Sunday, October 23, 2011

Blog Post #9

By Joe McClung

Joe McClung is a teacher who has just finished his third year of teaching, and he blogs regularly on his blog site called "The Teacher's Desk." At the end of each school year, McClung does a special blog post reflecting on his previous school year. I chose to start this assignment by reading his first year's post. It seemed McClung had learned some very good lessons that first year of teaching. First he said he had learned to read a crowd. He made a very good point about teachers being so caught up with our own approach to teaching a lesson that we sometimes forget the most important thing which McClung says is checking for student comprehension. Teachers can sometimes get too involved with their lessons when they really need to let their students guide the lessons. He also learned to be flexible. As a teacher who has completed her sixth year of teaching, I can emphatically agree with that. So many situations present themselves on a daily basis in the classroom. Teachers are always having to change gears and go in different directions, and McClung says to do so with a smile on your face. I agree that a positive attitude always helps a teacher. Things don't always go the way you planned, but staying positive under pressure is always the best way to handle those unexpected things. McClung also says that communication is the best way to resolve any issue, and teachers should always be reasonable. I liked McClung's quote, "Pick them up after they fail, dust them off, and encourage them to try again." That should be posted in every teacher's lounge. That should be our motto as teachers! He also learned to listen to and get to know his students better, and not to be afraid of technology. He said teaching is our job, but so many of us don't keep learning ourselves. We as teachers should always be ready to learn, grow, and improve ourselves. There is always room for improvement. All of these were great lessons to learn as a first year teacher, and I think McClung must have had a pretty successful first year. 

classroom


By Joe McClung

Now Joe McClung has completed three years of teaching and he is still reflecting on what he has learned. First he has learned to know your boss. He says sometimes teachers are jumping through hoops to impress administration or do things for other teachers, but we should always remember that our students are the ones who deserve our undivided attention. Keep your eyes on the prize! They are the reason we are doing this job anyway. He also learned to not expect other teachers to be as excited about change as he was. And this also goes along with what he learned about not letting yourself get comfortable. This is unfortunately very true. Some teachers just seem to be burned out. Maybe they have been doing this so long, they are tired, or maybe teaching just was never their true calling. I have seen it come from both directions, and either way it's sad. McClung says, "We cannot afford to be passive in education. We need to be the "movers" and the "shakers" and advocates of change in our schools." I took a class at South where the professor told us to recognize these kinds of teachers and stay away from them. They just bring everyone down. I myself have seen it so many times. It is very important that new teachers learn this lesson early. McClung also learned not to touch the keyboard which means we must let our students do the work themselves. We should not interfere with the learning process by jumping in too soon and helping the students. We should make them self-sufficient learners. McClung ends his post with this quote, "The teaching profession needs individuals that are passionate and willing to exceed the demands of the traditional 8-3 teaching format...is this not an achievable goal?" I not only agree with Mr. McClung but also believe that it is an achievable goal. I think we have lots of great inspiring teachers out there. We just need more of them, and I believe with universities better preparing these teachers, we will hopefully start seeing more of them. McClung seems to be one of those great teachers.

1 comment:

  1. Mary,
    How refreshing and enlightening it is to read the blog post of someone with teaching experience! You bring new insight to the assignment as someone who has been in Mclung's shoes in the past.
    "I liked McClung's quote, "Pick them up after they fail, dust them off, and encourage them to try again." That should be posted in every teacher's lounge." I do agree! I think it was very smart that you included this because, as McClung said, don't let your audience be your fellow teachers. He also talked about being flexible with your plans, and listening to your students. In that short time to recuperate in the teacher's lounge, having a reminder of this magnitude would make us reflect, keep us from running to the other teachers to share our problems, remind us to be patient, and keep us grounded in what we are supposed to be doing.
    Thanks for sharing! :)
    Carly

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