Blog Post #9

What I've Learned This Year

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Mr. McClung's first post about his experiences during his first year of teaching. As a future teacher, I've always been curious to know what a teacher's first year would be like, because personally, I am TERRIFIED of beginning my first year of teaching. However, Mr. McClung's blog post about his experiences eased my troubled mind just a tad bit. He talked about how no teacher is perfect, and how we shouldn't plan to be perfect. One thing I've learned from both my professors at South and Dr. McClung is that no matter how much we prepare and plan a lesson, 9 times out of 10 it will always change, so teachers should be flexible. McClung also brought out a great point about the fact that a teacher's teaching should be focused around the student, and that teacher's should also be able to listen to their student. I agree. While it is extremely important to impress administrators, it is more important to focus on your students so that you will provide the best education possible for them. Another thing that Mr. McClung mentioned that is stressed very heavily in EDM 310 is that teachers should be less afraid and more open-minded when it comes to technology. After taking EDM 310, I know this all too well. I have become increasingly aware over the semester of how important technology is and how it can transform the classroom and the effectiveness of teaching.

I also read Mr. McClung's second post after the 2009-2010 school year. Mr. McClung talked about how, this year, he'd moved to a larger school and had to change from teaching 6th to 8th grade. Mr. McClung had to adapt to a new environment and new students, but this experience taught him how important it is to be able to adapt and how change makes us better teachers. This really got me to thinking about my future career. I am so set on wanting to teach 2nd graders, that I never even really thought about the fact that I might end up teaching kindergarten or even 5th graders when I start teaching! This post really opened my eyes to the fact that I need to be able to adapt and to take any curve ball that is thrown my way. One point that Mr. McClung made that I thought was so cute and heartwarming was that he found a "school mom" at the middle school where he was teaching. When he talked about this, I could picture teachers who had previously taught me that would be considered a "school mom" by other teachers and it brought a smile to my face. I can only imagine how scary it can be to be a new teacher, and I thought this piece of advice from Mr. McClung would be very helpful for future teachers.

An ego can be one thing that can prevent us from being great teachers to our students and Mr. McClung made sure to tell readers to "check your ego at the door." Sometimes we have to go above and beyond to make a lesson interesting for students, even if that means making a complete fool of yourself. We have to show a love and passion for what it is that we're teaching because if we don't, why should the students? I thought that this was a great point to make because many new teachers may be concerned about doing things wrong when it comes to teaching. I believe there isn't necessarily a "wrong" way of teaching, as long as it benefits you and your students in a positive way and provides learning for your students. McClung also advised us not to be such control freaks, and to allow students to have a little independence. Mr. McClung also encouraged teachers to not lost sight of what's important, the STUDENTS, and that even after we think we know it all, there's still a lot more to learn.