Upon completion of the teacher-training program at the University of Memphis, the prospective teachers should know "everything," according to Trenecka Collins.
Collins is one of more than 100 Memphis City School students who responded Friday to a survey asking the students what they think new teachers should know before beginning their teaching careers.
Many of Collins' classmates at Bellevue Junior High School placed ability to manage the classroom, ability to relate to students, subject-area expertise and the ability to make learning enjoyable high on the list.
"The teachers should learn to control and discipline the children when they get out of hand. Control is the greatest principle in teaching. Once you get control, everything else will follow," said Shannon Warren, a Bellevue seventh-grader.
Classroom management is indeed one of the biggest challenges facing beginning teachers in the modern public school classroom. "Management" seems to be the key term. New teachers who expect to act as dictators to their students may run into trouble, according to Dr. Barbara Meyer, adjunct professor in the Department of Instruction and Curriculum Leadership at the University of Memphis. Meyer also teaches Spanish at Central High School.
"Domineering teachers can be a big turn-off," said Meyer, "We do not own the classroom. The students are a part of it as well, and we must remember we are there for the students to guide their learning process."
Meyer also indicated that she favors democratic classrooms that provide students with the feeling that their concerns are important.
Some of the students at Bellevue are a bit more "old-school."
"The teachers should learn how to control their students. They need to be very controlling, because kids are taking over," said seventh-grader Courtney Brown. "Teachers nowadays are way too easy on kids."
The students, more than anyone else, are aware of what a tough environment a public school can be. Teachers and administrators are badly outnumbered and are not able to see all things and all people at all times. Even schools with video cameras must often depend on people with other primary duties to monitor those cameras.
"These students need home training, manners, discipline and attention," said seventh-grader Latiffany Dishmon.
Meyer stresses that prospective teachers should realize that school is nothing like it was when they were in school, and that not every child is brought up like they were.
"They need to know that people over here are gone crazy," said seventh-grader Donald Jenkins.
The children responding to the survey at Bellevue have high expectations for new teachers, and they want the teachers to have high expectations of them as well. Many students voiced concern about the problem of teachers having to teach outside their areas of certification. It seems widely agreed that teachers should have degrees in the subjects they teach.
The students also mentioned patience and generosity as desirable traits.
Teaching, of course, is a demanding, unique profession that should not be entered into without a great deal of thought.
"Teaching is not just from 7:30 until 2:30 or 8:00 to 3:30. It doesn't just begin in August and end in June," said Meyer. "It is a way of life, not just a profession."
