Communication and Persuasion in High School English Teaching

I couldn't help but chuckle as I started this blog post. I've wanted to be a teacher since I was small, and my current major is English Teaching, with the intent of becoming a high school English teacher. What better way to learn how to teach communication and persuasion than to blog about communication and persuasion in teaching?

Teachers in general make use of widely varied levels and branches of communication. Communication with other faculty members is crucial, because teachers have to decide what curriculum's and programs will most effectively meet the needs of their students.In addition, teachers often have to (diplomatically) communicate with parents. Frustrated people are always tricky to work with, and persuading parents that a child's poor grade isn't because of a personal vendetta you have is a situation that must be handled carefully. Perhaps the most oft used conduit of conversation, however, is with the students.

Targeting a specific audience is necessary for all effective communication.  I hope to work with high school students, and these are a varied bunch. Not only do teachers need to communicate the required information --they also have to persuade the students to listen. Students who love to read and write will learn differently than students who could care less and are only taking the class because they are required to. Whether a teacher takes on a lecture-style approach or adopts a more Socratic method, communication and persuasion will come from body language, enthusiasm, and tonality just as much as it comes from the words themselves. As Katie Johnson mentioned in her blog post, teachers are trying to incorporate different forms of media into their classes. Almost all teachers constantly use email, and sometimes videos or even song parodies will creep into lecture slides. However, teachers also have to avoid becoming too casual, or they will lose authority. Effective, credible, attention-grabbing communication (both inside and outside of the classroom) is key.

As an English Teacher, I want to persuade my students to love writing--or at least to appreciate its value and be not just competent, but proficient in the English language and its associated forms of communication. In order to accomplish this goal, (and in order for communication in general to be effective), I will need to be able to not only relay information, but also to listen. I believe that sometimes, teachers can learn more from their students than the students will from the teacher. Personally, I feel that an ideal learning environment would foster learning on both sides.