There are
nine basic goals and ideals that a successful and positive teacher
should observe. These include things like being cultural diverse, to
making it a point to have experiences with different situations to
observing and studying their peers. I was always told in teaching it
is not only acceptable but encouraged to beg, borrow and steal from
other teachers. To more clearly define the nice actions or goals I
mentioned earlier I'll break them down and give a few examples of
what I believe them to mean as well as sharing some personal
experience I have had with a few of them.
The
first action is being able to get experience with all types of
learners and their families, meaning a teacher should be prepared for
whatever type of student comes into their classroom. This can mean
culturally diverse students and families or students and families
that are working through a financial situation, social issue or even
a disability. The second action ties into this in that becoming
critically active means that you as a teach have to be ready and
willing to join into discussions or situations that are for the
betterment of the community as a whole. It is imperative to remember
that a teacher is not just someone seen in a classroom but rather
they are community members and role models. A huge part of keeping
this in mind is your willingness to participate with organizations
that embrace people who are different then you. Community outreach,
involvement and volunteering are not only things that should be
taught to children but should be modeled by teachers to inspire
students. As a teacher , you believe education is important so make
sure to tack all aspects of your own education and training
seriously. This means to maintain professionalism, promptness,
respect and when appropriate be willing to accept that you may
disagree with someone but you will still try to see the situation
though their eyes. One way to continue this education and training
for your improvement is to study your fellow teachers and observe
what they do in particular situations. Going back to that beg, borrow
and steal, there is nothing wrong with taking what works for one
teacher and applying it to your own classroom. With this observation
and studying you will also be networking with fellow teachers,
educators, administrators and those involved in the fields of
education this is where you meet help. Finding people to work with to
create teams helps to reduce the stress not only on yourself but also
on those you work with. It is better to come together for a goal then
to each struggle on your own. This can also be seen through the
employment of democratic principles in that it is perfectly OK to
agree to disagree or to settle things with a vote. The key to
democratic principles is maintain a fair and level voting that is
unbiased. With all the things a you need to remember and try to
accomplish as a teacher it is important to remember to take time for
yourself. Find something that you enjoy that can be just for you,
something as small as reading the newspaper to taking a vacation just
something that allows you time to be recreated and return to the
classroom in your full potential.
While I am still a teacher in training and can not truly claim
that I have sufficient experience and knowledge in these areas, I do
believe that I have a bit of experience with getting
experience with all types of learners and their families. My younger
brother is on the autism spectrum so I attend meetings and support
groups for families and students with special needs. This really
opens my eyes to what students are facing with the education system
as well as what some teachers are trying to work through and find
effective ways of helping these students overcome their setbacks. I
really appreciate this shared knowledge and information because it
allows for doors to be opened on personal experiences. I think that
the more you know and understand the people you are trying to work
with or teacher the more effective you will be and the more
understanding you will be. I am also involved with a local church
youth program whose goal is to provide tutoring help to students who
come from broken or socially difficult families and home lives. We
work with foster children, single parent children and children who
come from homes where finances are a large struggle. I think for this
experience I have learned how to appreciate how blessed I am but also
how to gauge and understand what a child is dealing with personally
and how that can manifest itself as behavior or in his/her grades. I
know that I am a getter teacher and a better person for having had
this opportunities.
Another experience I was
grated was a cadet teaching position through my high school. This
allowed me to enter a third grade classroom and a sixth grade
classroom to observe both the students and the teacher but also to
give me a bit of a taste of teaching. I was responsible for minor
grading and small group instruction. I think I learned more about
myself then what some of the students learned from my lessons but
that is to be somewhat expected. I found that if I thought something
would work and tried it, I was then able to see why it did or did
not. Also, I found that for my small lessons and for classroom
management situations I was referring to what my teachers had done
and things that I had experienced as a student. It was also important
for me to understand that some things about the class could not be
changed because the leading teacher had already established it a
certain way and it was not fair to ask that it be changed.
While I definitely have some experience with trying to strive for
success with these goals there are also areas in which I need to
improve. I know that I need to work more at being
aware how much of a role model I am seen as. I have a habit of
thinking that my days off are actually mine and as a teacher that is
not always true. I may be going out and run into students and their
families so I must always be ready to present myself as a community
member and a role model that parents would want their children to be
around and influenced by. Furthermore, what I post on my personal
social networking site is a major factor. More so now then in the
past because of the acceptability of it and because of the
implications and judgments that can be drawn from it. One wrongly
phrased comment, post or inappropriate picture can mean being seen as
a positive influence and being seen as someone who is immature. It is
my responsibility to make sure that I monitor what is being posted on
my site, how much I am allowing to be visible to others, and what
links are accessible from my site. Social networking has forever
changed the game of media opinion.
I also need to work on
being more critically active within the community and within
situations. I am naturally a sympathetic person but I believe that
there is much to learn from going through a hardship on ones own.
This is what works for me personally but I need to come to the
understanding that, it is not that way for all people and I need to
be there and be willing to set up if needed. I need to be willing to
speak up for those who have no say and be more accessible to those
who are seeking information or assistance that I am qualified to
give. If and when I do not have answers I need to have ready contacts
and sources to further assist and I need to continuously be
researching myself to keep up to date on situations and current
issues that are effecting the community in which I live and work.
This is not only for establishing myself as someone who is there to
help but also as a role model that is there for people who need help
and as an advocate for those who are unable to stand up for
themselves or who just have not yet learned how.
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