Do perfectionists struggle as Teachers?
469591
I have been a teacher for four years being a perfectionist is not a bad trait it's just that being a teacher you need to embrace the concept that children have their own personality you can not tell them the right and wrong answers.\nPerfectionist can also be a teacher they can influence the children to achieve the best and not just settle for second best.\nFor me all teachers should be a perfectionist i know i am but not in a paranoid way because we influence children.\nPerfectionist can only struggle if they impose what they believed and who they are to their students.
58697
Good teachers aren't just "good" because they know the subjects they teach.  An effective, good teacher is one who can get the material across to any student, motivate students, uplift and encourage students feeling down, diffuse conflicts between students, and above all make students feel good about themselves.\n\nTeachers who do this get their subject material across very well.  It is almost more important for teachers to be good at working with people (specifically youths).  Subject material can come AFTER that.
263289
I had a math teacher, I actually felt sorry for him. He could not control the class at all. He would write on the board and there would be spit wads all over the board and in his hair. It was impossible to learn anything in his class. Some people just don't belong in the teaching profession.
1073327
Definitely! As a high school English teacher, I KNOW that nepotism is hurting our schools. Constantly, highly-qualified teachers are passed over simply because a new hire is related to (or, not strictly nepotism, but because the new hire "knows" someone-this seems to be the major problem) a higher-up. The students suffer because the best teachers are not being hired. \n\nAdministrators should look for highly-qualified teachers (and not only "highly-qualified" because they passed the required tests, but because they are motivated to teach, and by a love of the students and the work) and they are the ones that should be in place in our students' classrooms!
884378
Kim, I teach at a public university and I am very demanding of my teacher education students.  It's not meanness, it's not evil intent; instead, we just want them to work as hard as they are able, to soak up as much as they can, in preparation for life.  You see, you are about to go into the big-bad world in a couple of years -- wouldn't you rather apply yourself now so you will have success then?  \n\nMy students know I am hard.  They have commented, and I readily acknowledge, that I am the toughest of all the teachers.  However, that said, they say how much more prepared they will be when they leave due to this high level of expectations.  Instead of thinking the teachers are out to get you, couldn't you think they are just trying to get you as prepared as possible?  And be grateful?  If they aren't going to push you, who will?\n\nGood luck -- and I hope it makes sense to you!
200328
A teacher who makes students feel bad for asking questions is not a very good teacher, in my opinion.  I am a first year teacher and I encourage all of my students to ask questions.  This also helps me to clarify concepts and will assist me in preparing and teaching the lesson better next time.  I must say though, it is quite frustrating for students to have a teacher repeat something 4 or 5 times just because the students were not paying attention the first time.
843078
I'm also an inncer-city teacher and I can relate to your concerns.  Part of the problem is that the tests are supposedly designed to measure students' grasp of underlying concepts.  But that's not what they actually measure.  They are mostly word problems, so in the end they are primarily testing the students' verbal skills.  A very bright math student who can manipulate numbers expertly, or a very slow student who can demonstrate understanding using manipulatives, will both fail a standardized test if they can't read and comprehend the test questions.\n\nI've found that my urban students have a lot of trouble with word problems.  One teaching strategy that I had some success with was teaching them how to "decode" test questions.  In other words, I literally gave them lists of key terms in word problems and what they mean.  So at the very least, they knew that if the question asked "how many more," they had to subtract.  But I'm talking about 3rd graders here.  I don't know how well that would apply to higher level math.\n\nThe bottom line is that if you want test results, you have to make some time to teach test prep.  I would guess that your kids who can't sit still during the test are feeling really intimidated.  Often, kids who are perfectly capable of doing the work just freeze up when they see a test.  The only real way to combat this is to familiarize the kids with the test format.  Help them to understand how the test is structured, and give them tools for attacking the questions that they CAN answer.  It's important for the kids to understand that even if questions 1 and 2 look impossible, question 3 might be something you know.  So don't get bogged down.  It's stuff that seems intuitive to adults, but children who are not accustomed to feeling successful don't automatically have these "habits of mind," if you will.\n\nI say, take some portion of the day or week to do test prep.  Help the kids make the connection between the engaging, hands-on stuff and the test questions.  It's really the only way to raise scores.
1055025
I used to be the same way but I love teaching so much I majored in it anyways. The way I fixed my problem is I go to class with about 10 different ways to explain one thing. I try each way untill everyone gets it. Everyone usually understands by the first or second explaination. But you have to remember that nobody is the same so therefore not everyone will learn the same. You just need to be creative in your teachings so you touch everyone.
