Image via WikipediaMr. McClung had some very interesting things to say about his first year of teaching. Most of it seems to be pretty common sense in nature, but as educators, we often lose sight of what is important. Often, we are too wrapped up in being a perfect teacher in the eyes of our superiors, the parents of our students, and our students themselves. As educators, we must "Read our crowd, be flexible, communicate (with students, parents, and colleagues), be reasonable in our expectations of ourselves and students, accept the prevalence of technology in our 'microwave society', listen to our students, and refuse to stop learning." As I said before, this should all be common sense, right? But these points that Mr. McClung learned are crucial to the success of our students.I commented the following on his post:
"Mr. McClung, I appreciate you sharing what you have learned during your first year as a teacher. I myself am a student in Dr. Strange's EDM310 class at the University of South Alabama. I have observed, not only my own, but some of my former teachers' negligence in the points you have made. I have also found that at times, educators fall short of being a good teacher, because they are so concerned with how they appear to their colleagues. I think your blog post serves as a perfect model for the ideal teacher. Thanks for your insight! -Jameson Branch branchjamesonedm310.blogspot.com"
Jameson,
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right that all the things Mr. McClung has noted seems to be common sense. It amazes me how we do forget these simple things. I think putting the students first is definitely the most important thing to remember. After all, I hope that is the reason why most have become teachers, to help students achieve in life. The points you pointed out from his post are great things to remember, and I hope we can all incorporate these tips into our own classrooms!