Any teachers out there? I need IDEAS!

[Belmondo]

I'm a high school teacher and I'm always looking for ideas and tips to improve my teaching.

I teach Economy and Tourism to kids ( 15 - 19 yo) from the local slums and it's not easy.

Here are some of the activities I've already tried:

1) Ride on the local Ho-ho bus

The kids loved it. I know this may seem like something trivial to most of you but it was a new experience for the kids and most of them couldn't possibly afford the ticket.

2) Travel program

I bought a few American Express tourist guides and the kids had to make their own travel program. Simple but effective.

3) Economy newspapers

Extremely simple but worked really well. The kids had to consult an economy newspaper and fill in a questionnaire.

4) Avatar (50 min. clip)

I'm so proud of this one. The subject was environment and natural resources so why not show them a clip of James Cameron's Avatar? They loved it!

5) A visit to the local shopping centre?

The subject is distribution, so I'm thinking of taking them to the local shopping centre. I haven't tried it yet. It's not a guided tour, they simply have to gather some information on the stores and write down a report.

6) Horrible Bosses (1 hour clip)

It was the only video that didn't work. The subject was Labour Law so it seemed to make some sense but the kids hated the movie, it was embarrassing and depressing.

7) Kramer vs Kramer (7 min. clip)

This one, by the contrary, worked really well: the opening sequence of Kramer vs Kramer starring Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep. It was a big risk (it's a 1979 movie!) but they loved it.

8) iPad

I haven't tried it yet. The subject is technological innovation so I'm thinking of talking about Steve Jobs. I'll also show Apple's new iPad 3 to the class.

9) Reading

We also do a lot of reading, of course, even though the kids hate it. One text worked really well, though. It was an imaginary Facebook dialogue between the Prime Minister and a popular cartoon about the current economic crisis.

Any other tips?

 

[s.a.f]

Teach the little ba5tards the importance of contraception.

 

[HughJass]

Ask the kids what they want to do.



Children are usually full of ideas..........................until the school system has finished with them :whistle:

 

[kc444]

There is a ten part PBS documentary series on YouTube called "Free to Choose" with economist Milton Friedman that is very good. It's older but covers a lot of topics.

Also, John Stossel, who is very entertaining, has a foundation for teachers at stosselintheclassroom.org.

 

[Cassin]

Ask the kids what they want to do.



Children are usually full of ideas..........................until the school system has finished with them :whistle:

This is a really good idea. Although I would put more blame on their peers than the school system.

 

[virtuality]

I tried teaching for a few years, at first I loved it.. Then I changed schools and I hated it. It wasn't so much the job that I hated, but I hated the place and as a result I ended up hating the job...

Actually, I thought economics for one term as well.. I made the kids give presentations. It wasn't as successful as I expected it to be. They didn't put any effort in preparing the presentations, it was a disappointment.

 

[Belmondo]

Ask the kids what they want to do.
[...]

This is a brilliant tip.

I always listen to what my students have to say.

Last year, they were always complaining that I gave them too many exercise sheets. And they were right, they were absolutely right! The amount of paper was ridiculous - and, I have to admit, most of those texts weren't even that interesting.

This year, I only give them 1 sheet / lesson max. And sometimes I don't even give them anything at all!

Another one of my students complained that 'we're always working'. This may seem silly at first, but it's not. Fun and games also play an important role in teaching, it can't be just hard work - especially when you're dealing with teenagers from poor neighbourhoods.

 

[Belmondo]

[...] Then I changed schools and I hated it. It wasn't so much the job that I hated, but I hated the place [...]

Believe me, mine is much worse.

Our school is located right in the middle of a poor neighbourhood - it's called a 'priority 1 area' which is a euphemism for 'sh.it hole' - and with the current economic crisis we have virtually no budget. Violence and indiscipline are huge problems and we have to call the cops almost on a daily basis.

 

[Belmondo]

I just did activity 5) and it was wonderful! It was basically a 'treasure hunt' at the local shopping centre: the kids had to find certain products and then gather some info on the stores and write down a report. Everyone was excited and they all did the reports. I'm so proud!