Spoon Feeding Blues

I seriously have a headache now. Why you ask? No, it's not about the heat or because I am tired, more like I have a headache because one of my students gave me one. Remember my blog entry yesterday about procrastination? Well, looks like he's at it again but this time I'm ranting about his other habit which is relying too much on spoon feeding. Earlier today I asked him why he wasn't able to have the class yesterday. He told me that he was too busy doing his project and homeworks but yesterday when we talked on Skype it was undeniable that I was actually hearing him talking to his friends while playing computer games. Can you believe it? The kid lied shamelessly in front of my face. (Idiomatically speaking, of course.) So I decided to just move on and ignore the lie that he told me so that we can proceed to our lesson. Our lesson for today was pretty simple. Considering that the book that we are using are just filled with patterns and suggestive images that he can use for giving me his answers. The book itself was spoon feeding him already but sadly, I guess he doesn't realize that and therefore to him, it wasn't enough. Usually, I read the sample patterns for him in dialogue forms. I then ask him to answer the numbers that follow underneath. Each number has an image and it even has phrases that are supposed to be used for answering each number. All my student has to do is to apply the formula of the pattern then fill in the blanks with the given phrases and voila! There's his prefect answer. Unfortunately, this student of mine is definitely lazy. No, I am not saying this because this only happened once. I am saying this because he is always like this everyday in class. There are only rare occasions where in he is interested to have a class but aside from those cases, I am left with him just talking on the side of the line, giving me wrong answers and not even giving me good answers when I try to do free talking with him. Where's the fun in that? 


I swear I've done my part in making him understand and in making sure that everything's understandable to him but I guess the kid just won't budge. Despite me having problems in teaching him, I still won't call him a pest. He might be lazy and stubborn sometimes but I still won't say anything that bad about him. Anyway, going back to the topic, I know I wasn't really trained to be a teacher in an actual school. Heck! I didn't even graduate with an education degree but I've been in this industry for a long time now and I know that spoonfeeding is only effective for beginning learners and he isn't one of them. Imagine asking him a very simple question like "Do you live in the city or in the suburbs?" then he asks you "What?" when in fact if he did study his lesson or even take a look at our lesson in his book, he would see a picture of the two things that I was referring too. You see everythings there already and yet he doesn't use them to his advantage. Instead, he chooses to neglect them and pretend like he doesn't know anything in class. What's frustrating is I have been his teacher since December and knowing that he has potential, I am heartbroken to say that he is not in any bit improving. I am a very nice teacher and I am always very kind and patient to my students but this kid is just testing my patience. I'm known for making delinquent students and non-English speakers improve in just a couple of months of studying with me but this kid is certainly ruining my reputation. "What now?" I ask myself. I guess I just have to nut up or shut up on this one. Looks like I won't be as nice as I should be now. He deserves to be taught a lesson. I will not tolerate spoon feeding in my watch and no, I will not tolerate his behavior any longer. Instead, I again must devise a way for him to become a better English speaker. These challenges are a part of my job and as a professional, I must take it. So, here's what I have to say: BRING IT ON! Remember, spoonfeeding won't get you anywhere and it will definitely not lead you to the road to improvement. If you want to get better at something, you have to stay curious and you have to be interested to learn things by yourself. For those who are fortunate enough to have mentors who can teach them these things then be thankful. It's not everyday that someone will hold your hand and lead you where you should be.

 We all have brains that we can use in almost everything. In learning, our brain should be used a lot but some people are just too lazy to use their brains to think. Instead the just rely on spoon feeding to tell them what to think or do. What a waste!

                                    Say NO to spoon feeding!

 Yes, the internet and other forms of media are simple examples of spoon feeding but I guess there are still some people who don't use them. I am guilty of using Google and Wikipedia though especially when I need to find an answer to something right away but that doesn't mean I shouldn't do book researches anymore.

I seriously wish that there was a learn button in all of us that we can press whenever we need and want to learn something new so that everything that we learn will be stored in our brain. Learning comes automatically though to those who are interested to learn but it doesn't to those who are lazy.