St Teresas Academy - Avila Yearbook (Kansas City, MO)

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22 Students Demand Best from Teachers On the last two pages you explored teachers opinions about education. Now, on these pages, you will have the opportunity to explore students opinions about the same topic. It often happens that teachers are asked about students and teach- ing and all of their concerns, but rarely are the students asked the same questions. Here, we have spoken with students frankly about edu- cation, and more specifical- ly, teachers. Respect is necessary in any relationship and most especially in a relationship intended to stimulate and encourage. So, how does a teacher gain the respect of his or her students? Ac- cording to some students, a teacher gains respect by being able to stimulate in- terest and control the class by sharing on an equal level. A teacher must be able to overcome or circumvent the age authority conflict which is seen by many stu- dents as a major stumbling block in education. Students see themselves as having to obey rules to gain the re- spect of teachers, yet seem to be asking for a more equal relationship. This equality, or lack thereof, is a downfall on both sides of the relationship. A teacher loses the respect of stu- dents by ignoring the fact that students may have something to teach, by be- ing condescending or pa- tronizing. A student loses the respect of teachers, ac- cording to students, by dis- agreeing. However, Mi- chelle Stauffacher, fresh- men says, Teachers should be able to take disagree- ment. Teachers in past times have been revered and in more recent times hated as the Establishment, but each person views teachers and their roles in education and life differently. Katie Pad- berg, junior says, Teachers are human beings, just be- cause they have a teaching degree doesn't make them gods.” And that seems to be the overall view. A teacher is a human being, not a god or a walking library. They are here to both teach and correct, but also to listen (cont. on page 25) Top center: Ms. Paula Neth enjoys playing elf for Santa Claus in her child development class. Right: Ms. JoAnn Kanatzar and sen- ior. Stephanie Franke discuss a pro- ject for independent clothing. Center right: Sr. Gerrie Grabow re- ceives yet another accountability sheet from a student.

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Top: Ms. Ann Maschler greets her students at the door of the social studies resource center. Above: Ms. Kate Tumminia con- ducts a poetry discussion in Hu- manities. Teachers An ideal student is some- one who is responsible for her own learning. I think I have a lot of ideal stu- dents. When the students and the teachers bring these positive attitudes into the classroom they are ready to tackle the subject matter. Students were well aware of the challenges they faced in the classroom, but teachers faced challenges of their own. Mr. Cox found Ameri- can Studies to be his great- est challenge because the sophomores who take it must deal with ideas that sophomores do not often consider. What methods did teach- ers use to meet these chal- lenges? One teacher com- mented that an on-going dialogue was useful and that what was most construc- tive was not the accumula- tion of data but more impor- tantly, a method of learning. Most of the teachers agreed that getting away from the teacher centered atmosphere is important. Mr. Cox thought that a per- sonalized approach will gain more creative and thought- ful responses. Ms. Hernon implemented a new format in her Honors Algebra II class. Students did problem solving in small groups for part of the class. This helped students figure things out on their own. But, she noted that the modular scheduling restricts her use of this idea in other classes. How well are these cre- ative solutions to the chal- lenge of teaching received at STA? Several people com- mented that STA was more innovative because it doesn’t have to conform to . •. cont. the guidelines set by public school districts. Most teachers felt that this free- dom in how to reach educa- tional goals was an impor- tant part of their choice to teach at STA. However, one teacher commented, The stated philosophy of STA is one that encourages non- traditional approaches to education. Ideals and reali- ty are not often the same. Each teacher had discov- ered methods that were ef- fective in various situa- tions. How effective is our system of education in the opinion of the teachers at STA? Do teachers believe that students are being pre- pared for life? Ms. Hernon said that she sees two ex- tremes both of which can be damaging. For example, there are those who are not well rounded because they study only one field of tech- nical interest while there are others who have no re- spect for the genius in- volved in sciences and math. Other teachers ex- pressed concern that the goal of education was seen as training the student for the job market instead of producing an educated per- son. As with any difficult topic, the questions raised were more numerous than the answers given. Teachers know why they are here and how they do their jobs. They know why we all come together and what we should be trying to achieve. They know they don’t have all the answers and that we don't even agree on the questions. But they also know that think- ing and talking about what we do may be the most im- portant thing we ever learn. 2

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Below: Ms. Judy Whalen attaches labels for another mailing. Bottom: Mr. Mark Fudemberg dis- cusses a novel with his freshmen English class. 23