I lectured a turma today for about 10 minutes straight because they didn't leave me alone the entire day about taking their class early. See, if a turma isn't in class, they always try to get teachers to teach their class ahead of time. This turma had managed to get two free times because of absences and the last time (period) had already presented their class. Since I was the second to last teacher for the day, I was the only thing keeping them from going home. The entire day they asked for me to teach their class, and I kept saying no because I had other classes to teach. They then asked to sit in on another lesson, and I told them no because the lessons were different.
When I finally (!) arrived to teach their class, many students had already left and of those that stayed, quite a few started openly complaining that I never taught their class the whole day, as if it were insulting.
Well, I ripped into them and touched on everything about why they're here - is it to pass or just to say you watched the lesson (I've given up on "for education") - that it's not the teacher who waits on the students but vice versa, that I don't teach because of money, but I want to have them understand, which can't be done in an out-of-order lesson, etc.
I felt bad ripping into them like that, but they're adults and act like little kids who couldn't care less about school - that is, they don't want to miss the lesson because that would be the supreme failure; they don't have any drive (most of the students) to understand because they either don't see the relationship between understanding and performance, or don't care because they can buy their way through. And when it comes down to it, even the best motivation in the world can't make someone want to understand when they don't want to.
I still don't know how best to motivate my students - 25% are always motivated and 25% will never be. It's that 50% in the middle that's got me stuck.
Peace
John
