Well...I am so behind in answering some of these questions. I'm going to try my best to answer them all.

maguc :  I don't have a "favorite" student, but I have a lot of students that I enjoy having in class. Whether if it is because they ask good questions, or because we get along really well, or they have a great personality. It's good to have good interactions between the teacher and the student.

As for your second question, I wouldn't really say "unteachable" but I would say that the obstacles that the student is experiencing currently is causing the student to have difficulty learning in the same pace as the other students. That doesn't mean that they are unteachable, it just means that they may or may not be able to learn it as well during this time, or they need more time to master the material, something that, unfortunately, some people don't have the luxury of having. And then there are some that struggle just because they are taught by bad teachers.

mrfe : I would say...introduction to filmmaking. It would be an awesome class to have, both creative lectures as well as practical hands on practice. It would also be a great way for people to get involved and to understand this type of media.
 
I have an interest in Physics Education Research. I want to know how to teach Physics more effectively and how to communicate the topic while stomping any misunderstanding in science. Part of being able to understand that is to actually be in the classroom and understand how students understand what you communicate. Plus, I love getting to know students and to share about the things that I studied in college.
 
I teach high school physics and our school is special in the Physics is taught the first year as a 9th grader, which is a good thing especially with what has been researched in terms of science orders. I also teach advanced and AP physics, which are for upper level students who take more material and more math problem solving. Both of them have their benefits. The 9th grade one is the one that I need to really connect with the students and get them excited and interested in physics, while the upper class I really focus on getting their method and problem solving to be solid, so there's a lot of drilling, and can be fun when done right.

Mistress :  Ummm, well it depends. I don't usually interact with them, but there are people that I work with so that the child can benefit, particularly those who have special needs or learning disabilities. We work together so that we both know each other's point of view on how to help the student and understand the different techniques and methods to help the student.

Bullying isn't that common in our school, but all teachers need to be aware of how to prevent such things from happening. Before the first day of school, we actually had a meeting on how to be aware of student interactions, sometimes to be close to groups and to actually see if there is a particular student that has some hint of unhappy facial expressions. To be mindful of how students treat a specific type of person or the way they talk to them or talk about them.

becerra95 :  I just became a full time teacher this year, so the workshops are especially helpful to me because it is gaining wisdom from those who have done it before and do it well.

One thing about high school students is that they are just starting to reach an age that they would understand sarcasm. Sometimes you are able to connect with students if you go along with what they students do to make the classroom to feel lighthearted. Besides, I am also a human being, so I can laugh at humor when I see it, but there is a fine line between being funny and being disruptive. Usually a rule of thumb that I have is that if what the student is doing or did is not interrupting me or if it doesn't push students away from focusing on what we are talking about in class, then I would go along with it or join in a little. I want my students to feel comfortable in the classroom. However, if it is disruptive, then I have to stop it immediately to move on. I don't find it a big deal if it is something that I can easily stop and move on. If the student continues to do it, then disciplinary action might happen. 

We have teacher techniques where we would either stop and give them the teacher face to stop the craziness in class or I would do something to get the class back together. So far, I have been able to get students' attention and they listen. But it sometimes may be annoyingly tell a student to stop what they are doing even if they are arguing. Then deal with the student individually so that it won't happen again.

This is my first independent school system that I am full time hired for.

Popeye116 :  They are great! I'm new in the education world and they have been very helpful with getting me settled and make sure that I survive. Every now and then, they would check up on me and ask me if there is anything that I need.

patar4097 :  Same response to mrfe. But if you want a different answer, then maybe logic or science philosophy. Those are interesting things to learn, but I don't know if high school can really handle that yet. 

iN008 : I don't do that for my 9th grade class, but for AP, I would have to because a whole year is not enough time to cover every single topic in the class. I need to be able to go through it in a fast pace, which is good because I am able to reach more span of topics compared to the 9th grade, but we don't get into it deep enough for them to be fully comfortable in those topics. I would also need to stay on task with the schedule that I set so that we can cover everything before the deadline. It is hard for a new teacher to do that, because it focuses too much on getting the material in rather than the learning and the enjoyment of learning. 

Someone70 :  Yes, I do. LOL Only during breaks though, when I am needed to do some modding or reports.
 
