Teacher's Preconceptions

Teacher preconceptions affect student learning; it is inevitable. To what extent that they affect student learning depends on the teacher and how aware the teacher is of the preconceptions that they have. If a teacher outright feels that all students can learn and be successful then that teacher’s students will be. It seems to be difficult though to fully exude these beliefs when the statistics are the way that they are, for example knowledge of the achievement gap. It seems that if a teacher perceives a student to be lazy or slow then they will exude those qualities because that is what the teacher expects. As a teacher I will have high expectations for my students and that will influence their learning positively. I believe that all people can learn anything if they apply themselves and they are taught the critical thinking tools for higher levels of thought they can and will succeed.

Additionally when students feel that the teacher respects them, is fair to them and really has their best interests in mind students respond positively to the teacher. I do not mean to say that teaching is that easy, because being an effective teacher is easier said and written about then done – the true test is putting teaching philosophy into practice. Ultimately teachers need to be aware of the preconceptions and biases that they may have about students and work to eliminate them. Personally reflecting about them and how they can negatively affect student learning. For instance, when I was in a remedial English course when I first went to college the teacher was very positive and students responded and did well. Then when I went into English 101, the teacher labeled me as incapable of writing intelligently and had torn my paper apart on the overhead in front of the whole class – I was horrified – and since then I have a hard time with writing. I know that I can write well and convey content information effectively; however, I have grammatical issues which I continually work on. This example illustrates how a teacher’s preconceptions and attitude can negatively affected a student’s learning, she dismissed me as a horrible writer incapable of writing well and I now have a negative view about my work which took years to reverse. Teacher’s need to encourage students that they can and will learn and are capable of success.