Great class last night; we touched on many significant ideas in education. In our lecture, we discussed the kinds of knowledge teachers and all professionals need to have, and also did an overview of philosophy of education. We had some practice writing narratives and I encourage you to try to write some on your own. Then we formed smaller groups and discussed the qualities of effective/non-effective teachers. We can take this into ourselves and decide what our own strengths are and what we need to keep working on.
Just a reminder that next Tuesday, Sept.14 we will meet in room 1325. Also, you should post on this prompt in the "comments" area sometime before next Thursday, Sept. 16.
Have a great weekend.
L'allal wrote:
ReplyDeleteAs an introductory textbook, Parkay is full of romantic knowledge. I don’t mean to be too much of a know it all, but I guess I have become jaded over the years… I liked the ‘cognitive strategies’ presented on page forty- one and their descriptions. They are to the point and make a lot of sense. I must add they make much sense in theory, and are clearly very logical.
Last year, I taught as a volunteer English teacher to Chadian students (Chad is in Central Africa) at the Canadian Consulate School in N’Djaména as a form of escape from my large American employer. I bumbled through these steps without even knowing I was using them, Rosenshine’s cognitive recommendations:
1. Present new material to students in small steps so that the working memory does not become overloaded.
2. Help students develop an organization for the new material.
3. Guide student practice by (a) supporting students during initial practice and (b) providing for extensive student processing.
4. When teaching higher level tasks, support students by providing them with cognitive strategies.
5. Help students to use cognitive strategies by providing them with procedural prompts and modelling the use of procedural prompts.
6. Provide for extensive student practice
These made me reflect on my efforts teaching Chadian students whose culture was so fraught with division, violence and ethnic strife that no matter how hard I tried to present new material in small steps, help students to develop and organize, guide practice and processing and offer them free lessons their primary pleasure was to try and circumvent the process.
My spoiled students enjoyed telling me in French or in Chadian Arabic how they would never need to learn English, yet at the same time were all listening to their favorite rappers Lil’ Wayne and Akon, rushing to me for translation what their favorite rappers were saying… Also ridiculous: Everyone in this former French African colony, from the Muslim North of the country to the increasingly Christian South was on a mission to learn English. On every corner students, private citizens as well as my business associates all had a copy of a locally produced pulp, roughly translated as “I Am Struggling to Learn English!”
The arcane French/ Chadian influenced curriculum would only let me use Akon, Lil’ Wayne or People Magazine as teaching tools to these students ranging from 11- 21 years of age was on the weekend during English Club hours. Using popular culture was one of the few ways these six steps worked and kept their focus. Even during free private lessons I had offered, the administration did not want me teaching anything but ancient pedagogy that was completely grounded in boredom. This was of course part of the reason why they weren’t learning much. Much of that pedagogy was guided by the above six strategies. So much for a Canadian influenced curriculum- the Chadian government would have none of it. As for learning strategies watch the video below to see what I was up against in the 48 degree heat!
Sept. 13
ReplyDeleteBased on last week’s lecture the types of knowledge that professionals need to know were presented and discussed. The one that I was able to closely relate to was knowledge of students. From my experience as an Out of School Care Educator of four years, I understand the importance of knowing your students as both a class and as individuals. In my work experience over the years I have encountered a variety of children with a wide variety of capabilities, strengths, weaknesses and needs. All children are different and I have learned that not all children will learn or respond positively with the same teaching approaches or techniques. For example, in the past I worked with two boys that had autism, they both were the same age and had the same diagnosis, yet their individual learning styles were very different. One was a visual learner and the other boy learned by having someone say out aloud what they were going to teach him and it needed to be repeated a couple times before he could understand whatever was being taught to him. Therefore I found that it was important for me to adapt my teaching style according to the child, or the whole group keeping in mind what works and what doesn’t for all the children participating in the teaching experience. I found that the only possible way for me to learn which teaching style each child benefited from was by getting to know the child, and by building a relationship. However while working with all the children as a group I took into consideration each child and adapted whatever teaching style I used based on the needs of the children, keeping in mind what worked best for the groups as a whole.
