Teach English in Jingzhi Zhen - Weifang Shi

As I stated in one of my unit summations, observing other teachers is, in my opinion, the most valuable resource available to beginning teachers. I also believe it should be a regular practice for experienced teachers who can benefit from other teachers' ideas in order to mature and improve. Observing a teacher in action offers huge benefits for the beginning teacher. Teaching is performance art (in public schools, I think of it as performance art for the incarcerated…) and watching how a teacher moves through a work day or a lesson plan is greatly reassuring for a new teacher. They are able to see theory in action, how activities progress within the dynamics of a class, how long it takes for certain activities to be completed (often, the new teacher is surprised at how quickly activities are completed, and he/she often needs to adjust the lesson plans once he/she sees the plan in action). They will see how the teacher interacts with the students, how they handle behavior problems, how they deal with the unexpected. They'll also be able to watch the students and assess how the students are responding to the teacher. They'll be exposed to all the considerable administrative duties required of them. In university education degree programs in the U.S., 'student teaching' is a required component for graduation. This consists of an entire term, or semester, where the student teacher is placed in a classroom in a local public school and is under that teacher's supervision for the term. The student begins by observing, and then, bit by bit, takes over small parts of the lesson and activities, with the teacher present in the classroom. By the end of the semester, the student will teach several entire classes unassisted, and the supervising teacher will be out of the class (she'll be getting a much appreciated break.) Observing other teachers provides experienced teachers with a way to spice up their own performance. One of the greatest complaints we have of teachers is that they develop habits and stick with them, that they don't experiment and strive to improve. Observing other teachers remedies this. It can provide the lazy teacher with a bit of motivation to try something different. For the already motivated teacher, it allows him/her to hone particular skills—perhaps she feels she really needs help with 'engage' activities, and there's one particular teacher who has a reputation for innovative 'engage' activities. She could simply ask that teacher for advice, but watching that teacher in action will be much more beneficial. Not all teachers like being observed by other teachers. But the most confident and successful ones do. Many of these 'model' teachers have developed innovative strategies and teaching aids to get across more difficult aspects of language—particularly grammar. Although some may be less than generous about sharing their ideas, most teachers will be proud of their work and happy to pass it along. They understand that the end result is that the students are engaged and successful. School districts in the U.S. have professional development days worked into the calendar during the year, and teachers are required to attend sessions where their fellow teachers offer a variety of presentations on all aspects of their profession. Although generally beneficial, these presentations still don't replace the practice of teachers observing teachers in the classroom. Observing teaching practices should be required not only of new teachers, but I believe public schools and even private language schools should not only encourage but even require that teachers observe each other as a part of their continuing education.