2nd Week Reflection

Second week into school and so far so good! Today Kevin gave us a little lesson on the history of education, and I must say it was a good presentation. He had some very insightful information that will stick with me throughout my teachings. One quote that really stood out from Kevin's presentation was a quote by John Dewey, "... if we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow..." As educators in todays society, we all need to be up-to-date on the newest technologies and the newest forms of teaching. We have an amazing gift at our fingertips that can help us be the most memorable teachers. That gift is technology. Teachers need to find new ways to enhance their teaching strategies every chance they can! We live in an information driven world, and educators need to take advantage of all the new information out there. Kevin had given us 2 different sources to read over the weekend. I really thought "Schooling and Poor Children in the 19th Century America" was a great source for any educator. It is important that we as educators, take the history we have learned and apply it to our teachings because we need a foundation to know how things came about. Today's students are not all the different from the students of the 19th century. There are disadvantaged students in every classroom, and we as teachers need to understand how to accommodate to each students needs, as well as how to treat all our students equally. We also need to find new ways to improve our communication skills with our students and find different ways to connect with all of our students, whether we have a lot in common with them or nothing in common at all.
I really liked how Kevin incorporated the think-pair-share organizer into the lesson! It was a great way to open up conversation with our peers, as well as to better familiarize ourselves with one another. One of the conversations from the class that stood out with me was when Kevin was talking about his experiences in his different classrooms. He talked about a student who was constantly rude to him and always gave him a hard time. This student was constantly late to class and never really put an effort in caring about anything. I loved Sarah's response to what she would do if she had this particular student in her classroom. Sarah said she would tell the student that what she is doing would not be accepted in the real world, and if this was a job she would be fired with no questions asked! I love hearing about my peers experiences in their classrooms, especially because I do not work in a classroom at the moment. It's just a great way for me to visualize what goes on in the classroom on a daily basis, whether it be good or bad.
When it came time for Dr. Perry to give us his lesson on avoiding teacher burnout, I would lie if I said it didn't stress me out! Just recently, I was lectured about a family member about why I should not become a teacher because they do not get paid enough. Up until last week, I never once questioned wanting to be a teacher. It is definitely a passion of mine. It is something that I see as more of an art than a job. And when I see myself teaching, I see myself happy. It was funny to me to have this lecture the week after I was stressing about what one of my relatives was telling me. After Dr. Perry's lecture I thought about it a little more and I have come to the realization that I will make the best of teaching. Even though the money may be a problem to most people, at the end of the day, I will be doing what I love. I know about the long hours, the extra responsibilities, high turnover rate, the stress, etc... But in reality, what job do you know of that doesn't contain all of these. Knowing myself, I will make the best of my situation. I am a very organized person and I know that I will be able to handle it!
I like to stay positive and think of the best od every situation...

Like I said, second week of school, and so far so good! :)