I also really enjoyed doing the exercise of listing out the qualities of both effective and ineffective teachers. At first it was hard to classify teachers who I really enjoyed in high school because they were really easy, were not prepared and were amazing off topic story tellers. During my high school years I would look forward to these classes because it was an easy class and I thought they were the best teachers. But after doing this exercise I was able to look back and I realize that yes, at the time the stories may have been super entertaining but I never in fact learned much about the topic that the teacher was suppose to teach. What I valued then in a teacher is not the same as what I value now in a teacher. In the past in high school I really wanted a teacher who was not prepared, who would be super easy, who would go off topic and we could ask as many questions until our time in class was up. Now I value the opposite now I want a teacher who is prepared, organized and is able to stay on topic and teach us the topic in a way that the class as a whole is able to understand. I find that effective teachers are those who really help a student understand the topic, has patient and is able to adapt their learning styles. Ineffective teachers tend to make it hard for students to learn and excel in the subject.
September 13, 2010
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the chapters and attending class last week, I agree with the concept that in order to become a successful teacher you need to know yourself and your students well. By knowing each of your students, you can provide the specific care that each individual needs. However, due to the lack of resources in our schools and major cut-backs on staffing nowadays; teachers just cannot focus on each and every student. This always seems to be the problem in our society. Knowing yourself is also important if you want to self-improve for work or personal reasons. If you know yourself well, then you’ll know how to communicate and express yourself to others better. This quality is not only for teachers but for any other careers out there. You can develop the ability to adapt to different teaching styles, trying to satisfy each student’s learning needs.
Looking back at our previous experiences is a good way to learn and move ourselves forward. Especially flashbacks of certain conflicts, we learn how to handle it better or differently the next time around. I personally have many flashbacks of good and bad memories, also known as day-dreaming [HAHA]. I think it’s like a road back to memory lane. These conflicts or events happened and changed us to who we are today. I usually think back to events from a different person’s perspective. This way I can see things more clearly and from a different point of view, I can know myself and others better. I question myself why I would act or feel this certain way, sometimes I would even laugh at my own stupidity or embarrassment I’ve caused myself. But through self-actualization, it’s the only way to grow and learn from our mistakes, thus, preventing similar events from occurring. A good example is like editing your own work, by looking back and changing the errors you made, this only makes your paper and assignment one step closer to perfection. I enjoyed the exercise we did in class where we took the time to recap a certain conflict we encounter in life thus far. Not only are we learning what qualities we think teachers should have but also realizing what qualities we need ourselves to make us favourable in any occupation. To summarize, not only are we learning to be a teacher also how to be a better person; no wonder this course also fulfill the credits for B-Humanities.
Based on the materials from last week, I think a good teacher has not only professional knowledge regarding the subject, but also life experiences. To explain something to others and to make sure those people understand, it is important to view one thing from different aspects. To explain one thing, there should be at least two examples to show. Actually, I have an experience as a peer educator which is a kind of tutor. To explain one thing, each student has different way of understanding. That means, even though one student can understand the concept with example “A”, another student may not be able to understand with it. So, I need to use example “B” to explain same thing. I always try to find the best example for each student. I would like to point out that to use different types of example, teachers need flexible thought and a lot of life experiences. Not only educational field, teaching is applicable to all life situations like when we join company society and even when we have kids. I think the real life examples are the best ones to teach something to others.
ReplyDeleteI also think that the balance of self-knowledge, knowledge of students, knowledge of subject and knowledge of educational philosophy is really important for good teacher. For example, I think many professors have really professional knowledge regarding their subject. However, it does not mean that they are god at teaching. On the other hand, even if there are teachers who are extremely good at interpersonal communication, they cannot teach subjects if they do not have enough knowledge to teach. I think everyone has several experiences like this. Actually, I always think that professors are not good teachers. Even though they are professional for the subject, some of them are lacking the skills of transmitting it to others. So, I think a good teacher has a balance of all of these traits. A good teacher should be good at explaining, knowing students and subjects.
Since we were told not to read the above comments prior to writing our own response, I will do just that. Sorry for the possible repetition!
