I have never replied to a Youtube comment before.
But tonight, I was triggered. So I pressed that reply button, and was ready
to just go to town on this person…….but then Youtube told me I had to sign in.
And I decided to not leave the reply.
Instead, I will put my reply to the comment here.
I had looked up a
video of a man walking through how to balance chemical equations. I wanted to share it with my students if they
wanted extra practice at home and were confused.
Now, I have read my fair share of ignorant comments on
Youtube videos. I usually just shrug my
shoulders and say, “That’s not a smart thing to say,” and just go about my
business.
What was the comment?
“You should teach teachers how to teach.”
1.9 thousand likes.
And the replies:
“best comment going.”
“so true.”
“your right (You should teach teachers how to teach).”
“Yeah, but impossible”
“Fax”
Other comments:
“Science teachers: Lets all make the work confusing so that
our students will never learn.”
“I love how over 2 million people don’t have teachers who
explain things fully.”
Maybe it was the day I had,but this one was personal. I felt offended on a deep level.
Yes, this guy was really good at explaining a concept and
working through it. Mad Props to him, I
shared his videos on Google Classroom for extra help for my students. It has almost 2.7 million views for a reason.
Here is my issue.
This guy helping in this video and a teacher in a classroom are two
DRASTICALLY DIFFERENT SCENARIOS.
Once again, I am not hating on this guy. He is really good at explaining things and is
able to take his time, take a seat, and work through these examples and
breaking things down.
If I could recreate this scenario in the classroom….I
totally would! However…..
Will this guy get constantly interrupted by students that
have to use the bathroom?
Will he be unable to turn his back to the class because
students cannot stay in their seat?
Will this guy be able to work through one example without
getting interrupted at all?
Will this guy have to watch for students that are attempting
to do homework for another class?
Will this guy have to be keen eyed for note passing?
Will this guy have to deal with students that blurt random
things out?
Will this guy have to deal with off topic questions asked
specifically for a meme.
Will this guy have to deal with students that are not on
task?
Will this guy have only a limited time to teach you this
concept with science and social studies being taught less in public schools due
to the stress on math and ELA?
Will this guy have to deal with masterfully preparing this
lesson along with 5 other just as good lessons a day, 5 days a week, 180 days a
year?
Will he? WILL HE? W I
L L H E?
No. In this scenario
he gets to press pause. He will get to
edit and refilm. He gets to easily use
his visual aid and speak slowly, while sitting down. Doesn’t have to worry about monitoring a
classroom or interruptions. He gets to
just focus on this one thing.
I have been a teacher for 7 years…..I never get to focus on
just one thing.
I understand concepts are hard, and they might need extra
practice to understand and extra help and focus. However, I find that students are all to
quick to throw the burden back on the teacher.
They are the reason you don’t understand. But yet…
Are you reading through the lesson outside of class?
Did you pay attention and take notes?
Are you doing your homework?
Was your outside classwork done in a quiet environment where
you could focus?
Did you get a full night’s sleep so your brain could refuel?
I teach Science and Social Studies. In order to do those things, I have to study
too! My brain is not an encyclopedia. I had no idea what glycolysis was before we
did the chapter on cellular functions; but I do now! Why? I
studied and prepared enough that I could explain it to you! I have to constantly be learning things too
and that factors into my prep time before each chapter.
eache
I love this one
comment.
“Honestly, I don’t even have a bad chemistry teacher. I just don’t pay attention and now I’m
studying.”
In a perfect world, students would hold themselves more
accountable like this guy. However, our
world is not perfect. I wasn’t the
perfect student and I probably thought some of the same thoughts that those
replies had because I didn’t take my time to put myself in the teacher’s shoes
and hold some of the accountability for myself.
And I think normally I would read these comments and not get
as easily triggered. This year has been
a year of transition for me. I have
recently been diagnosed with RA and am working through how to teach through
pain and fatigue and have had to make sacrifices over teaching. I can’t go all out right now like I use to
and that makes me super guilty. My
department head has to remind me that I am not failing at my job right now and
that I need to be easier on myself.
So if I did reply, I think here is what it would be.
“Thank you for taking
initiative to watch this guy’s video outside of class for extra practice. Good for you!
I love balancing chemical equations so I hope you do too! Just give your teachers a break. Teaching is hard when it’s in front of a full
classroom of students that are just willing to blame you for everything and it
can be very discouraging. I don’t think
they would still be doing this job just for a summer break and for the pay. If you think about it, this video and
teaching in a classroom are not the same thing so you shouldn’t compare it.”