I try to put the projects to be closer to the test percentages, while putting the homework to be closer to the labs. Because I see labs and homework to be practice, so if they get them wrong, it won't kill their grade. The tests are what tells me if they understand the material or not, and projects are also letting them show that they know what they are learning, but express it in a different and creative way using other skills that they have.

Barathemos : High school is the area that I would like to teach, so yes I am teaching the group that I want. The best thing about teaching is that I can share what I am passionate about to the children and that they would learn and they have the "aha" moment when they finally understood something and want to keep learning. The dislike would probably be the opposite of my likes as well as some of the extra effort that I would make in order to do my job. Sometimes it could be administration/teacher/parent politics, or it could be overbearing or obsessive parents who "think" they know their child that they would go crazy on you and makes my job difficult. 

DenzGamer135 :  No good teacher really wants to punish students.  However, we have to keep in mind that we have something that I need to provide my content for them to learn as well as there are other students that need to learn. If a student is starting to be a distraction or is deliberately disobeying or disrespecting what I ask them to do. I would need to talk to them personally, call them out to stop, or I will have to assign them detentions or some punishment. I may also need to talk to parents to see if there is any way that we can cooperate to get better behavior from the child.

Mr. Zed : Very important. Just having the teacher talk during class or do activities with the students is not enough to instill a type of practice to the class. Having homework or practice problems for them to do at home not only gives them the practice needed to do well in the classroom, but also instill a type of discipline that they need to focus and get the assignment done.

~Pikachi~ :  Not really, I haven't thought of teaching anything else.

This is an interesting question. I don't really mind either way, but there has to be some kind of dress code that would reflect a good image of the school and well as not being a distraction of the other students. Uniforms can do both of those things but they can really be uncomfortable to the students, plus they would need to get them.

There isn't really an enjoyment in giving homework. I just find it necessary for students to have homework to practice and learn.


And...I'm finally done answering. HAHA. Now my conscience is clean from guilt.

Has a student ever given you an apple or any other kind of fruit just randomly.

Question for all the teachers. Have you ever eaten the apple or fruit if a student gave you one?

Trying some humor. Want an answer though

awesomeguy279 :  I believe I had answered this somewhere, but maybe it didn't go through?  Anyways, the answer to this question is.. yes!  It only began happening this year though. I discovered the awesomeness of pears, and shared that awesomeness with one of my students, who had also never eaten a pear. She was so amazed, and her friends enjoyed the exchange so much... that now they bring me a pear every time the cafeteria serves them!  It's so awesome and absolutely makes my day.  If the cafeteria doesn't have pears, they'll bring me an apple, or... even once... they randomly brought me a stack of napkins.

Those little things make teaching so much fun, and really bring a smile to my face.  It's a shame not all students can be as sweet. XD

becerra95 :  Why yes,yes I have.  

soraroxaskennedy: 
was actually the student that brought me the stack of napkins.  XD

This isn't a question as much as a suggestion.

Why don't you make a terminology thread? By that I mean make threads that define basic terms of various subjects (or multiple threads for individual subjects).

Has a student ever cursed you out? There is this one girl in my health class that always talks back to the teacher and curses her out, and I was wondering if all teachers have to deal with stuff like that.

I'd like to invited more questions in this thread, so I'm going to ask the other teachers a question.

See, everyone in my school is complaining about the INSANE amount of work our principal is giving us. It seems like everytime we get half way though one task, she's assigning us even more to do. I feel quite overwhelmed, and I know my co-workers teaching AP and IB feel so much more frustrated.

Our principal takes away at LEAST one prep period a week for a book study, gives us 'homework' based off the book, wants us to record videos, help in the main office (since we have few aids), asks us to backtrack to a ridiculous extent when it comes to failing students, instructs us to come in on some Saturdays for up to 6 hours, and asks us to send her weekly data.  Now, the worksheets have about 9 questions each, but each also require about a page of hand-written responses.  The videos are to go along with the worksheets, and we have to make one per worksheet.  The data..... she wants us to record what student answered WHAT question with what answer.... then calculate a bunch of stats based off how many kids opted for which answer choice.