ReplyDeleteFor someone to be a good teacher, he must be in possession of a few essential traits. The first ones that come to mind are patience, and open-mindedness. Based on past experience with opinionated teachers, I can safely say that it is nearly impossible for a student to feel comfortable enough to share his own opinion with his peers if he feels as though the teacher may reject his assertion. In my junior years of elementary school, I had a teacher who--no matter what my contribution may have been--always seemed to have a point to counteract my own. After never seeming to get the "right" answer to her questions, I simply stopped trying to participate. When I was called on by her to answer a question, I felt threatened and very uncomfortable, since I knew that embarrassment would follow my answer. I didn't get my confidence back until grade 11, when I had the honour of being taught by my wonderful English teacher. She somehow made everyone feel at ease when it came to participation. Every time a potential answer to her questions came to mind, I always felt comfortable enough to share it with her. Even if the answer was wrong, she wouldn't ridicule me in front of the class, like the aforementioned teacher would have. Instead, she would ask more detailed questions, or word them differently, to assist me in getting the right answer.
Although this teacher was extremely patient and warm-hearted, she did not cross the line of over-friendliness. Some teachers try too hard to be friends with their students, and even though these teachers are fun people, they lose their authority and respect of their students. If a student is given too much freedom, he may end up abusing it and disobeying his teacher, because he knows that can get away with it without much punishment, if any.
One big problem that I have noticed in university more than in grade school is that even though a professor is clearly highly educated, he has trouble relaying his expertise to his students. Bragging about a masters or a PhD does no good to their students if they cannot teach their students what they know. Assuming that the students are just as skilled as themselves is a mistake that many professors make, which causes them to rush through their lectures, while failing to give adequate examples.
The two ideas I want to write about for this week mesh together. The first is the idea brought up in the text that asked if: a personal journal and a research journal could be one of the same? If teaching is largely centered on the knowing of self first then it seems like a missed opportunity to not think of personal and professional reflection as synonymous. The context by which they play out could be different. This idea was also echoed around the conversation of the teacher, personal experience and the classroom. For some reason someone said something as simple as “if a teacher is having a bad day they still have to teach” and it stuck with me. If we are forever undergoing personal experience how can it be separated from our work from the things that are going on in our life? This personal struggle has never been much of a thought to me. Of course I have worked with people on days when I wanted to not converse with anyone but as a teacher they need to constantly give themselves and be present in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteWe created a list of characteristics on the board and in our notebooks of good and bad teachers. My instinct is to defend my personality but if I speak honestly on any given day I could probably be described by traits that fall on either side of this list. Do we create this dichotomy and image of a person being one of these things or do we judge a character by the context of what moment we found them in. As humans I think we all have tendencies of both these positive and negative characteristics. We are dynamic. How do we then try to limit the unintended consequences of personal toil interfering with our professional work? Or how do we be mindful of these tendencies that create a negative learning environments? It seems as though my thoughts get caught in a cyclical argument because if the personal informs the professional and knowing your self makes for a better professional how do we escape bring our life into the classroom? Teachers have bad days too.
As I started reading about how emotions and personal connection impact one’s teaching method, I could not agree more. I have had four teachers that I would never take a class from again; the first should not have been a teacher and was not prepared to teach French Immersion students since she could not speak French, the second just read the text book aloud and never took the time to answer questions, the last two were both terribly disorganized and constantly flustered. Although they must have all been qualified to teach and were all smart; they had trouble sharing their knowledge and relating to students. On the other hand, I have been lucky that the majority of my teachers have been passionate, willing to put in extra time and genuinely want to make a difference. Looking back I’m impressed by the creativity from my teachers and their drive to make education exciting and accessible to everyone. Since I graduated, I have been able to look back and appreciate the time it must have taken for the teachers to come up with exciting projects, educational trips and to keep students motivated and active in their own learning. In elementary school I had a teacher who dressed up as a pizza chef to teach fractions, in high school the social studies teacher related history to current events, and later I had other teachers who encouraged students to not fear making mistakes. I believe that passion, emotions and personal connections are just as important for a teacher to possess as a degree. What good is a piece of paper without the drive to make a difference?
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, just having passion is not enough there needs to be substance. What material is worth teaching? What knowledge is important to gain in order to succeed in school and later, in life? Teaching is a fine balance between textbook learning and practical experience. Teachers need to help students learn the required material as well as guide students to develop practical skills and critical thinking that can be used throughout their life. Knowing what skills will be essential in life and what subjects will contribute more to society is impossible to predict, therefore the curriculum must be flexible and varied to ensure diverse course instruction. I am still trying to figure out what is the importance of having a ‘higher-education’? Is there universal material? Or does it depend on your culture? Is it important to have extensive knowledge, or is it worth more if you are able to apply the knowledge you have?
