The short paragraph below sums it ALL up. But what if we had a way to break through the dynamic she describes? I do, actually.
Here’s what really happens, as per Kate:
It is the blank and overwhelmed look on students’ faces that teachers trust. They know their students are not comprehending them and so they fall back on explaining in English what they are saying. The kids, meanwhile, used to adults talking over them since childhood, move into either attracting attention or tuning out – their fallback behaviors. Hey, they didn’t really want to be there anymore than they sought to take public speaking. It is a requirement not a desire.
It’s so very sad that we accept bored faces in our work. When will we stop? People will look back on these past 70 years or more in education and wonder how we ever allowed it.
Meanwhile, we keep on teaching that way. WE are the boring ones. Come on people. It’s time to make our instruction interesting. It’s time.