POLL: TANGENTS

TEACHERS: HOw do you feel about tangents in class ?

Im a tangent Queen but I think in many cases, they make the lesson more exciting and get the kids interested in reading up further on something that sparked their curiosity...

We were just reading "Grandfather's Journey" (boy's grandfather comes to the US from Japan). and a few students related to it, and spoke of their families' journeys to the US from other countries. I also spoke ("being homesick" was touched upon also) of my experiences going to Italy as a child, and relating the experiences of my parents/grandparents, and they were all intrigued and asked questions.
But we did get offtrack from our reading (although we did still finish the book in time)..

Are you the type of teacher that watches the clock and does NOT let tangents get in your way?.

or are you the type of teacher that will go with the flow, seize the moment and make the most of what is capturing the attention of your class?

I tend to grasp the moment that a student is sharing something, and try to allow everyone to learn something from it or see something from a different perspective.

(I hope this wasnt too many questions in one )

Please post input in addition to replying to the poll !

Re: POLL: TANGENTS

i think it depends....kids can get sooo carried away!!!!

Re: POLL: TANGENTS

I agree that they can make the lesson more interesting, but there are some children who just LOOOVE to hear themselves talk and don't understand the idea of SHARING ideas.

Re: POLL: TANGENTS

IMO, there are appropriate tangents and inappropriate tangents. Most of the time, first graders go for the latter.

Re: POLL: TANGENTS

depends on the tangent. since i teach esl, most tangents that promote lots of talking are ok in my book!