Reflection #10

Philip Jackson created the term “Gatekeeper” to identify teachers. He used this term to describe how teacher interact in their classrooms. Teachers are usually the ones that control the class and decide who talks and when. Teacher are usually the ones that do all of the talking in a classroom. When you think of a classroom and a typical day, you think of a teacher lecturing, asking questions, and giving directions. Rarely through-ought this day, it engages students asking questions or students talking. Teachers ask on an average, 348 questions a day. It is rare for a student to ask a question. Why is this so? Students are so used to having to be silent through ought class periods. Some are afraid of looking “dumb” amongst their peers, or afraid of the teacher making them feel bad. Teachers usually ask questions and give students a couple of seconds to answer. If they do not answer within that time limit, the teacher moves on. The whole purpose of an education system is to get students intellectually involved in the lessons. However, this is a struggle when teachers have such a great power over the classroom. Even though the teacher having control over the classroom is a very important thing, it can affect the learning of the students if it is not done correctly. Sometimes teachers are caught up in their lectures and their talking and forget to engage students. In the usual “Pedagogical Cycle” which includes structure, questioning, responses to these questions from students, and reaction from the teachers, teachers create 85 percent of the verbal interactions. These daily classroom patterns do not encourage students to get involved in the lessons nor ask questions. Im sure we have all had instances where we are sitting in a classroom just listening to the teacher lecture. There are many times when we are confused about something that is being said or just simply we have a disagreement with the teacher. However, we do not raise our hands to ask a question or state our opinion. Why does this happen? Because we are so used to listening to our teachers and having them do all of the talking, that we are sometimes afraid to just simply ask a question. When Philip Jackson created the term “gatekeeper” for teachers, it was not with the intention to make teachers look bad. It just simply shows that teachers are usually the ones in control of their classrooms. They create their curriculums, lecture and ask questions. However, it is encouraged that teachers sometimes let students do a little bit more talking in classroom settings. Giving children the opportunity to talk, ask questions and participate in discussions definitely has a lot to do with their academic achievement. It gives them confidence and motivation in their education.