I really enjoyed reading this post, Mr. Clung really provided me with some useful information about the life of a first year educator. He really made me realize that being a teacher is not so much about lessons plans and getting everything done in a days time, but more so of being patient with students and being willing to listen to them if whether we are going too fast or too slow, or even if they just don't understand. I have seen many teachers today let go of the teacher/student bond and just try to go by the book and be done. But that is an example of a 'burp back education' which is something that I am going to try my best not to do to my students. Mr. Clung also made a great point in his blog when he mentioned that the best way to make things run smoothly is to communicate. That is not only true in a personal relationship, but also a student/teacher realationship, and even a work environment. If you don't teach yourself how to communicate with different people, then in my opinion you will not be able to obstain an accurate relationship with your parents and/or your students. I'm sure that being a first year elementary education teacher was challenging for him do to him going strictly by the books and the things that he was taught in college, but I'm happy to see that he learned from his mistakes and his students that no matter how hard to try and stick to those lesson plans those little minds will continue to work at their own pace. I am sure that once I graduate and become a teacher that I will run into some of the same problems, but hopefully I'll be able to learn from my mistakes as a first year or even a second year teacher and apply those new applications to my teaching and learning network.
I don't know how many millions of times my mother read The Little Engine That Could to me. And how many millions more I read it by myself. And how millions of times I read it to my kids. Thanks for the memories!
ReplyDeleteHi Toni! I really enjoyed reading your post and I agree with you. We'll all run into bumps along the way but we can learn from those. Also, for me, Mr. McClung reminded me of somethings so those bumps may not be so rough. I also agree that we can't just have a "burp-back" education. We can't lose sight of the student/teacher relationship. I had great relationships with so many of my teachers in high school, and I hope I can do that for someone one day. I'm glad you pointed out that communication isn't only important in the classroom, but in life in general.
ReplyDeleteHey Toni,
ReplyDeleteBeing patient is one thing that my teachers growing up did not to a good job of doing. Thanks for pointing that out!
Good post!
Stephen Akins