WEBVTT

1
00:00:03.560 --> 00:00:12.080
Welcome to Spotlight Advanced. I'm Cullin
Luther and I'm Liz Wade. Spotlight uses

2
00:00:12.199 --> 00:00:19.239
a special English method of broadcasting.
It is easier for people to understand no

3
00:00:19.280 --> 00:00:30.359
matter where in the world they live. Imagine you were in school. Picture

4
00:00:30.640 --> 00:00:36.399
the students sitting in their seats,
and think of the teacher standing at the

5
00:00:36.520 --> 00:00:41.840
front of the room. How are
you feeling in this moment? Are you

6
00:00:42.119 --> 00:00:49.320
excited to learn? Interested? Are
you participating in discussion? Or are you

7
00:00:49.479 --> 00:00:55.920
bored? Maybe you are falling asleep, watching the clock, or flirting with

8
00:00:56.039 --> 00:01:00.759
a classmate. Your thoughts say a
lot about to you as a student,

9
00:01:02.280 --> 00:01:10.640
but they also say a lot about
your teacher. Being a teacher is very

10
00:01:10.760 --> 00:01:17.560
important. Teachers can be parents,
professors, or even friends. But teaching

11
00:01:17.799 --> 00:01:25.519
is also very difficult. Each person
learns differently. Some people learn better by

12
00:01:25.640 --> 00:01:32.680
seeing, others learn better by reading, some learn better by hearing, and

13
00:01:32.799 --> 00:01:40.159
still others learn best by doing.
Some methods of teaching work best for certain

14
00:01:40.200 --> 00:01:47.840
subjects. Teachers must know how to
best teach each different student. Have you

15
00:01:47.920 --> 00:01:53.200
ever tried to teach someone today?
As Spotlight is on how to be a

16
00:01:53.239 --> 00:02:02.840
good teacher. One of the most
important parts of Being a good teacher is

17
00:02:02.959 --> 00:02:12.599
understanding how people remember things. People
naturally remember things that are interesting to them.

18
00:02:13.240 --> 00:02:20.919
Interesting facts are easy to memorize,
but information that can be used directly

19
00:02:21.120 --> 00:02:28.080
in someone's life is even better.
Imagine a history class. It is very

20
00:02:28.199 --> 00:02:35.400
difficult to learn the names of famous
people who lived long ago. Events dates

21
00:02:35.599 --> 00:02:40.400
are difficult to remember. But if
you were learning the history of another country

22
00:02:40.520 --> 00:02:46.520
where you were going to move,
things might be different. It might be

23
00:02:46.759 --> 00:02:53.199
very important that you know the information. People also learn better when they can

24
00:02:53.240 --> 00:03:00.960
connect the subject to something they already
know. Imagine teaching some one to repair

25
00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:06.240
a car. If they have no
experience with machines, it could be very

26
00:03:06.360 --> 00:03:12.240
difficult, but if they had worked
on engines before, it would be easier.

27
00:03:13.199 --> 00:03:16.840
This is true of all subjects,
whether it is language, art,

28
00:03:17.159 --> 00:03:23.599
or mathematics. We remember things that
are useful to us, and if we

29
00:03:23.680 --> 00:03:30.280
do not have context, our minds
will not recognize information. This is even

30
00:03:30.360 --> 00:03:36.680
true if you believe what you are
learning is important. It might be very

31
00:03:36.759 --> 00:03:40.800
important to repair your car engine,
but if you do not know the parts

32
00:03:40.879 --> 00:03:46.159
of an engine and what they do, you will not be able to learn.

33
00:03:46.360 --> 00:03:53.319
A good teacher will help connect new
information to something you already understand,

34
00:03:53.240 --> 00:04:01.680
or they will give you a wider
base of knowledge to understand. Another important

35
00:04:01.800 --> 00:04:09.800
part of teaching is learning to understand
and care about your students. This means

36
00:04:09.960 --> 00:04:15.360
learning who they are. Not all
students are the same, and some are

37
00:04:15.400 --> 00:04:20.439
going through things you do not know
about. Suzanne Tingley is a teacher.

38
00:04:21.000 --> 00:04:28.319
She wrote on the blog Hey Teach. A friend of mine teaches at a

39
00:04:28.399 --> 00:04:33.120
high school where forty four languages are
spoken. She told me she heard a

40
00:04:33.199 --> 00:04:40.040
student say, I am really tired
last night. I slept next to someone

41
00:04:40.079 --> 00:04:46.879
who snored. Kids may be dealing
with issues we know nothing about. Do

42
00:04:46.079 --> 00:04:56.800
not assume video games are to blame
when work is not complete. A good

43
00:04:56.879 --> 00:05:02.240
teacher also knows their subject very well, and they know how students think about

44
00:05:02.240 --> 00:05:09.480
it. Teachers must be able to
correct students when they are wrong. A

45
00:05:09.519 --> 00:05:18.519
good teacher provides constructive criticism. Often, constructive criticism corrects students' mistakes. It

46
00:05:18.560 --> 00:05:26.639
gives them ideas for how to improve. Many people do not like to criticize.