These are just a FEW of the tasks she assigns us outside of our normal work load.  Since I've only worked in this one school, I don't know what other schools are like. My more experienced colleagues says she asks for way more than any principal they've ever asked for, and you can see the strain on ALL the teacher's faces....

What extra duties does your principal expect from you (outside of the norm)?

megamanmaniac :  I don't know about a basic terminology thread for each subject, but I guess I'd leave that up to each FoK teacher.  However, you did give me an idea for creating a thread with terms related to the teaching profession itself. Sometimes I forget certain words may not be familiar to those who are teachers. I can't promise I will create one any time soon, as I'm drastically overwhelmed, but I'd like to do that eventually.

tgags123 :  I'm blessed in that I work in a school with the better behaving kids.  Where I live, a kid is just as likely to punch you in the face, as curse you out.  That being said, I've had kids both curse me out, threaten me, and ..... well, try to get me to take of clothes.  (Yes, I'm being serious.)  We have to deal with disrespectful kids on a daily basis, and it's certainly hard and probably affects more teachers than you can imagine.  Teaching is a very thankless job, but teachers must keep a distance when it comes to the way their students treat them.

What made you decide to become a teacher as opposed to whatever else there is in the field you teach? No specific person in mind when asking this.

Chindogu : My answer to this question would be far too long to explain right now, but basically, I have a passion for kids and for imparting the love of learning.  I've always felt myself to be strong when it comes to explaining mathematics, and there's almost nothing more satisfying to me, than to help a kid grasp math who struggled with it earlier.... or to help expand the minds of those who are already good at it.

Have you every just completely lost it in class, when students just go on and on and push your buttons until the point where you crack and just completely lose your composure, I ask because my poor biology teacher has to put up with a lot of crap from my class. The worst part is, that it is only a few students that completely ruin it for the whole class, they don't shut up, they are always horse playing around and throwing things at each other which leads to the class getting so off topic and my poor teacher has to stop class just to get them to listen. I feel bad for her though, and for the students that actually want to learn something. This is an advanced class by the way... 

So has this every happened to you? Have your students ever pushed you to the point where you just snap? 

Razor-987 :  oh man.. this one is EASY for me to answer.  yes, yes, and yes.  My first and second year were pretty bad because I didn't know what to expect. I've always been one of the most patient people I know... but man, does a class full of 30-ish kids know how to push buttons!  The disrespect is just mind-boggling, and quite frustrating.  However, I recognized the fact that I let kids get under my skin too often, and so I worked VERY hard on that over the past few years. This year though... I feel like I'm re-experiencing my first year.  I absolutely cannot handle most of my classes, and there are several cases where I have ended up losing it on a class, or refusing to talk for the rest of the period so that I DON'T lose it and lecture them.

The part I have to remember is that 'losing it' doesn't ever help. The kids only find it amusing and it encourages them and spurs them on.  I've had several of the good kids express the exact sentiments you have though: that they felt sorry for me and for the way other students treated me.

Just a simple question, it is nearing the end of the year, which will take a ton of pressure off of most of you teachers, what will you do at the end of this year? Party? Did this year feel longer, shorter, or just the same as all of your other years teaching?

Barathemos : I feel I should answer this one since I am have the oddest story out of all of the teachers. Since I do not officially teach for the college I volunteer my time to chefs around the college in hopes that I could become a part time teacher. Hasn't worked so far but I still consider myself a bit of a teacher since a lot of students come to me for advice and questions on a regular basis. But back to your question no not really the year is just ramping up for me since summer is the busiest time at the restaurant I work at and the college has a large number of summer classes that need help with. But there will be parting for us in the restaurant.


And to answer your final question no it feels about the same length but this is the first year I have been able to take charge of a class room and help students. So a lot of it is still new to me but I have knowledge that these guys need so its challenging but rewarding.

Barathemos :  That is a really good question, Barathemos.  This time of the year is -definitely- the busiest for most of us teachers. It feels like every time this part of the year comes around, everything comes to a boiling point.  Usually I'm a bit indifferent about summer approaching.  However, this year has definitely, -definitely- felt longer than most years.  There were several times I spent a Sunday night crying because I just didn't want to go back.  I am counting the days for my year to be over, and I'm completely ready to start anew next year.