Sunday, October 28, 2012

Blog Assignment 9

What I Learned This Year- Volume 4. (2011-12)
In this post, McClung talks about how he had trouble with defining himself as a teacher. He said that it is important to look at how the students look at you rather than the teachers because they are all that truly matter. You are not there to impress your peers, but to make an impression on these kid's lives. McClung also talked about how important it is to challenge yourself as an educator. He said that he taught the same two subjects for the past 3 years and felt as if he became to comfortable and lazy with what he was teaching. The children suffered from this and did not learn as much because of it. During this school year, he has been privileged to teach a new subject and grade. This will allow him to grow and become a better teacher. It is his goal to do everything in his power to make the students enjoy class. Overall, this was a challenging, yet fun school year for McClung and he hopes that the 2012-13 will be even better.

What I Learned This Year (2010-11)
During the 2010-11 school year, Mr. McClung learned many valuable lessons. First of all, he realized that you need to not worry about what other teachers think about you. The kids should be the focal point and they are (hopefully) the very reason you are a teacher in the first place. Secondly, you must realize that other educators may not be as excited about change as you are. McClung stated " I feel like the teaching landscape is full of individuals that once had a fire and excitement for the profession but somewhere along the way they joined the darkside." This is so true because some teachers tend to become set in their ways and think that they know what is best after teaching for a while. This in turn makes them become less passionate about changing children's lives. He also showed us that it is okay to be different. Many of his peers would eat lunch in the teacher's lounge, while he would eat lunch with his students.
McClung's homeroom class
As a teacher, you do not want to interfere with hands on learning. McClung uses the phrase "Don't Touch the Keyboard". The idea is that you will be doing all of the work if you show them how to do it. Let them learn how to do it on their own. Lastly, he says to not become comfortable with what you are doing. By doing so, we become stagnant and do not better ourselves as educators. This not only hurts yourself, but the children you are teaching.

This post really opened my eyes and reminded me of why I am becoming a teacher. Not to impress the principal or other teachers, but my students. I want to make an impression on them so that they will tell their kids and grandkids about what an awesome teacher I was. I want to get better in everything that I do and become the best teacher that I can be. I may steal Mr. McClung's idea and do a blog like this to look back on what I have accomplished and what I can improve on.

2 comments:

  1. Hey Amanda,

    I think you should do a reflection post just like Mr. McClung. It is a good way to look back and see how you are growing as an educator.

    This is another great post Amanda!

    Stephen Akins

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  2. Keeping a journal or a blog for your reflections is a wonderful idea. Reflections can remind us why we are doing something and what got us far. You should put you summary to this post into your reflection since it had such a strong impression on you.

    I couldn't find any grammatical errors and your writing is very professional. Keep up the good work! I know you will be a wonderful teacher.

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