The frontal lobe (pretty self-explanatory location) is responsible for decision making, considering consequences, planning ahead, and restraining risky behaviour.
What do you get when you have an undeveloped frontal lobe? You get speeding, stunts for the sake of a Youtube video, impulsive spending, unprotected sex, etc., etc.
You get conversations like the one I overheard between two students today (while they were supposed to be using their work period in the library wisely!):Student 1 (showing Student 2 a picture on her phone): "Yeah, I want to get this tattoo design, like really big, like, on my back."
Student 2: "That's super cool. It will be big, but still really cool. When are you gonna get it?"
Student 1: "Probably after prom, because I don't think it will look good with my dress."
... You're consciously putting off getting a large tattoo because you won't like it with certain outfits? What if you have a formal event in the future? What if you don't like the tattoo with your wedding dress? What if it doesn't look good in the bathing suit you buy next summer?
Maybe the frontal lobe can also be blamed for my very frustrating experience this morning. My first period class was supposed to launch into their partner presentations today. They had been given the rubric and project requirements a week ago. They had been given two full library work periods (75 minutes each), which should have been more than enough time for them to put together a short presentation on the colonial history of one African country.
Today I got a rude awakening into the real world of teaching. One by one, students dropped their problems, their stresses onto me:
"My friend spilled pop on my laptop this weekend."
"I emailed the powerpoint to myself, but it didn't open."
"I sent the presentation to my partner, but her mom accidentally deleted it."
"What do you mean by 'a handout'?"
"I didn't know what you meant by 'include the impact of colonialism' so I wasn't able to finish that part."
"I wasn't here on Friday." (with a look that says, "Obviously I wouldn't be ready!")
"I'm really tired this morning."
"I can't present -- I get anxiety."
"Can I go to the library to print something off?"
"My partner isn't here." (x3)
I felt so deflated and annoyed and stressed out by their problems. Grade. Twelve.
Of the entire class, only one person was completely ready to go (strangely enough, someone who chose to do it on their own!) What was I to do? My teacher and I lectured them and gave them 10 minutes to print, touch base, or find their powerpoint. After that amount of time, a few more groups were ready -- enough to fill the period.
I was further annoyed by one student who, claiming to "haaaate presentations," decided to have both her and her partner present by sitting in chairs behind the computer in the front corner of the classroom. Before they began (and before the whole class was listening), I suggested that she stand up to present.
She turned and gave me a look. "You're lucky I'm even up here!" she said.
I gave a little laugh. "No," I countered. "You're lucky that I'm letting you sit."
Your marks, not mine. Slouching behind a computer and reading off the screen in a mumbling voice will affect the "communication" aspect of your presentation :) When I mentioned this to my teacher later, I was told that this girl has not presented since grade six! At the beginning of the school year her mother approached my teacher to "let her know" that her daughter "doesn't do presentations."
Obviously that mother hasn't encountered a teacher like my supervising teacher -- with a stubborn determination to push her students.
"Well," my teacher had told her, "I don't exempt students from presentations just because they don't like doing them."
Teenagers may not have developed frontal lobes, but isn't that part of the reason they have parents? If your daughter is afraid of presentations (who isn't?) and frantic for any exit strategy (I've been there), she is not thinking ahead. She's not realizing that her fear is only going to get bigger and that she's never going to practice her presentation skills.
If a student has a real fear of public speaking, I'm all about flexibility (hence the option of powerpoint, presenting with a partner, etc.) But to have an attitude of entitlement, as if teachers owe her, as if "I'm lucky she's even up there" really gets under my skin! It's not a smart way to approach a teacher, especially if you're asking her for something or if you'll have to deal with her in the future.
Ignoring consequences and not taking responsibility ... we can't blame everything on frontal lobes!
PS: Sorry that this turned into a bit of a rant -- long day! I promise, I really do like my students!
No comments:
Post a Comment