johnson abolished her own belief systems, her personal ethics as a "proper" teacher and tried to adapt to the that of the students. Through that, she is able to establish communication and build rapport with her students and hence achieving her aim of making students learn.
In reality, that may not be the most practical way because a class may have students of diverse background, aims and learning ability. No one method can appeal to all students. In movies and shows, the class usually has a setting whereby students are of similar nature.
In the beginning, she's struggling to get the class attention. However, as she starts to change her teaching style, (i.e. getting the students to engage in discussion, having rewards for them and till to a later part, where the students went to the library to do research on the poem), students are more willing to learn. It was definitely worthwhile!!!
Lou Ann did a few things:
1. Changed her dressing to match that of her students so that they would see her as equals.
2. Developed relationships so that she would build trust.
3. Became a friend.
4. Showed empathy and tried to put herself in their shoes.
A great movie for teachers to learn from...in building trust and relationships with the students to help them learn.
kah keng
what she did was really understanding the students and how to craft the whole learning experience so that the students will be able to benefit from the teachings. its a good example of Level 1-3 reflectives.
There are more than one way to deliver the same message. The key thing is how do we get their attention and interested ?
Lou Anne Johnson used an unconventional approach to address an unconventional issue.
She had to find common ground with the students by changing her attire, she had to show the students that she understood their situations, and can related to them, for example their experiences with physical interactions by showing them proper karate techniques.
She had to use examples that the students could relate to, for example "choose and choices in life", before the students would give her their undivided attention.
May Lim
Humour, creativity and thinking out of the box are definitely in play here. Underneath all the hard facade, there's always a way to get into a person, eg, there's always a way to get students to be interested in learning.
I can understand why she dangles many carrots (candies, gifts etc) as these motivate this particular bunch of students. Proud students especially, do need that extra push. Can SP reimburse our carrots? =)
Lou Anne Johnson faces the troublesome students with patience and reflective thinking. She is watching for a chance to "attack" back. First, she tries to establish the communication although the students use sharp tongues. Then, she leads the students to follow her questions step by step; And finally the cooperation is created. She also visits the student's parents and praises the student. This kind of engagement moves the student.
I have watched this movie a few times already, and each time I watch it, I will still be touched by the way Anne reaches out to her students with her love and sincerity.
I think ultimately what transforms these problems students is the teacher's genuine interest to help them. Care, encouragement and trust are three important pillars in the realm of education, and Anne succeeds in winning the trust and therefore hearts of her charges because she treats them respectfully without placing judgment on their character or family backgrounds.
This is something all of us can learn from her.
Lina Fang:
She tries to speak their language/ dress like them to catch their attention. What stood out was her affirmation of Raoul in front of his parents, which could help to raise his confidence as a person. She acknowledges everyone's efforts despite that the students' answers may be incorrect.
Given the way the students responses to her changed (from being inattentive and sceptical to having initiative and more attentive in class), her efforts are worthwhile.
Su Huiping:
Anne's problem was finding the motivation in her class. Anne chose to focus on the good points of her student which actually motivates the individual.
However, on giving rewards,i wonder how sustainable that can be in the long run because it comes from the teacher's own pocket.
It's not easy to deal with your emotions resulted from having a class of students like this. Lou Anne Johnson must have gone through lots of reflections before she came up with careful considerations and actions to deal with the class. She said she wasn't there for the money, as a response to one of her students. She has profuse passion for her teaching job, and strong belief in her students (by not giving up on them). I would say, it was worthwhile doing what she did.
She engaged them with topics they were interested to speak up about. She also subtly posed homework to them through first garnering their interest of competition and award systems. She made them respect her without shouting or punishment which could push them away even further.
Adeline Thong
Probably a mixture of group discussion and action research for a start. I feel asking for peer discussion from more experienced lecturers almost instantaneously brainstorms the possibly approaches which I could then choose to adopt and act upon.
Pitfalls, I think would be most certainly students who give up on themselves? I think perhaps trying to understand these students and perhaps parents could help in engaging them relationally.
Lou Anne attempted to dress down at work and used karate as an activity to build rapport with the class. To entice them into studying, she started a contest so that the students are extrinsically motivated to carry out research in the library. As I was watching the video, I asked myself if it is worthwhile to go to such an extent to capture the students' attention. Ultimately,the harvest was priceless based on the effort that she has put in to transform the lives of these students. It takes a lot of passion and determination for any teacher to stay and manage a class as such. I was touched and deeply inspired by what she said " I choose to care for you as a teacher, I did not come here for the money".
Anne see through that her student wanted something different in life. This is because the environment in where her student come from are of very bad condition.
Hence Anne inspire her student with the term choice as in she told them that they have a choice to choose what they want in life.
She earned credibility by showing them she knew karate, and earned their interest by showing them the moves. She helped them to gain confidence by slowly building up their language skills, teaching them the fundamentals.
The Dylan-Dylan contest motivated them and piqued their interest in poetry.
It's inspiring to see their transformation through a committed teacher.
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