I think the biggest thing that I
have learned about teachers this quarter is that each individual teacher has
their own teaching style, that for the most part, is completely unique and that
it’s ok. Every teacher thinks differently from the next and so it only makes
sense to have a very unique teaching style that accommodates those differences
into their lessons. It isn’t good to try and mimic a specific teacher, just
because they are considered to be good, because more times than not, you won’t
be comfortable when you are up in front of a classroom teaching a lesson. Some
cooperating teachers have a specific way of doing things that has often
differed from the teaching candidates that I have talked with and so it made it
a little difficult to implement their own style in the lessons. But after a
while of being there and getting to know the cooperating teacher more, most
situations allowed the candidate to throw their own personality into the
lesson, while still maintaining the overall structure that the teacher was used
to. It was a bit difficult for me at times because the teaching style that my
cooperating teacher had was very different than mine regarding how to interact
and discipline the students. He is extremely well organized and runs a very
structured classroom that doesn’t allow for any side chatter during instruction
or class discussion. Most times that would be the view of many teachers, but I
actually think that it’s OK to allow for a certain degree of chatter especially
in special circumstances.
This actually brings me to the next
point of what I learned this quarter which is to pick and choose your battles.
No matter what, each and every day is not going to run perfectly and as a
teacher you should never try to force a class to do so. There is always going
to be a certain level of side conversations going on from time to time, and if
you try to stop every single one, then the class is going to eventually become
very wound up and then participation will more than likely drop because of it.
Especially in special circumstances, for instance in a classroom that has a
large number of IEP students where they may lose track of where they are in the
book or in note taking and need to ask a neighbor to catch them up. When I ran
my lessons throughout the quarter I made a point to pair each individual IEP
student with a study buddy for those situations and that way whenever the other
kids heard any chatter, they could simply look and realize that, that was who
was talking and then get right back into the lesson without them getting
frustrated with the noise. I had extremely positive results using this method
and will continue to use and tweak it. By not engaging in every single
circumstance the students are allowed to feel more relaxed and not like they
are being kept in line by a drill instructor and from my experiences will be
more apt to cut out whatever misbehavior I correct them for when I actually do
correct them. The fact that behavior corrections won’t happen often will make
it more of a big deal when they are called out and in so doing, will deter that
sort of behavior.
I have learned that I still have
quite a bit to learn about being a complete and effective teacher. I have
realized that I have a very charismatic voice and approach in my lessons and
always was able to get the students involved and engaged in the learning
process, which is great. But I never really realized how much thought and
effort goes into being a full-time teacher. It is by no means a 9-5 job, but
that is alright with me. I have also rediscovered and confirmed that I have
definitely made the right decision of choosing to work with kids. I absolutely
love being able to have the opportunity to potentially make an extremely
positive impact on my students lives. There always seems to be so many negative
stories in the news about children being abused or neglected by their parents,
so it makes me feel good to be able to have a part to play in creating a safe
haven for them to come to at school and not be afraid or worried about
anything. On the same thought, I have realized how little I approve of bullying
in any fashion whatsoever. With the realization of what my position
encompasses, as far as school being a safe place for these kids to go, it is my
job to ensure that each student is being treated appropriately by both students
and faculty. There are certain areas across the nation that have extremely high
crime rates and other controlling factors that make schools the only safe place
for kids to go. That is why it is so utterly important for each and every
teacher to keep a watchful eye constantly on any dangers or bullying
situations, so that they may put an end to them immediately. It really is part
of the job description to keep the students safe and something that I realized
that I take very seriously.
Being in two different schools this
quarter has really opened my eyes to the differences in funding. Not only was
one a middle and a high school, but they were also in two completely different
districts and it was like night and day. Not only were the resources much
scarcer in one, but the entire atmosphere in general. I have heard stories
about how being in a school with a very low SES can be very difficult as a
teacher in my experience it is true. It makes a lot of sense now looking back
as to why my first teacher felt the need to keep such a high level of structure
and order in his class, because maybe he felt that he had too. The high school
is much newer and they have a lot more electronic aids then the middle school
did. The students attitudes were much different too, which could be very likely
due to the fact that their parents are more financially stable and have a
better life at home, both relationship wise and in a financial sense. Both
schools had extremely devoted teachers, but the level of engagement was
astoundingly higher at the school with the higher SES. Some might say that the
school has more money and can afford better teachers and I have no doubt that
there is some truth to that statement. But at the same time I know that no
matter what school I am placed in, whether it is high or low SES standing I am
not going to neglect the needs of my students and will work just as hard in
either situation to ensure that my students are fully engaged and meeting the
standards that are set for them each and every single day. I know that almost
sounds like an impossibility because everyone has bad days, even teachers, but
it really is all in how you look and act in every individual situation. If I
allow myself to get emotional because of outside factors of my life, then yeah
I am more than likely not going to teach well and my students aren’t going to
gather much that day academically. But if I put any emotions aside and continue
to remain positive, then my day will get better and my students will learn.
Confirm, confirm and just for the
heck of it confirm again with everything whenever communicating with your
cooperating teacher. I went through a very tough situation losing my placement
this quarter and would not wish that on anyone. There was some misunderstanding
going from winter to spring quarter and the days that I was going to observe
and it cost me my placement. There was also some other influences like MAPS and
MSP testing that seemed a bit overwhelming to my cooperating teacher, but the
main factor seemed to be that he thought that I was supposed to be there on a
day that I wasn’t there. So, confirm everything everyday about everything. You
might think that you are overwhelming the teacher by being overly thorough, but
through my experience this quarter I learned that teachers are extremely
scatter brained and need to keep everything extremely organized and scheduled
or else all hell breaks loose. It is much better to be overly thorough then to
have a misunderstanding and potentially lose your placement. Everything luckily
worked out good for me and I ended up with an absolutely amazing teacher now,
but it was still an unpleasant experience all the same.
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