Education and lack of social skills

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lostD
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09 Aug 2010, 1:06 pm

Is anyone a teacher or a professor here ?

I've always been a teacher for my "friends", some of my relationships were entirely based on the fact that I was teaching someone else, yet I lack of social skills. I tend to be rude according to people and I know that I'm quite severe with my "students". My other relationships are purely intellectual, I enjoy intellectual talk so I tend to share informations rather than communicating. It works with some people because our subjects lead to a kind of communication sometimes and they enjoy this kind of relationships as well.

However, I don't think I could have a great relationship with colleagues. This may not be a problem anyway...

I was just wondering if any of you had experienced in teaching when having troubles with cultural norms and communication. I'm also totally faceblind, I can only remember people who have a distinctive feature (and they usually are the one with whom I interract the best, they are usually not truly in the norms themselves). I often confuse two people because I think they look like identical twins though I realize some months later that they don't.
I'm capable of remembering names but I have troubles finding the person who has this name.

I seem to know how to handle children better than anyone else, it's easier to communicate with them for some reasons (at least now that I'm adult), yet I usually talk to children who have a disability or are rejected by other people. I never taught to more than 5 people by the way... A class may be harder to handle.

I'm afraid I may not be able to teach correctly to children because I may not see whether they are interested in what I'm saying or whether they understand me. I'm going to be a French Assistant in the UK and I'm planning on becoming an English Teacher (well, my goal is a professor of linguistics at the university since I would be able to teach and study at the same time).

If anyone has experienced teaching to young children or teenagers, I would be glad to know how it went for them and if they think that a lack of social skills is truly a problem.



happymusic
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09 Aug 2010, 7:35 pm

I've taught high school for 2 years, mostly 15-18 year olds. It takes a certain skill and confidence to get 30 teenagers to be quiet and do their work and I'm definitely still working on it. It's exhausting because there are so many sort of mental impressions I get every day. I have almost no behavior problems from them and they're all college bound - so honestly they fall in line a little easier than the general population of the school - so it's not that. They are extremely needy in a way. They just want to chat a little with me or tell me a joke or show me they achieved something in the homework which is all great, but I usually have 150 a day (5 classes of 30 kids each, meeting each day) so it's a lot to process by the end of the day.

When I teach, I am usually overstimulated by the end of the day and can barely stand light - my pupils feel like they're going to squeeze shut and sounds become exaggerated. I have to retreat to a dark room and lie down for a while, usually covering my ears.

Socially however, kids are easier to be around because they aren't really polished yet and are playful about social faux pas I make. In fact, they seem to find it endearing. I'm basically at their maturity level, so it's much easier to talk to them than the other teachers. I love them, but they ruin me for 9 months of the year. Because of that, I'm working on moving into a different career.



Seanmw
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10 Aug 2010, 2:58 am

happymusic wrote:
I've taught high school for 2 years, mostly 15-18 year olds. It takes a certain skill and confidence to get 30 teenagers to be quiet and do their work and I'm definitely still working on it. It's exhausting because there are so many sort of mental impressions I get every day. I have almost no behavior problems from them and they're all college bound - so honestly they fall in line a little easier than the general population of the school - so it's not that. They are extremely needy in a way. They just want to chat a little with me or tell me a joke or show me they achieved something in the homework which is all great, but I usually have 150 a day (5 classes of 30 kids each, meeting each day) so it's a lot to process by the end of the day.

When I teach, I am usually overstimulated by the end of the day and can barely stand light - my pupils feel like they're going to squeeze shut and sounds become exaggerated. I have to retreat to a dark room and lie down for a while, usually covering my ears.

Socially however, kids are easier to be around because they aren't really polished yet and are playful about social faux pas I make. In fact, they seem to find it endearing. I'm basically at their maturity level, so it's much easier to talk to them than the other teachers. I love them, but they ruin me for 9 months of the year. Because of that, I'm working on moving into a different career.


Awwwwh, i wish you'd been one of my teachers. Class would've been much more interesting i think :P


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lostD
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10 Aug 2010, 11:02 am

happymusic wrote:
I've taught high school for 2 years, mostly 15-18 year olds. It takes a certain skill and confidence to get 30 teenagers to be quiet and do their work and I'm definitely still working on it. It's exhausting because there are so many sort of mental impressions I get every day. I have almost no behavior problems from them and they're all college bound - so honestly they fall in line a little easier than the general population of the school - so it's not that. They are extremely needy in a way. They just want to chat a little with me or tell me a joke or show me they achieved something in the homework which is all great, but I usually have 150 a day (5 classes of 30 kids each, meeting each day) so it's a lot to process by the end of the day.

When I teach, I am usually overstimulated by the end of the day and can barely stand light - my pupils feel like they're going to squeeze shut and sounds become exaggerated. I have to retreat to a dark room and lie down for a while, usually covering my ears.

Socially however, kids are easier to be around because they aren't really polished yet and are playful about social faux pas I make. In fact, they seem to find it endearing. I'm basically at their maturity level, so it's much easier to talk to them than the other teachers. I love them, but they ruin me for 9 months of the year. Because of that, I'm working on moving into a different career.


Thank you for your honesty. I guess I'll have to try this job to know whether I can do it or not but there're definetly some points in your message that I know I will have to face (I can't stand light and noise most of the time and do the same thing as you do.).
I really appreciate your honesty, most people just say "you will love it", though most people, even when they are "perfectly normal" dislike teaching because of the way pupils behave...



happymusic
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10 Aug 2010, 11:16 am

Seanmw wrote:
happymusic wrote:
I've taught high school for 2 years, mostly 15-18 year olds. It takes a certain skill and confidence to get 30 teenagers to be quiet and do their work and I'm definitely still working on it. It's exhausting because there are so many sort of mental impressions I get every day. I have almost no behavior problems from them and they're all college bound - so honestly they fall in line a little easier than the general population of the school - so it's not that. They are extremely needy in a way. They just want to chat a little with me or tell me a joke or show me they achieved something in the homework which is all great, but I usually have 150 a day (5 classes of 30 kids each, meeting each day) so it's a lot to process by the end of the day.

When I teach, I am usually overstimulated by the end of the day and can barely stand light - my pupils feel like they're going to squeeze shut and sounds become exaggerated. I have to retreat to a dark room and lie down for a while, usually covering my ears.

Socially however, kids are easier to be around because they aren't really polished yet and are playful about social faux pas I make. In fact, they seem to find it endearing. I'm basically at their maturity level, so it's much easier to talk to them than the other teachers. I love them, but they ruin me for 9 months of the year. Because of that, I'm working on moving into a different career.


Awwwwh, i wish you'd been one of my teachers. Class would've been much more interesting i think :P


Aw, thanks! My class is actually pretty fun and really do like all my students. I actually like teenagers - they make me laugh every day. Their candid mannerisms make their intentions very clear. They're not as subtle as adults. I think that might be part of why we get along so well.