“The Social Foundations Classroom” by Mary Bushnell and Sue Ellen Henry has opened my eyes to the necessity of self reflection on a daily basis. In order to be a star educator, one has to be willing to accept both the successes and failures of a lesson plan. Throughout my coursework at John Carroll University, I have created many lesson plans that I hope will promote my students’ learning and enjoyment. I will be able to implement these lesson plans during my pre-student teaching next fall. It is crucial that I develop good, essential habits that will carry me throughout my professional teaching career. Self reflection is at the top of my list.
In addition to self reflection, Mary and Ellen stated that having the ability to think on your feet is crucial for educators. What I believe Mary and Ellen neglected to add to their guidelines is the necessity for teachers to be sensitive to their students. Stephen, a nine year old boy, misbehaves in class because he lacks the attention and affection a child normally receives from a parent or guardian. As soon as Stephen’s Art teacher observes Stephen lashing out, she goes into automatic authoritarian mode rather than trying to understand why Stephen cannot sit still in class. (S., & A., 2009)
Self refection and having the ability to think on your feet while being sensitive to students are two traits that I will incorporate into my student teaching. My student teaching experiences are the building blocks for my teaching career. I welcome the challenges, rewards, and defeats that I will encounter as a teacher. A defeat is never really a defeat, but rather an opportunity to learn.
S., A, & A., B. (2009). Educational foundations: an anthology of critical readings. Sage Publications, Inc.
This is a great post, Gina. I really enjoyed the fact that you used the Kozol excerpt as an example of why sensitivity is so important in the classroom. I was really touched by the essay as well.
ReplyDeleteAlso, your idea that sensitivity is essential in the classroom is a good point that is not often touched upon. As educators, we do not want to be pushovers, but as we are learning in Child & Adolescent Study, sometimes students aren't in complete control of how they are acting. It is important for us to be aware that their development is not complete, and take that into consideration in the classroom.
Good Job!
Chrissy DeCapite
Gina…I agree with your comments on self-reflection. It is probably the most important skill I use as a teacher because it makes me review the lesson and think about who participated well and who had a little trouble. It also helps me augment the lesson with new ideas and approaches. The ability to think on one’s feet and change directions, if needed, was described to me best by a staff member. He told me that I had a “good flow”. Anytime, he got stuck, he would “just flow”. Deb Corrado
ReplyDeleteDefinitely agree with your post, Gina! I think it's crucial to self-reflect (student, teacher, administrator, coach, etc.) in order to improve and work to fight that stagnant feeling. I'm in a class right now (Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum) and we are focusing on phonemic awareness, phonics, learning how to read, and etc. with emergent readers. One of the video clips our professor showed us was one of a teacher with a kindergarten classroom and they performed read-alouds, had learning centers, and incorporated independent reading (even if they couldn't read yet). The teacher would work with two children each day (different ones) and then base her next day's activities on the needs of those children. She continued in cycles and reached out to her classroom of 24 on an individual basis (even though they weren't aware of it) and helped them all to improve and progress to the next level of reading and writing throughout the course of the year. I thought it was an excellent way to change up her lesson plans and course of action throughout the year. It was interesting to see just how much you can do when you take notes on the effectiveness of an activity or assignment and tweak it for better comprehension/exit knowledge. I know we are both at the high school level, but it's crucial no matter what age you teach to adjust and learn to bounce ideas off CONSTANTLY and try new things. If we aren't creative or if we are afraid to be unique and different than the majority of our peers, we will never learn or reach our full capacity. I love your post for this! It's a great way to remind us that it's so important to always be learning - even if we aren't in school anymore.
ReplyDeleteGina,
ReplyDeleteI am glad to hear that self-reflection is an established part of your approach to education. This is important to keep in mind not only at the beginning of your career, but throughout your career. With this in mind, the licensure requirements that keep new teachers learning throughout the process is invaluable. We often get bogged down with the details of classroom management, correcting papers, meeting with parents and students, preparing lessons, and this is the daily application of our work. But self-reflection is also an important part of our work. How can we do better? How can we respond more effectively? How can the lesson be modified to be more effective? How can I respond yet once more to that difficult student (and difficult parent!). One of the best pieces of advice that a veteran educator gave to me once was the following: "relax and realize that it takes about 5 years of experience to make a good-to-great educator." We must plan, but we must reflect and be flexible as well. I enjoy the enthusiasm of your blog and your desire to "get moving" in your educational career. I wish you the best and, no matter what happens, seek to preserve that enthusiasm!!
Michael Brunovsky
Hey Gina
ReplyDeleteI really appreciated your post! It is so true, there needs to be some time for personal reflection every day. It is amazing how quickly an educator can become exhausted if they are not keeping mentally sound. I find that thinking while on your feet is something that is very important, and it is true, the only way that someone can maintain that spark is by self reflection everyday. Nice post Gina! Keep up the positive attitude!!!