Head to Head

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If compelled to choose between the teacher hero narrative or the anti-hero teacher, I choose the anti-hero position. I refuse to follow the plot line which throws too much light on how intelligent and thoughtful I am, how I designed a wonderful, innovative activity that the students just loved. They learned so much as well. I can politely listen to such stories when told by new teachers unsure of themselves, but more experienced teachers fail from time to time and these stories contain a rare nourishment of their own.

I feel for John. I never read my student evaluations when I began teaching in a computer classroom. I was at a point in my teaching career where I was ready to fix one or two problems with the class the next time around. The problems were apparent enough in those early days that reading student evaluations seemed to be begging for punishment.

Take off your teacher cap, John and put on your white lab coat. We're doing a study here...your students are responding to our study parameters, not your teaching.