From a 16-year old: Classroom Structure

I just came back from a walk with my HS daughter.  She gave me a huge run-down on why students take some teachers seriously and others not so seriously.  She has determined it all has to do with whether the teacher has structured lessons or not.  I pressed her to describe what she meant by “structured lessons” and she explained that as a student she needs to know where the lesson is headed and what the goals of the lessons are.  She also said that assignments, homework especially, need to fit with class-work .  “Basically,” she summarized, “there needs to be purpose”.  So there you have it.  From a 16 year old.