Great Start to the Year

I have so far been very impressed with my second period class. I don't think I have ever gotten such a positive response as the one I received from the assignment where students were asked to simply write a letter to Mr. Mann and introduce themselves. Some people think that what makes a really good class is a super teacher. But what I have learned over the years is that the most important ingredient for a super class is the attitude that students bring to the class.

I remember a class I took at Ohio State University that was one of the most exciting interesting, and worthwhile classes I took in my graduate studies. I couldn't wait to get to this class it was so much fun and also so intellectually exhilarating. The course was about non-verbal communication, and it taught me so many things that I didn't know. My wife was also doing graduate studies at the same time, and so I recommended that she also take this course. After a week or so, she told me that she hated the class. I couldn't believe it, so I decided to visit her class.

What I found were two or three individuals who argued and disagreed with everything that the professor had to say. It made the class so unpleasant and that I could understand why my wife was not enjoying the class. There is a dynamic in any class that is going to determine the success of that class. To a large extent, the joy of learning is largely dependent on the cooperativeness of the students in the class.