Teachers need to talk less

San Francisco, CA

I often tell my class of conversational English teachers to not talk very much and let the students have time to speak more in class. I tell them that the whole reason the students take the class is so they can speak English. If the students don't get a change to talk then why should they come to class? Today on the radio a talk show host had a Math teacher and he wrote a book that says all teachers should talk less. He said that they should teach their lesson then have a dialog with the students so they can process what the lesson was about.

Carmel, CA

It made me think about what my high school age daughter said about how she learned. She said that in her advanced Math class no one really understands the concept until they go home and they call and text each other asking questions until they understand. In most classrooms teachers discourage talking and want students to do their own work. Maybe we should encourage small group discussions so students can help each other understand. I'm not saying to allow chaos in a classroom or let students get off subject and just joke around. A teacher should be a guide to the students to learn what they need to learn so they can do their homework and pass the tests.

Napa, CA

I am not a big advocate of making changes in Education. I believe that is one of the biggest problems with the American Education System, we are always trying to make changes and every time we make a change the learning decreases instead of increases. We put so much emphasis on critical thinking and pull away from memorization that we don't know what to think about, but are doing it critically. What a bunch of hogwash! But, I do think this Math teacher has a good idea to tell teachers to talk less and let the students tell them why they don't understand.

Lake Tahoe, CA