Learning to Describe, Describe to Understand

When we conduct descriptive reviews of children in our reflective seminar, these undergraduates often express surprise at how much they thought they knew about their own students, but were perhaps wrong, or they noticed how they jumped to characterizations before they sat down and really took the time to describe what they saw of a particular student in various situations. (Knoester, 151)

I have heard the saying for a hundred times — “it’s essential for the teacher to know her students.” All the strategies and activities that the teacher carries out in the class are expected to satisfy students’ needs, and it is true that the effectiveness of all these activities is based on the extent to which the teacher know her students. But how?

I always hold this question, “how can a teacher get to know a particular student in a completed way?” I assume that it happens all the time that a teacher knows about her students only partially, or she just defines her students by observing one or two events or even highly affected by the first impression. For example, I have seen a video, talking about a young female teacher who felt that one black student in her class looked scary (he was in fact a good student in any sense) always kept a distance with this black student, without even trying to know him. So it is really meaningful that Knoester points out the difference between how a certain student really is and what the teacher thinks he is. The teacher should never define her student in a short time, from one aspect, but should do a descriptive review on what she observes under different situations. Only by doing so, can the teacher draws a full image of her student and get to know his or her interests, talents, needs and learning beliefs, then the teacher could modify her lessons according to specific needs and beliefs. She can also offer additional help according to what she knows about her students — In my opinion, it is the fundamental step to create a harmony and effective classroom.