Advice on Respect Vs. Admitting Defeat
Greetings all,
One of the major areas that I have issues with in this section is reducing the pressure I put on myself. I like to tell my students if don't know an answer, I will figure it out for them. But, my major problem lies with feeling inadequate. I want to maintain a professional image and the respect that they have for me. I am a young educator and I already can feel intimidated. Does anyone have ANY advice for me?
Thanks for your advice!
Definitely! I am an attorney who teaches legal studies/paralegal courses in a career college. In this field, the answer isn't always clear cut. Quite often, one must research and investigate in order to arrive at the right answer to a particular question or respond to a specific set of facts. These situations are an excellent opportunity to answer the question with a question like, "I don't know the answer to that offhand. Where is the first place you'd have to start researching in order to find the answer?" In my experience, the student already knows the steps necessary to dig out an answer. Often, with a little push the student can map out a strategy to find the answer themselves.
Don't feel intimidated. And don't put so much pressure on yourself. Do your best. It's the same advice you should give a student...
This happens.
I regularly have students ask me fairly obscure questions about APA formatting (I'm a composition instructor) and while I know the format very well, I don't have every conceivable reference format memorized.
It's good to model for the students that it is okay to do some research when you don't know something. Depending on the nature of the problem, I might give an answer like "I don't know that off the top of my head, but the information you need to find an answer should be in such and such a section of your text" or "I'll look that up for you and find an answer tomorrow."
Hi Samuel,
I agree with you about being honest when you don't know the answer. Often you can turn "not knowing" into a teachable moment. Together you and the students can research until you all know the answer. Great learning tool.
Gary
I think honesty is the best policy when not knowing the right answer. It is ok to make a mistake and take it as a learning expierence. I accept that I can't possibly know everything and it will make you better the next time.
Hi Beth,
As an young educator this is a common situation so don't feel alone. I know they may not help you feel any better but remember many of your colleagues are experiencing the same level of stress.
As for how to handle situations where you don't the answers to certain questions follow the procedure you are currently using. Another approach is to assign teams to find the answers and report back to class. This way the issue really isn't able knowing or not knowing the answer to a question but class control. Maintain your professional demeanor and keep the course moving forward this way you will see the students continuing to learn and this will reduce your feelings of being inadequate. Each time you teach your courses your confidence will increase and before you know it you will be operating at a level of self confidence and expertise that demonstrates the proficiency that you possess.
Gary
