I really enjoyed reading this reflection, it goes over what this particular teacher has learned and experienced in the last school year. This teachers name is Mr. Joe McClung, and this is the 2010-2011 school year. It brought up many helpful tips and points. The first point the teacher brings up is "Know who your boss is". It say that don't try to please the adults and other individuals all the time. When teachers do this they get to much involved with what other people think of them. When that happens the students are left out and forgotten. The students should be the first priority in the teachers life at school. Students should always be the primary focus, this is why we become teachers. The second point he made is that " Don;t expect others to be as excited about change as you are". In this part the teacher basically goes over what happens at the professional development sessions he goes too. He says that he is the optimistic geek who enjoys the idea, but that he never understands the people who don't. I think that all teachers need to get interested and more involved in new learning techniques and such. If we as teachers aren't excited about teaching new technology and ideas why should our students be? The third point he brings up is "Don't be afraid to be an outsider". This is so true. He talks about not being afraid to be different form the other teachers you work with because you want to fit in. Focus on the students and focus on learning with them. " Don't touch the keyboard", is very simple but very true. If a student is having difficulties learning, do not show them by taking over and doing the work for them. They will never learn this way. You as the teacher have to let the student learn some things on their own, it is better to do it this way because the student learns better. The last part he says " Don't get comfortable". As a teacher don't become same. Be an ever changing person by learning new ways to teach and new ideas for students. I really enjoyed reading this reflection and learning from it.
Courtney,
ReplyDeleteI can really tell that you got a lot from reading about what Mr. McClung had to say. His posts were full of great advice and tips for new teachers. This was one of my favorite assignments to read in EDM simply because it was so informative about some of the realistic things that new teachers will experience.
Thanks,
Rebekah Lloyd
Hello Courtney,
ReplyDeleteYou have a really good evaluation of Mr. McClung's post. As you and he both pointed out, the students are the primary reasons we have teachers so they should always be the first priority. Why should students be excited about learning new technology, if the teacher is not? Well, I think that is the exact reason there is such an emphasis on education through technology, the hope or belief that it will excite students about learning. When you think about veteran teachers, most have taught their entire career without the use of technology. So if they have been even moderately successful, it would be hard to convince them that they should try something new or different late in their careers.
Thanks,
Jason Jackson