Walking the Line: Clarity and Condescending Tone in English Teaching Style

Ms. Evans might wear an
outfit like this to seem
professional but still
stylish to her students.

About a month and a half into the school year, Ms. Evans carefully reviews her lesson plan for the following day—the basic structure of the essay.  She has spent several weeks working on this particular lesson plan.  She can teach them how to write essays successfully, their entire lives will likely benefit.  When she wakes early the day of her lesson, Ms. Evans carefully dresses in a pencil skirt and floral blouse.  She knows that if she dresses nicely but not exuberantly, she will increase her ethos.  The girls will comment on how they love her style of dress, and the boys in the class will respect her as a clean-cut and authoritative leader who can still be personable and addressable. 

As she lectures with a helpful PowerPoint, she is careful to use both the middle and low style.  Although she relies mostly on the low style to help instruct her students, she understands that teaching is a profession that relies on both instruction and entertainment.  If the class is not at least somewhat entertained, they “zone-out” and fail to learn about how to write a successful essay.  Therefore, at key parts of the lesson, such as the introduction into new sections, she inserts entertaining humor through paronomasia, hyperbole, and even at extremely choice times sarcasm.  Furthermore, she understands that wit will increase her ethos.  She will be seen as intelligent and authoritative, but also personable.

Ms. Evans will use PowerPoint to add
clarity to her lesson.  Clarity is at the
heart of her teaching.  She can make
the PowerPoint interesting and
entertaining, too in order to engage the
students.

Decorum and propriety are incredibly important parts of Ms. Evans lesson.  She cannot seem condescending, rude, or out-of-touch with her students.  Therefore, she speaks with limited ornateness and talks with clarity.  She is careful to mix her lecture with dialogue and discussion between the students.  She uses a few metaphors or similes to help the class understand something when it is compared to something else.  All the figures of speech she uses are geared toward clarity and conciseness.  Knowing that nothing discourages a student from learning like condescending tones and belittlement, Ms. Evans walks the fine line between being extremely specific and clear in her argument without sounding like she thinks her students know nothing.  Homiologia (tedious repetition) and perissologia (superfluity of speech) will not be conducive to teaching so she avoids those at all times.  She uses a method wherein she states something and then adds what it is in an apposition in order to be clear but also maintain faith that she thinks her students are intelligent.  She uses body language that is open and inviting but also authoritative.  Her head is held high, but she smiles and nods often when her students are

explaining concepts to her.

The best English teachers avoid being condescending like this
teacher.  They instead help their students by being clear,
personable, and understanding.

After her lesson, several students walk up to her desk and tell her that they had never had the   Ms. Evans smiles and knows that her lesson went as well as possible.  She knows that her lesson is the most effective when she speaks clearly, uses multimedia presentations, and engages in both lecture and dialogue with her students.  She knows that in this particular lesson, she was extremely effective.

“writing an essay” lesson explained so clearly and well.