Sunday, October 23, 2011

Blog Post #9

female teacher with glasses holding a ruler

Mr. McLung: What I've Learned This Year (2008-09)

Mr. McClung began his first year of teaching in Noel, Missouri where he seemed to have learned a lot after his first year of teaching. I enjoyed reading his blog and hope that I see things the way does once I begin teaching. I am sure it is not just a piece of cake the very first day, but I look forward to it and the many years to follow that.

Mr. McClung enjoyed his first year and developed into, I feel, a good teacher with more experience and growing to come. He mentioned things that he felt one could work on when going into education. He talked about how he thought things were about him and how he managed to focus on delivering his lesson according to his superiors forgetting about the students. McClung admitted he lost touch with his audience. He pointed out that teachers must remember the "most important aspect of teaching" and this is student comprehension. As a future teacher I have to make sure I keep this in mind. I am sure as any professional in any field one can tend to focus on what our "bosses" want forgetting what our true goals or missions are in what we are doing. I will definitely try to make sure I base my lessons off of how my students learn after I figure out what gets their attention and how well they learn from how I deliver my lesson. Maybe after the first couple weeks my students will get use to me and I will get use to them and we develop a routine for how we learn from one another.

Mr. McClung talked about being flexible also. When describing this he was saying that we need to make sure we do not be completely stuck on things going one way because anything can happen that we cannot control. He mentioned how he would beat himself up for things happening differently and not going the way in which he wanted things to go. I can see myself being the same way. I will plan back up lessons and keep my mind open for things to go differently. I will try not to get so caught up in perfection and just focus on my students learning whether things are going perfectly or not.

Mr. McClung talked about communication and being reasonable. He said how we should form bonds with both fellow teachers and students. I am sure to keep this in mind because I know that I will be freely receiving and giving out any tips and advice that I can. We are all in this profession for the same reason so I will keep that in mind and be supportive of those around me as well. When it comes to being reasonable Mr. McClung was saying how we must not set the bar to high for our students. We must make sure that we push them forward and also pick them up when they need it. Which goes into another topic he touched which is to listen to our students. We must get to know them and be there for them through teaching but also as an adviser in a way in which we will help them grow into successful citizens. We can't forget they are children and individuals that go through things because they are constantly growing. They are trying to find themselves and figure out how they will become who it is they want to be. So we have to keep this in mind when they may not accomplish what it is we want them to and not show any signs of disappointment. They have things going on outside of our classroom so for the time frame we have them it can be  a building session. We will build their maturity, self esteem, and of course there academic achievement. Going through this building session we will be building ourselves as professionals and learning more that will make us better teachers. We can learn more from those around us and learn in our own ways that will help us provide the best education we can. And of course, we must not forget about incorporating technology into classes. McClung mentions how we should not give up before we start. Just as we push our students to try new things and learn new things we have to do the same for ourselves.

What I've Learned This Year (2009-10)

Mr. McClung went from teaching 6th graders to teaching jr. high 8th graders that had a different mentality. However that was not the worst part, but he had to teach three subjects like science, history, and social studies. He had to adapt to teaching a new curriculum which was not easy and made him result to "survival mode." I am sure this was nerve racking and makes me want to prepare in all aspects of education. The last thing I want is to feel like I have no clue what I am doing so I will take his advice about change being good and not getting to comfortable. This choice of career requires adaptability. Future teachers need to keep this in mind and it is obvious for example we will be adapting being that technology is not being used more in today's classes.

Another thing that McClung discussed is finding your "school mom". That is a person that has been at the school for a while, knows about the school and how it works, and is willing to help you throughout the school year. I feel this will not be to hard for me to do because I have a very nice personality and a sense of humor that I can work in conversation. I like meeting people and I try to feel people out when I meet them so that I know how things will go and what type of relationship we will have based on our commonality.

I love what McClung said about checking our ego's at the door. He wrote about how he had to act enthusiastic about topics he may not find interesting and be a "salesman" to get the lesson across to the students. He said he may have to be "uncool" and act like a dork at times to show his passion for teaching so that his students take him seriously. I find this to be the best part of his experience simply because I learn best from teachers like this. It really works because students may find interest in the subject and even try just because they see that their teacher is really "into" it. Education needs teachers like this, or should I say actors. Often in any profession people will have to fake it or act like they are into what they are doing, or even just act to overcome what happen in our lives before stepping through the doors of our job. We are teachers and we are human. We get bored, upset, and feel sad however we must overcome all of this and put on the best show everyday we are in front of our class because we have to educate our students when it is all said and done. They are the future so we must prepare them at all cost.

Mr. McClung talked about scope and sequence. I learned for sure from him on this topic. He talked about he would spend more time on topics in his subject that he liked and not on topics that would be beneficial for his 8th grade students. He realized he had to spend adequate amounts of time on all the topics and that his assessments matched the depth of the topic in which he covered. As a future educator I believe this is very great advice because I honestly never thought about the depth perception at all. So I am introduced to something new and I will definitely remember this when making my lesson plans for the year. And plans is emphasized, not schedules but plans because it more than likely will change somewhat.

Going into this profession we all must remember what is really important in the end and that is the students. Mr. McClung talked about having issues at the school not dealing with the students but administration. He had a colleague basically tell him how he could get back at whoever caused the issue, but he realized that would only hurt the students.  As I said earlier, inside of our classrooms we will be actors some days. We will have to come out of our own shoes and be a character in a since and put on a show for our students. They are what is important and worrying about outside issues and how to avenge them will not benefit the student at all. Teacher, that is our job title in the end and is what we must be and teach is what we have do. And going into what he said last we must be humble. We will have good days and good years where we feel accomplished and turn around and learn a ton more after we thought we knew it all. We can continue and will continue to learn from our own experiences and others. We should keep our minds open so that we will continue to grow and become some of the best educators there ever were. Time to replace the people that see teaching as just a j-o-b and not as career and lifestyle. It's what you are not what you do. Teacher at heart, that is who I am and who I will become as I go through this education program at South Alabama!

(Sources: Mr. McClung )

3 comments:

  1. Hi Dominique,
    I thought you did a great job with your post. I totally agree with your opinion about teaching. I hate when people go into this profession just for a paycheck. We need educators who are passionate about teaching and learning. Good Post :)

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  2. Hi Dominique! I really enjoyed your blog post. You were very detailed throughout the blog. I agree with your aspects on teaching. Especially when you said that maybe you and your students will get use to each other. I'm pretty sure they will because you will be a great teacher and after being with you all day for a couple of weeks. They will understand what you are asking from them as a student.

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  3. Dominique,

    It is clear that you have learned a great deal from Mr. McClung's experiences. Good job on the blog post!

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