Session Two- Week One

1.  My favorite teacher was my Calculus teacher my senior year.  He was a really nice guy who at the same time pushed you to do your best.  It was one of the only classes that I had in high school that challenged me.  Not so much just the teacher himself but the advanced nature of the math.  I excelled in the class and the teacher was very good about keeping up my spirits when I was struggling or praising me when I got it right.  He brought a lot of humor to the class but didn't let it get out of hand.  There is a very thin line to tread in that territory but he did it very well.  

a.)  He was a very intelligent, funny, nice, stern (when he needed to be), fair, and just person

b.)  I think that I possess very similar characteristics to those of my favorite teacher.  I tend to think that I am smart (not to boast, not the smartest by smart), nice, funny, and I try to be fair.

c.)  One of the things that I need to work on is keeping being humorous and having a fun classroom but knowing when the class is getting out of hand and to stop it.  I have never had problems befriending the students but then I am looked at as a friend instead of a teacher.

2. a)  I made the mistake of not fully understanding my students.  I feel that it would have been extremely beneficial for me to see the students' IEPs.  This would have allowed me to learn more about the students before I started teaching.  Also as I said before, I made the mistake of being their friend instead of their teacher.  I am not saying that teachers can't be friendly, but they also need to be seen as an authoritative figure.  I also tended only to teach to one type of learning, in some lessons only applying to visual learners and others audio learners.

b)  How they prepare their lessons toward specific students.  In every class there are those students who are either problematic or need a different style of teaching.  How do you plan a lesson for that student that does not take away from everyone else's learning.

3.)  Almost There, But Not Quite

The main idea behind the article is that teachers and administrators need to rethink classroom management.  Instead of focusing on how to make the students behave to what I think it right, they should be encouraged to find out what is right for them.  Teachers have often complained that they can't get their students to obey and this article thinks the correct question should be "how can I adapt my plan to engage this child?"  Teachers need to focus more on students needs.  A lot of the teachers who think that they are doing this are sorely mistaken.  They may have started with good intentions but have slowly drifted back to the traditional picture of discipline.  Teachers are the ones with the "power" in the classroom and students tend to conform to it in order for the teacher to like them.  This approach is wrong.  The students should have a say in the classroom as to what is right and wrong.  I really like one of the quotes that a teacher put up in her classroom, "Think for yourself; the teacher might be wrong!"  

3-2-1 Activity

3.)  -Problems in classroom management means that the lesson needs to be changed, not the students.  I am not doing my job if students are not fully understanding (if they aren't paying attention, they aren't understanding) my lessons.

- there are several characteristics that good teachers contain and that they need to continuously work on improving these skills in order to better teach and reach their students.

-Too much praise is a bad thing.  I wish to set and example that the students can follow but that doesn't mean that they need to.  Too much praise makes the students conform to how I expect them to behave instead of as individuals.

2.) -I will allow students to help create the rules and expectations for the class.  That way they are more likely to follow them and behavior will not be an issue.  At the same time is gives the students power over their own classroom and education.

-In your classroom it is important to be both liked and respected.  I think this is one of the key components to all of the good teachers I have seen.  Show the students that you care about their education and that you want them to succeed, all while being fair and treating them as individuals.

1.) -Allowing my students to have more say in their education.  I know that I am responsible for creating the lesson plans and structuring what they learn about.  But I feel that the students should be able to look into things that interest them.  This guarantees that they will be engaged in their learning.  One way is to have an overarching topic and allow the students to research or read what interests them and then share it with the class.  I can't remember the number but it is something along the lines of you remember 80% of what you teach.