Hello classmates,
ReplyDeleteThe first topic that I would like to discuss for this weeks blog is the concept of 'knowledge of students'. The name of this particular concept is self explanatory, it basically means that teachers need to understand not only the personality of the class, but also the personality of each individual in the classroom, and apply the specific teaching methods that are required.
The reason why I picked 'knowledge of students' out of all the other concepts that were introduced in class and in our book, is because I have some experience when it comes to this. When I was in high school i chose to volunteer for 2 weeks at Nelson elementary school in Burnaby for grade 3. My main duty was to help the teacher. When I was doing this I could not help but notice that some students really knew their stuff, and some did not. Some had extrovert personalities and some introvert personalities. I got to know each student, and their strengths and difficulties. For example Math, if I knew one student had trouble, and one did not I would focus more on the one that did have the problems;however, not ignoring the other of course. Needless to say it was a great experience for me, opening my interest in teaching and helping.
For my second topic I would like to discuss someone from today's lecture, and that is Socrates. After listening about him and his ideas I believe that he was a very fascinating person. All his ideas and beliefs(or the ones that were introduced in class today)I agree with. I especially liked the 'think for yourself', I believe that is very important, everyone must think for themselves and then it will be easier to understand and accept others. I also liked how he started by saying, "I don't know anything about this...", by doing this he put himself on the same level as the student, which in turn makes the student trust the teacher more, because he or she would probably not feel threatened.
In Chapter 2, the textbook discusses the importance of the knowledge of the subject in teaching. In that section, the author indicates that knowledge of subject matter does not translate into an understanding of how to share that knowledge with students. I can relate to this idea very well. I remembered a couple of courses I took in university. I found the materials were very interesting and the teachers seemed to be very knowledgeable in that subject area but I found it hard to pay attention in the class. One of the problems was that I could not hear clearly what the professor was saying, and another problem was that professor lacked eye contact and interaction with the students.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I had classes that are engaging and interesting. I was not very interested in the subject of computer socialization, but the professor made the class very interesting. He had a very good sense of humour. He interacted with students by asking lots of questions. He also used media very well. For example, he would use video clips, class discussions among groups, and animations. I found these methods are very effective in learning.
In short, I believe a good teacher is someone who is knowledgeable and also knows how to effectively share that knowledge with students.
To ask a class such as ours what makes a good teacher will elicit many different subjective responses based on our own unique learning experiences. The mark of a good teacher is, therefore, to be multifaceted in our methods of teaching each individual pupil. A tall order in classrooms of 30+ pupils ! Experiencing classroom situations in primary and middle schools, and schools for those with special needs, I was quickly made aware of how versatile teachers must be if they are to be effective. A good teacher will rise to the challenge – and often be exhausted by it at the end of the day ! An ineffective teacher will coast along; or worse. The adage, “A job well done is a job worth doing” is an excellent motto for those who want to teach. As the textbook tells us, the results may not always be evident but the satisfaction comes in knowing that we have done our best for our pupils.
ReplyDeleteReflecting on my own learning experiences I concur with the example of Kim (Textbook Chapter 3 page 72). We can learn from the past, if only to help us improve things today. My early schooling is a prime example of the not to be repeated variety. It was formal and rigid. Participation was not encouraged. We were there to receive information without questioning it, and then to regurgitate it verbatim at exam time. Exam results were the only acknowledgement of individual ability – based only on our aptitude to imbibe facts - as these results dictated the class into which we would then be placed. However, there were some “subversives” amongst the staff. The English teacher who encouraged us to see the risible aspects of some of the characters in Laurence’s Sons and Lovers, and the earthy humour of Shakespeare and Chaucer – a good move to incite interest in a class of adolescent boys.There was also the History teacher who was a wealth of knowledge on riveting aspects of social history which he used to enliven the more turgid areas of his subject. My ability to learn mathematics was crippled by a series of teachers who knew, but could not teach. They seemed to delight in asking if I understood, while knowing full well that I did not. My math teachers presumed that I could move from the beginning of a problem to its conclusion unaided. All that I came to learn in their class rooms was that it pleased them for me to acknowledge that I did understand, so that they could move on. My parents sent me for lessons with a professor at the local University, which was a terrible waste of their money. His style of teaching made my math teachers’ methods look like the gold standard for imparting knowledge ! It was only with the help of understanding friends that the mysteries of math became clear to me.
