In this blog post we were assigned to read Mr. McClung's post entitled, "What I've Learned This Year". In this post Mr. McClung talks about the experiences he went through and observed during his first year as an elementary school teacher. He tells of him learning that school is for the students and not for the teachers. In his paragraph, "How to Read the Crowd" he says that "...I was so worried about how I was being assed by my superiors, that I lost touch with my audience when I delivered a lesson". I think we as teachers get this way sometimes and we have to step back and remember we are here for the students and no one else. The students and their future are what we need to focus on and not how perfect the lesson we made is going. Which transfers into his next paragraph, "Be Flexible" where he speaks about him trying to be aware of the fact that we are teaching students who " struggle remembering what they brought for lunch" and so we should not get upset and if a lesson doesn't go exactly the way we want it to. He gives us the advice that, "When things go wrong, simply work with it and try to better the situation... and make sure you do it with a smile on your face." I believe this is great advice because without being flexible, we are just being uptight and thus making the students miserable too. We just need to roll with the punches. Moving on through the post he comes to his thoughts on how important it is to, "Communicate". In this paragraph he expresses the importance of communication among our peers and students. He says without communication, the work place can become very volatile and work against the betterment of the students. He also says that communication is one of the hardest skills to develop and so we should practice all the time and I could not agree with him more on this. There is so much drama in schools and as teachers we should set en example for communicating and working out problems with others. In the next paragraph Mr. McClung talks about how to "Be Reasonable". In this he tells us how to not get upset when our students don't reach our expectations because at the end of the day, they are still children. I agree that we should not get upset but I will not lower my expectation because I want my students to know that I will never stop expecting greatness from them. In his paragraph on "Don't Be Afraid of Technology", he hilariously jokes about the fact that so many people are afraid of technology, but reassures them that, "... the water feel fine:)." I have to completely agree with him because I was afraid when I started this class but now I love it and I have learned so much. In what I believe is a very touching paragraph, "Listen to Your Students", he tells of the absolute great importance of listening to our students because how can we teach them if we do not listen and get to know them. Lastly he talks about the fact that we should "Never Stop Learning". He puts it best when he says, "It is never too late to change your way of thinking, learning, or style." We as educators should be sponges and soak up all of the knowledge available so that we are better equipped to help and teach our students, they deserve it. I want to thank Mr. McClung for sharing his great insights into his first year of teaching because I know this has helped me feel a little less scared of my first year that is fast approaching.
Mr. McClung has also made me feel more confident in my ability to teach. His tips will surely help all of us during our first few years with the students. I was also a little hesitant about taking this class but it turned out to be very interesting.
ReplyDeleteI like how you have acknowledged that we are doing all that we do because of the children in our classroom.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if we should really have expectations of students. In a discussion with Jammie Lynn last semester, I saw a new angle on teachers using expectations. It seems that if we have really high expectations for students, we are setting them up for failure if they don't reach those expectations. I think that this is really something that we overlook sometimes when we think about students and their work in our classroom. I do think that we should all teach each student the same, however. I don't know if having expectations of that student is always the right thing. If you want to talk about this further, contact Jammie Lynn and she can explain to you the idea about what I am saying much better.
I see you really have a good understanding of "Listening to your Students". I think this is VERY important to all teachers if we are to teach children in our classroom.
Good post Brittney!
Keep up the good work,
Stephen Akins