Although I have not had a CFE yet, I would like to share with you something that affected the way I teach, and which will forever instill in me a sense of humbleness as far as slow students go.
The story happened like this:
I was explaining to a group of 1st year Senior High students the intricacies of English Grammar and how we can play with words once we recognize their true meanings, when, all of a sudden, one of the students started crying. I did not speak any Chinese at that time, and, as such, I felt confused and somewhat apprehensive. I stopped my explanation and gently asked that student what was wrong. However, I was not getting anywhere, and I ended up calling my school principal.
After this episode, I realized that I no longer knew what my students’ backgrounds meant for my classes. I started to realize that having the proper vocabulary comprehension tools can and does affect my students, in deeper ways than I had ever anticipated. My principal told me that that particular student’s vocabulary was so low that they vented their frustrations and anxiety in the only way they knew how, through crying.
It was the most humbling experience for me. From that moment on, I started taking into account every single student’s vocabulary level whenever I made my lesson planning.