No experience is wasted is yet another good adage, (If nothing else, my school taught me a lot of good aphorisms !) and a good teacher should be able to reflect on their own good and bad learning experiences. In this short survey of my early school days I am able to see the beneficial role of humour and imagination to enliven the teaching process. The need to remember those times when a concept was difficult to grasp, and how I eventually came to comprehend it. To search for what I might be failing to do in order to lead a pupil to understanding. We should never call into question a student’s inability to understand. As Socrates acknowledged, each person has the ability to learn; we just do so from a different starting point, and with a sympathetic teacher !
After our class discussion about teacher qualities I’m reminded of a lecture I attended in regards to the Surrey school system. The guest lecturer Mike Mckay, a prominent figure in the Surrey school board, showed a telling and shocking chart about the dependency of the achievement level of students on their teachers. The chart displayed the achievement levels of two eight year old students, both starting at a 50% achievement level. At age 11 the student with a high achieving teacher was at 98% achievement level where as, the student with a low achieving teacher was at a 30% achievement level.
ReplyDeleteThis example stuck with me because it encouraged me to think more about my own expectations of teachers. I think a good teacher is a mentor who guides and supports you through your personal and intellectual growth. The ideal teacher is nurturing, caring, knowledgeable, passionate, well rounded, intelligent, mindful and a moral individual. I emphasize the word ideal because as it may not be impossible, but it is certainly rare (at least in my case) to come across a teacher whom possess all or some of these qualities.
Reflecting on my experiences with pervious teachers, one teacher in particular comes to mind. In the year 2000, I was in grade 10. Iran had won a soccer match against the USA in the world cup. Many Iranians from the large Iranian community particularly from North and West Vancouver poured into the streets and celebrated this victory. In my social studies class the next day my teacher walked in and the first thing he belted out was:
“Unbelievable! Can you believe all these F*%$ Iranian immigrants! How dare they come to Canada then cause a riot in the streets to celebrate yesterday’s game?! It nice to know where their loyalty stands, which is clearly not to Canada!”
What my teacher failed to recognize was that the celebration of the game was not a reflection of their disloyalty to Canada but a celebration of a victory between two nations with a very complex, historical and political relationship. My teacher’s comments were very hurtful and as a grade 10 student and the only Iranian in the class, I was embarrassed, extremely offended and felt completely powerless. He is a perfect example of a teacher who has no self-knowledge. His comments and behaviour conveyed everything but a nurturing, caring, mindful and knowledgeable teacher.
Keeping Mike’s chart in mind, as future professionals we need to learn to be mindful and reflective. As discussed in class, journal and narrative writing is key, as it allows us to document our experiences to revisit and examine later on, this process is crucial to our grow as individuals.
I’m curious to know if anyone thinks we are expecting too much of teachers to possess the ideal qualities we’ve talked about?
I believe that one of the most effective way to learning is to create a learning environment that is fun and flexible for the students to express themselves and be creative when learning. I can never forget my homeroom teacher from grade one and two and the way she teaches her class. I was a happy little girl who loves to go to school and to be with people; my kindergarten teacher always tell my parents how much I like to learn and to ask questions, but after the experience I had with my grade one and two teacher, everything changed. My class was her last class to teach before she retire, she never bothered spend time with her students or offer extra help, everything we learn in class were based on textbooks and she’ll only leave a grade on the last page of our work without any comments or feedback. I remember how I was hit by her teaching stick in front of the whole class because I could not memorize the multiplication table properly. I felt embarrassed and discouraged, ever since that day I refuse to learn math and I still hate math after so many years. If she used card games to help me memorize the chart and taught math through fun games perhaps I’ll fall in love with math and learn better?
