Does this sound familiar to you, teachers who want to involve their class by telling personal details of their private life? Well, I do. Sometimes they illustrate the theory by telling ‘real-life’ stories, and sometimes they just want to entertain their students. I will tell you my own ‘real-life’ stories and experiences, and not only to entertain you.
Story 1 There is one teacher who looks and talks really formal. His first two lectures were boring (I am sorry), and I was doubting if it was really necessary to visit this course every week. But I gave him a third chance, third time lucky. And during the third lecture he started telling jokes about his personal life, and about his wife. Maybe the jokes were even funnier because of his formal tone, but the lecture was much nicer. A friend of mine who was absent during this lecture (I will not mention your name) did not believe me when I told her that he was funny. So to convince her, the next lecture we went together and at the beginning of the lecture his wife ‘showed up’ again (in his jokes, not in real, that would be too personal). Honestly, I do think that the jokes about his wife were just to entertain us, but it worked! I am almost looking forward to the next lecture.
Story 2 Another story, another teacher. Also this teacher told us personals details about her life, maybe too many, because I do not want to hear details about her online dating experiences. And believe me, sometimes it is better to not give the impression that you are a fan of World of Warcraft and to tell which avatar you have. So during a (boring) lecture without jokes, I was wondering how far can teachers go sharing personal information with their students?
What kind of information can teachers share?
Fortunately for us, this subject has been investigated. In this study the perceptions of teachers about the appropriateness of self-disclosure have been investigated. The study offered several implications for the way of teaching and teacher education. According to the teachers, subjects as personal experiences of the teacher, information related to their family, personal interests are permitted to tell in class. The interviewed teachers did not permit to share subjects as political preference, religious beliefs and information about their intimate relations (sex, marriage etc) with the students. Besides the do’s and don’ts, the teachers find that sharing personal information depends on the cultural background, gender, level and the emotional status of a student.
By reading the lasts results of the study some questions came to mind. What will tell a teacher differently, if he has a class with only men? More blue jokes? And I am wondering what students will tell these investigators about which subjects are or are not permitted to tell in class.
But in a general sense, I do agree with the interviewed teachers. Sometimes you can share personal information with your students, but you have to know as a teacher what you can tell and cannot tell. Hopefully for all students, all teachers will read this article and will apply the results during their lectures.
Story 1 There is one teacher who looks and talks really formal. His first two lectures were boring (I am sorry), and I was doubting if it was really necessary to visit this course every week. But I gave him a third chance, third time lucky. And during the third lecture he started telling jokes about his personal life, and about his wife. Maybe the jokes were even funnier because of his formal tone, but the lecture was much nicer. A friend of mine who was absent during this lecture (I will not mention your name) did not believe me when I told her that he was funny. So to convince her, the next lecture we went together and at the beginning of the lecture his wife ‘showed up’ again (in his jokes, not in real, that would be too personal). Honestly, I do think that the jokes about his wife were just to entertain us, but it worked! I am almost looking forward to the next lecture.
Story 2 Another story, another teacher. Also this teacher told us personals details about her life, maybe too many, because I do not want to hear details about her online dating experiences. And believe me, sometimes it is better to not give the impression that you are a fan of World of Warcraft and to tell which avatar you have. So during a (boring) lecture without jokes, I was wondering how far can teachers go sharing personal information with their students?
What kind of information can teachers share?
Fortunately for us, this subject has been investigated. In this study the perceptions of teachers about the appropriateness of self-disclosure have been investigated. The study offered several implications for the way of teaching and teacher education. According to the teachers, subjects as personal experiences of the teacher, information related to their family, personal interests are permitted to tell in class. The interviewed teachers did not permit to share subjects as political preference, religious beliefs and information about their intimate relations (sex, marriage etc) with the students. Besides the do’s and don’ts, the teachers find that sharing personal information depends on the cultural background, gender, level and the emotional status of a student.
By reading the lasts results of the study some questions came to mind. What will tell a teacher differently, if he has a class with only men? More blue jokes? And I am wondering what students will tell these investigators about which subjects are or are not permitted to tell in class.
But in a general sense, I do agree with the interviewed teachers. Sometimes you can share personal information with your students, but you have to know as a teacher what you can tell and cannot tell. Hopefully for all students, all teachers will read this article and will apply the results during their lectures.
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