Post #9

     Mr. McClung is standing on the other side of one of the things I'm most nervous about. After his first year of teaching he reflects on the past year in his blog post What I've Learned This Year. I imagine that lots of things change from the time we first step into a classroom to the time the spring semester ends for summer. Mr. McClung shares how he grew in those months during his first teaching experiences.
     He begins by stating how he along with many other teachers have lost the point of our lessons, the students. By becoming consumed in our deliverance and how we present materials, we lose track of the main factors sitting right in front of us. This idea slides right into his next point of being flexible with your lessons and your class.

     The lesson you teach and the lesson you plan are always different.

     Personally this is my biggest challenge. Things won't always go the way we plan them, and we cannot let changes or unexpected events hold us up. Mr. McClung also explains how communication is a vital skill we must learn in our school settings. It sounds silly to mention it, but communication skills can often be the most difficult to develop. In school setting they are the most important to grow relationships between both students and our coworkers, because simply letting the students know you care about them can make the biggest difference. Another aspect of teaching is to be reasonable. We set goals for students, and sometimes they don't meet them. And that's ok. Our job is not to scold them, but to encourage them to try again. We must also not be afraid of the ever changing world of technology. It will be in our students lives so we should learn how to embrace that in the classroom. And as always, we must continue to learn. We should learn things as we listen to our students and interact in our classrooms. We must continually strive to learn new things to relay to our students and together we will grow in many ways.
     I'm nervous about those first experiences. It's one of those terrified/excited deals, but I hope I remember Mr. McClung's thoughts. I have a feeling those will be of great value while standing in front of a classroom. Every individual aspect holds vital importance to being a inspiring educator, but what is amazing is how they connect. If you are centering the lessons around your students, you're most likely listening to them. If you're listening to them, you will probably learn about technology, because they will be talking about it all the time. If you're talking and reacting to them, you're communicating and learning becomes a two way street, and if you're being flexible you're most likely being reasonable with your class.
      The hardest part is not starting this shift, it's keeping it. Staying positive... even when your house of cards falls with the slightest movement. It's a challenge to continually strive for.
Thanks Mr. McClung,
              ~ Miles