137679
Yes.  As a matter of fact, I am inclined to believe that the problem at hand is due to a lack of connectivity between college teachers and students.  Many college teachers are haughty and completely forget about how it feels to be in a classroom full of their arrogance.
284790
I am married 3 children. I work between 36-48 hours a week depending on the week. I take care of my house and children. I am well organized, I run the house, pay the bills, help kids with homework, I do it all. I can label myself as a perfectionist because everything has to be done correctly at work or at home or else it bug me to know that maybe there is a loose end somewhere. I have goals and timelines and those things need to be completed on time.\n\n\nYawn... I am tired now you know why :)
997704
I taught in a public school for three years.  The "powers that be" actually told me to stop grading for grammatical and spelling errors, saying all of my students would fail.  That is a travesty.  From my perspective as a teacher, ignorance (which is what I believe you are really asking) is on the rise.  Despite compulsory education, it almost appears to me that we are reverting to a 19th century-like model with an educated few and masses of ignorance.
577514
That was unfair of your teacher but we are all human.  The problem may simply be that you are in a difficult grade right now.  Some grade levels tend to be more difficult than others, usually 5th and 7th for example.  Most teachers who play teacher's pet don't do that with grades, only privileges.  If you liked your previous teacher, maybe you tried harder. I'm sure if you do your best you will find that your grades will reflect that.
705123
I'm not a teacher, but my parents both are. To me, it seems to be that once you're a teacher, you never, ever stop being teacher. You can't avoid taking your work home (and I mean emotionally, not just tonnes and tonnes of marking!) and you will run into ex-pupils for eternity! \n\nAlso, there are the classes that are simply unteachable. A friend's mum is also a teacher, in a worse school, and she regularly comes home with broken bones from children throwing chairs etc at her.\n\nHowever, I think what is beginning to become the hardest part of the job for my parents is all the paperwork for things like taking children on a school trip. Also the lack of gratitude that some parents have.
297476
I have ADD.  I have had many problems with teachers in the past.  I am not sure what you are exactly asking but if you want to email me at teddybear_1829@yahoo.com I will be happy to discuss it.
988526
Everybody hates mean teachers, but I think teachers can be strict without being mean. Teachers that are too easy will not prepare you for the real world. Strict teachers hold students to high standards of effort and behavior, but if students make a genuine effort then they are happy. Mean teachers, on the contrary, expect a certain perfection... and are mean about it! Teachers can be strict and mean, yes, but mostly there is a fine line. Strict teachers are good, but kids want easy teachers. Or, they just don't want mean teachers!
600216
Yes and no.\nMostly yes, really. That is, if you mean 'overly perfectionistic' when you say 'overly competant'. \n\nResearch into maladaptive perfectionism has shown that this sort of perceptionism is quite strongly correlated with major depression and also with obsessive compulsive disorder.\n\nFurthermore, research has shown that treating perfectionism can lead to a real decrease in depressive symptoms.\nMy university has some researchers in clinical perfectionism.\nThe researchers recommend a book called "When perfect isn't good enough: Strategies for coping with perfectionsm" by Martin M. Antony and Richard P. Swinson. If you are already depressed, don't go through the book on your own, instead go through it with your counsellor. \nIt's based on empirically validated therapies (especially cognitive behavioural therapies) and it's probably a good place to go to if you're asking questions about the relationship between wanting being 'overly competant' and being depressed.\nEven if you don't do the exercises, it might help you or others to realise the impact that maladaptive perfectionsm may have.\n\nI hope that helped. Feel free to contact me if you want more information - I'm doing my thesis on people who base their self-worth on external factors such as academic achievement, so I might be able to offer more information :)
592343
Yes.  Unless you are a teacher or live with one, you would never know the hours of preparation that goes into just one day of teaching.  Then there are the hours of grading all those papers, recording them, getting them ready to hand back to the students, etc.  Then you have to average all those grades (I used a computer program) to get the grades that will go on their report cards.  That causes another area that teachers have to deal with -- the parents.  Most of whom don't believe that their precious son or daughter is capable of doing anything wrong let alone get a failing grade on their test or report card.  Must be the teacher's fault.  \n\nSeriously, all that aside, the rewards from the students when the "light goes on" when they get the concept you are trying to get through is worth all the other stuff.  \n\nTeachers who love their job do it for the students and not for the "pat on the back" (even though it is nice to get every once in a while).