ReplyDeleteLast summer I visited my family in Taiwan and my aunt suggested me to teach my grade 7 cousin English, I thought it was a good chance for me to practice so I studied her textbook before I start teaching. After reading several pages of her textbook I decided not to use the book as my teaching material because it was printed with rules of grammar and vocabularies that are not useful for beginners. I brought her to a bookstore that sell imported books and asked her to pick out the one that interest her the most. She picked up Vogue magazine, the U.S. version and we went home. I made cards and sticky notes with names and fashion vocabularies on them. We studied the pictures together and I asked her to match the words with the outfit the model is wearing. Sometimes I get to correct her pronunciation because they use phonetic symbols at school to pronounce English and some of them sound weird. She told me she never knew learning English can be so fun, the way they teach her at school made her feel bored and meaningless because they are not useful English at all. I believe that books do provide us the knowledge we may need in the future, but I also believe that education must represent life and allow the learner to use those knowledge in everyday life, not just a preparation for future living.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteHey,
ReplyDeleteHow you guys doing?
After reading the lectures and attending the class I think a good quality of a teacher is to know the students.
I went to high school in a different country and my professors were not really into getting to know the students.
A common norm was that everyone use to take extra tutoring after school hours. In the after school hours tutoring session we had personal and small group tutoring. I realized that in that professors had more interaction with students and were able to get to know them and teach accordingly.
I myself have use those skills to tutor students. I was offered a math tutoring job by SFU and tutordoctors. I had to tutor three students and each of them had different shortcomings so i understood them and worked with them accordingly.
Regards,
Tushar Simoniha
After reading through the notes, I found myself in agreement with the concepts that were presented. As a teacher, knowing oneself can be very beneficial in one’s teaching career as well as in one’s life. If you have the tools to identify your own strengths and weaknesses, not only you will be able to turn the disadvantages into advantages, but also, you will be able to do so for other people.
ReplyDeleteUndoubtedly, teachers are of the most important mediums that provide their students with knowledge and skills required for moving on to the next level of education and life. However, if a teacher has not yet reached certain levels of self-awareness, getting to know his/her students will become much harder. Good teachers get to know their students on a deeper level so they are able to identify their needs, learning styles, and also strengths and weaknesses. This is very important because they will be able to use the time in class more efficiently which can lead to a higher chance of the students succeeding in class and in life.
In my personal experience working with kids with autism, we start by getting know the child by allowing them to lead during play as we follow and imitate them in order to build trust, and also to help us in learning the child likes, dislikes as well as they’re abilities before we begin teaching them.
Hi everyone!
ReplyDeleteA good teacher has to know how to manage the classroom properly. I used to work at a math tutor place at Richmond. We had students from grade 6 to grade 10 in our classroom and there were about 25 of them in total In one classroom, we had about 5 tutors so each of us was responsible for 5 students. Everyone student was there for 2 hours and each of them had to complete 4 sets of "worksheets" every time. Therefore it was our responsibility to make sure they complete their tasks. In many times, the classroom could turn into a chaotic situation where students were throwing around stuffs and even fighting. When I first started to work there, I realized how important classroom management was. In order to manage properly, I really had to know my students, including were they lazy? smart? needed extra help? "washroom breaker"? Second, I had to build my reputation among the students; students never liked boring teachers, but I was never an easy going teacher, too. How a teacher presents oneself has to match with one's personality and style of teaching, too. As a good teacher, one has to be alert of every details happening in the classroom, understanding how to manage the problem immediately.
When I was reading and studying about the Western philosophy of education, I suddenly started to think about the contrast between western education and Chinese education. In western education philosophy, it encourages discussion among students and teachers. Creative thinking and intellectual discussions are the core of western education. Students are encouraged to think creatively and express his/her opinions in the classroom. Chinese education is different. I remember when I was in elementary I had to spend 3 hours everyday on my daily assignment. I had to go tutor everyday when I was in grade 3. Chinese believed in forcing students to memorize the materials through practices. Students are very unlikely to have any creative thinking or intellectual discussion during classes. A good proof is students from China and Hong Kong are usually all better in math than students from Canada because Chinese students usually have to do a 100 math questions everyday. However, when it comes to literature, Chinese students (even students with proper English level) are usually able to catch up because they are not used to the intellectual challenge of literature discussions. For me, it is very difficult to argue which style of education is better. I was a math tutor, and I could see how fast a student could improve in math through intense practicing everyday. However, that doesn't necessarily work in English or Social Study. In my opinion, it is vary from course to course and student to student. Every student is different and it is really hard to conclude what style of education is best for everyone. It is the teacher's responsibility to understand his/her students.