47
00:05:27.120 --> 00:05:32.839
Criticizing may seem rude. Criticism can
lead to shame and bad feelings when

48
00:05:32.839 --> 00:05:39.920
it is not planned out. But
teachers must learn how to criticize in a

49
00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:46.319
way that is helpful. Brooke Chaplain
is a writer at The Advocate. She

50
00:05:46.639 --> 00:05:56.439
explains how to criticize correctly. Constructive
criticism is something that should always be shared

51
00:05:56.680 --> 00:06:01.720
in private. Begin by telling this
student the good things you see about him

52
00:06:01.839 --> 00:06:08.920
or her. This will get you
started in a good way. Then tell

53
00:06:08.959 --> 00:06:15.240
them what you think is delaying their
progress. Then tell them how they can

54
00:06:15.279 --> 00:06:20.839
make a positive change. After,
remind them that you believe in them as

55
00:06:20.839 --> 00:06:27.519
an individual. If you share your
concerns in the right way, it is

56
00:06:27.680 --> 00:06:35.079
possible that the student will do what
you suggested. Finally, it is important

57
00:06:35.199 --> 00:06:41.519
to let your students be creative.
They should not be afraid to ask their

58
00:06:41.519 --> 00:06:48.759
own questions. Much teaching in the
past treated children as listeners only. Teachers

59
00:06:48.879 --> 00:06:56.240
gave students knowledge and students accepted it. If a student could not learn,

60
00:06:56.680 --> 00:07:02.519
teachers decided the student was not intelligent
enough. But today we know that learning

61
00:07:02.720 --> 00:07:09.839
works differently. Students learn best when
they believe they have the power to ask

62
00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:16.439
and explore. Sometimes it is even
good when they get things wrong. Imagine

63
00:07:16.519 --> 00:07:23.639
a mathematics class. The teacher shows
you a problem, and then she shows

64
00:07:23.680 --> 00:07:29.360
you how to solve the problem.
You memorize the formula and will use it

65
00:07:29.439 --> 00:07:35.839
later on tests. Then you will
forget it. But what if instead your

66
00:07:35.920 --> 00:07:42.600
teacher asks you how you would solve
the problem. You might not know the

67
00:07:42.720 --> 00:07:47.959
correct formula, but you can guess
and work it out yourself. You think

68
00:07:48.040 --> 00:07:55.040
about the problem for several minutes.
When you finish, your answer might be

69
00:07:55.160 --> 00:08:01.600
incorrect, and your teacher will finally
tell you the answer. But while you

70
00:08:01.680 --> 00:08:09.000
are working on the problem, your
attitude changes. The question becomes a puzzle.

71
00:08:09.680 --> 00:08:15.399
Now you want to know the answer
to this puzzle. You care about

72
00:08:15.480 --> 00:08:24.279
the answer, and you have learned
to think on your own today, most

73
00:08:24.480 --> 00:08:31.920
good teachers know to change their lessons
to fit their students. They learn about

74
00:08:31.000 --> 00:08:37.639
and care about their students. They
know that learning is not about remembering everything

75
00:08:37.679 --> 00:08:43.200
you hear, but more than anything, they know they are not just teaching

76
00:08:43.240 --> 00:08:48.919
their subjects. They teach their students
how to learn, and they teach them

77
00:08:50.039 --> 00:08:54.720
how to think for themselves. People
who know how to think and learn will

78
00:08:54.759 --> 00:09:01.279
continue to grow, They can change
more quickly and required to, and they

79
00:09:01.279 --> 00:09:09.200
will live fuller lives. Who was
your favorite teacher? Why do you think

80
00:09:09.240 --> 00:09:16.200
they were so good? Are you
a good teacher? You can leave a

81
00:09:16.279 --> 00:09:24.000
comment on our website at www dot
Spotlight English dot com. You can also

82
00:09:24.080 --> 00:09:31.240
find us on YouTube, Facebook,
Instagram and Twitter. The writer of this

83
00:09:31.320 --> 00:09:39.039
program was Dan Chrisman. The producer
was Micio Ozaki. The voices you heard

84
00:09:39.200 --> 00:09:45.840
were from the United Kingdom and the
United States. All quotes were adapted for

85
00:09:46.039 --> 00:09:52.159
this program and voiced by Spotlight.
This program is called How to Be a

86
00:09:52.320 --> 00:10:01.039
Good Teacher. Visit our website to
download our free official app for Android and

87
00:10:01.279 --> 00:10:18.639
Apple devices. We hope you can
join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye,