The dark prince of math had arrived. Mocha Latte and thermos in hand, Michael Lotta was ready to teach. The students were tired of his highness. Many times they considered dropping a lump of sugar in his coffee just to teach him a lesson. However, the students feared the wrath of the math lord. As always, Mr. Lotta started his class with a 5-minute rant. Today’s rant featured the following pearls of wisdom; “So… I made some more phone calls last night! And you guys think it’s a joke. Well let me tell you something. Prom night is coming up soon. Just try me and I’ll ruin that for you too! And if you’re thinking of spiking my coffee… think again. Ask yourself… Was it worth it? Was it? Was it? Was it?”
The coffee must have been really strong today, as he seemed rather animated. After this engaging monologue Mr. Lotta started teaching us about the rooster method. I thought it was a strange name and asked, “What is the rooster method?” Mr. Lotta exclaimed, “Rooster Method! Rooster Method! Rooster Method! There is no Rooster Method! It is the Roster Method. For if there was a Rooster Method, I would flap my wings and crow like a rooster on the top of my lungs like this!!!”
For the next 5 minutes Mr. Lotta crowed like a rooster. No one dared laugh for fear of what he might do. We also wondered if this could be real. One thing is for sure; someone needs to observe his lessons more often.
BLOGGER’S NOTE: Michael Lotta is fictional. The story of the rooster method is not. It makes you wonder.
17 comments:
I liked the last sentence of the blog post, "One thing is for sure; someone needs to observe his lessons more often." Sometimes the way a teacher teaches and/or acts, really does make you wonder if they get their lessons observed. It seems from his "rooster method" outburst, he has not had his lessons observed. And if he did, he either toned it down... a lot. Or maybe the observer chose to turn a blind eye, who knows? However, maybe teaching isn't for everyone. I feel bad for his students, as students should feel comfortable while learning. This could really hurt their success in this class, and it doesn't help that he teaches math!
There are teachers out there that strike fear in their students and get away with it! I feel that it is definitely not a great teaching strategy. Students should feel comfortable to share their thoughts aloud and be able to express themselves. If a teacher is threatening his or her students, students are going to in turn resent there teacher and not enough learning will take place within the classroom. That unfortunate truth is that there are many teachers that conduct their classrooms this way. I believe more informal observations should take place!
I found this story to be interesting, although I am not quite sure I understood the meaning behind it. Micheal Lotta has poor teaching techniques. He needs new teaching techniques and a calmer and more respectful demeanor. In order for students to learn math, they need a teacher who is likable, easy to understand, patient and knowledge about the math being taught. His response to "What is the rooster method" is completely inappropriate, he needs to understand that this sort of response can lead the student to not only hate him as a teacher but probably dislike school and math too.
I'd report Michael Lotta if I were his student. I would make all his students sign a petition to force him out of the school. Who would even want to come to school with a teacher like that? He sounds terrifying! I never skipped school, but that's because I had great teachers. I can't imagine having to learn with a teacher like Mr. Lotta as my math teacher. He sounds crazy and seems unfit to be a teacher. He instills fear in his students, how can that motivate students to want to come to class and learn.
I was slightly confused by this article at first, but then I did my research and figured out it supposed to be called the Roster Method. This was a creative way of turning this into this mathematic method into a fictional story.
EDSN 650
Kourtney
Today reading was pretty funny. After reading about this fictional character and his behavior, it just makes me think of a junior high school teacher I had. He was 'passionate' you can say and would also rant, be very animated with his body, facial expresses and voice, and much more. Back then I did not ever notice anyone observing him but then again I was looking and never even knew teachers get observed.
Melissa
EDSN 650
Summer 2019
I really enjoyed this fiction story, that unfortunately we encounter often in our schools. It really portraits how the students and the classroom, atmosphere feels like when teachers like Mr. Lotta teaches our students. I too, agree with the last statement; "Someone needs to observe his lessons more often."
Erjola Ceku
EDSN 650
Math is my best subject because I had the best teachers from elementary to college. after reading this article i think in order for a student to love math and succeed the teacher needs to be more soft and helpful. when a student start to fear the teacher he cant ask questions when he/she don't understand the lesson.
Liana EDSN 650
This is an example of how a terrible teacher can turn math into a monster for students. Math should be fun for students to be able to want to learn it. This is unfortunately the reality in so many classrooms today. Many people think that math is an exact subject and should be taught as such, but the truth is no one will want to learn math with a teacher like Mr. Lotta.
Gladjola Murati EDSN 650
At first I was a bit confused by this post, but then I figured out this was a fictional post. I enjoyed it and then I researched the "Rooster Method" and found out it is actually called the Roster Method. So I found it interesting at how the post played out in a way. Because I wound up learning something new.
EDSN 650
Kourtney
I'm not sure of what the roster method is so maybe that is why I didn't get this article. But I do know we have all had bad math teachers. That is the reason most people don't like math.
Heather EDSN 650
I have heard of the rooster method. I know that it is a mathematical method. That being said I am not very good at math. So when reading this article I am trying to find a hidden meaning that relates mathematically, but I cannot. So maybe the take away is that math is hard to understand like this article or I just do not because of my lack of math skills.
What I got from this article is that the students feared this teacher. It does not seem that they are understanding anything from the class because of their fear for this reactions from their questions and comments. The teacher should be reported and should not be in a classroom any longer. Children should be in a classroom where there is open communication and where they are learning to the best of their ability, and this is not that classroom.
I believe that each teacher have their own methodology to teach their students. However, there are some teacher whom take advantage about that. For that reason, some students cannot learn meaningful because teacher cannot develop a really good environment for them.
AlejandraB
s2019
What I got from the article is simple: you never know what is going on behind the scenes. To me, it seems as though the teacher may have been having a rough day or even week. It seems like the teacher was on his last straw and let his emotions get the best of him. It's a good thing that the students respected him (in a way that no one laughed). He may have looked ready, but I think there was something going on under the surface for the teacher to react in that way.
Jennifer Falcone
EDSN 650
Honestly, I had to read this a few times in order to gain some sort of understanding of what this blog could mean. My take-away is that there are some teachers who teach without trying to connect to their students. Mr. Lotta seemed to teach with fear and confusion and aggression. While some students may respond positively to this type of teaching style, in general, this is not the best way to effectively teach to children.
Elizabeth Stewart
Never heard of the Rooster method but it does make me wonder now. Will have to look it up.
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