Students in Need of Cool Teachers

After watching the Blogging Heads video and reading a few responses to the same segment I touched on, I found that many students in our own classroom would agree that a cool teacher is necessary for a student’s academic success in school. However, the definition of what makes a cool teacher is still in the air. It appears that students want to be taught by teachers who understand their students and their students’ academic needs.

In his essay, Colby Suder states that “There should be a balance of course criteria and simply just being a person. By that I mean, they shouldn't put themselves on a pedestal and be superior to the class; they should lighten up.” Students do not want to be preached and lectured by teachers while in class, but want teachers who seem to be on their level as opposed to being taught by a talking textbook. The more human the teacher is, the better it is for their students to be able to handle their teaching style. William Deresiewicz explains that he does preach from time to time in his classes but also tells jokes so that students can see that there is more to him than the academics he is responsible for teaching. This is a great strategy for teachers because its works for both the student and teacher’s benefit and relationships.

In Kyle Miyamoto’s opening paragraph of his essay, he explains that teachers need to be in the student’s shoes in order to understand their needs. He says, “Teachers should take the time to be in the students’ shoes. Figure out the new fads or what most teenagers like doing. Mark Edmundson explains from experience ‘If you wanted to understand students you must figure out the major motive of technology.’ Knowing what has an influence on a specific student or students in general, the teacher can develop the best method of teaching their students.” This way, teachers will know what kinds of things surround modern students’ lives and can have better interactions with them. With a vast selection of electronics in today’s modern world, modern students prefer modern ways of teaching. The old fashion style of teaching from the textbook will drive many of us college students insane if we have to sit through three-hour lectures everyday and have to put up with the same class everyday.

Being a “cool” teacher does not necessarily mean that the teacher should be completely relaxed about all classroom activity but more so acting in a certain manner where students feel comfortable interacting with their teacher.

Pauline Slakey said, “My opinion on the matter is that teachers should try to find a medium between keeping a high level of professionalism and still keeping the class somewhat entertaining and interesting by finding ways to relate to the students. In relating to the students I do not mean turning to student behavior, but rather relating to the human aspect of each individual. Teachers should remember that they are teaching to other human beings with feelings and emotions, and learning a list of facts without understanding ways of being able to relate and make sense of this data, can be rather dull and uninteresting.”

Here, she makes explains that teachers can still be professional and very serious about teaching and academics but can still act in an understanding and comforting manner. This shows that students are accepting of the professionalism and seriousness of most college professors but always courage them to show a more relaxed common personality. In these times, uptight college professors who demand much time and effort from their students will not have much success in receiving good feedback in surveys evaluating their performance. In the end, students and teachers alike benefit from serious academic work as well as good and likable personalities.