My Pet Peeves (and I'm sure other teachers' too)
1. I don't like it when students try to get my attention by calling out "Miss". Here are the two reasons why.
a) It feels as if you see me more as an anonymous service provider ("Miss, can I can some more coffee?") than a teacher. I use your name, so please use mine.
b) "Miss" refers to an unmarried woman and "Mrs." refers to a married woman.
"Mr." refers to both an unmarried man and a married man.
"Ms." (pronounced 'Miz") refers to both an unmarried woman and a married woman.
Using the above information, see if you can figure out why I prefer "Ms. Cooper" to "Miss Cooper".
2. Sometimes students (oftentimes in grade 12) approach me sometime in the first week of school and inform me that they "have to get an A" in the course. This irks me because it feels as if they are subtly pressuring me to give them a high grade simply because they want it, not because they've earned it. It (mis)places the responsibility of the grade on my shoulders, not theirs.
Also, I doubt students are saying this to their math teachers. While assessment in English is more subjective than in math (where the answers are right or wrong) there are clear criteria against which your work is evaluated. I spend a lot of time teaching the skills involved in the criteria and giving students opportunities to practice these skills. I also spend a lot of time evaluating how student work matches up against those criteria and providing feedback on that evaluation. Being told "I have to get an A" dismisses that whole process and thus undermines the value of the class.
3. It frustrates me when a student who has been absent the previous day approaches me 2 minutes before class is about to begin and says "I've been away. What did I miss?" It is your responsibility to have a homework buddy - someone to pick up handouts for you and whose role it is to catch you up on what you've missed. If you need further clarification on the class material, by all means talk to me! But not right before class is about to begin.
a) It feels as if you see me more as an anonymous service provider ("Miss, can I can some more coffee?") than a teacher. I use your name, so please use mine.
b) "Miss" refers to an unmarried woman and "Mrs." refers to a married woman.
"Mr." refers to both an unmarried man and a married man.
"Ms." (pronounced 'Miz") refers to both an unmarried woman and a married woman.
Using the above information, see if you can figure out why I prefer "Ms. Cooper" to "Miss Cooper".
2. Sometimes students (oftentimes in grade 12) approach me sometime in the first week of school and inform me that they "have to get an A" in the course. This irks me because it feels as if they are subtly pressuring me to give them a high grade simply because they want it, not because they've earned it. It (mis)places the responsibility of the grade on my shoulders, not theirs.
Also, I doubt students are saying this to their math teachers. While assessment in English is more subjective than in math (where the answers are right or wrong) there are clear criteria against which your work is evaluated. I spend a lot of time teaching the skills involved in the criteria and giving students opportunities to practice these skills. I also spend a lot of time evaluating how student work matches up against those criteria and providing feedback on that evaluation. Being told "I have to get an A" dismisses that whole process and thus undermines the value of the class.
3. It frustrates me when a student who has been absent the previous day approaches me 2 minutes before class is about to begin and says "I've been away. What did I miss?" It is your responsibility to have a homework buddy - someone to pick up handouts for you and whose role it is to catch you up on what you've missed. If you need further clarification on the class material, by all means talk to me! But not right before class is about to begin.