Sunday, October 23, 2011

Blog Post #9

For this blog post, we were assigned to read Mr. Joe McClung's blog. We needed to read at least two of his posts reflecting on his accomplishments and what he learned over the year. I decided to go with his first two posts, 08-09 and 09-10.

For his first post (08-09), he talks about his first year as a teacher and the lessons that he learned, and there are quite a few! He always got so wrapped up in the material that he sometimes forgot to check whether or not the students even comprehended what he was teaching! It is always important to make sure that the students understand the material before we, as teachers, move on. Secondly, he states that we must always be flexible. Lesson plans almost never turn out the way that we originally planned them, and teachers must be flexible. Next... Communication! It is always important to communicate with fellow teachers to build a great rapport with them. Be reasonable! He makes a good point. As teachers, we set our standards high for our students. I already am, and I am not even in the field yet. We must always make sure to be encouraging and not scold them when they do not meet our expectations. After that, he makes probably the most important statement. Do not be afraid of technology! As teachers, we need to utilize technology. I think that we as EDM310 students understand that by now. Another great thing he states is we just always listen to our students. To build great relationships with students, we must take a vested interest in their lives, and lastly, be a life-long learner.

Mr. McClung really made a great blog post with this one. Everything he said really is the truth. I think that if I can follow the guidelines that he has set out then I will have no problem being an excellent teacher. The thing that sank in the most was the point about expectations. I already want to set high standards for my students, and I definitely want to see them succeed. I have to make sure to keep a positive outlook when my children fall short of my standards from time to time.

For his second post, he is talking about his second year as a teacher obviously. First off, he says we must always adapt to whatever is thrown at us. He had to teach an entirely new subject that he was not comfortable with, but in the end, it helped him grow and become a better teacher. Next, we must encourage students to be independent thinkers - yet another thing we have learned in EDM310! To continue, he suggests that every new teacher find their School Mom. In other words, find a woman who has been at the school for several years that you can lean on for guidance. This next point really stuck with me. We have to always let our students know that we care about what we are teaching. Be enthusiastic! Also, always make sure to spend time on subjects that may be helpful to students and not necessarily ones that we find personally interesting. After this, he makes another great point. No matter what is going on at home or with administration and co-workers, we must always make sure to deliver to our students in the classroom. Lastly, we must always make sure to learn more even if we think we know it all.

I felt like I could connect with his first blog post more, but his second post was still a solid one. He made an abundance of excellent points. I really liked what he said about the School Mom. I'm sort of a momma's boy too, and I know that it would be beneficial to me to find someone, preferably in my department, to look up to for guidance.

Lifelong Learner

3 comments:

  1. Hello Zack,
    I also did the first two and what you said about is correct. I felt it was easy to relate to the both, but more so the first one cause growing up we really didn't understand or grasp the lesson's are teacher taught us but things changed for the better.

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  2. "Do not be afraid of technology! As teachers, we need to utilize technology. I think that we as EDM310 students understand that by now." and "Next, we must encourage students to be independent thinkers - yet another thing we have learned in EDM310!" That's what we want to have happen. I hope that your correct that it does!

    Thorough. Thoughtful. Well done!

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  3. Thanks for the comments. I'm glad you liked it, Dr. Strange!

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