I believe that teaching is the most important profession in the world. How else can we continue to develop in such a technical world, or in any other way, for that matter? Without the transfer of knowledge to young minds, we will stagnate and wither as a world. Teaching is hope for better, more successful futures. Learning is hope for becoming better individuals, for gaining intelligence, and for implementing practical experiences in our future. Since we always tell our children that they should plan for their futures and work to realize those goals, the teaching profession should “practice what it preaches” by helping young people to reach those goals. Teaching reading during the past five years has been rewarding beyond my imagination. I have watched non-readers become readers, I have watched scores and student confidence improve, and I have been part of that change. What a reward!
Staying current with professional development is our fast-moving world is crucial. In my teaching career, I doubt that I have invented any method of teaching reading that has not been previously used in some way by someone else, but I have done many of the same things in reading classes that are currently being taught to new reading teachers today. Even so, I have endeavored to learn new techniques in my area, especially during the past five years. I have taken as many inservice courses and have attended as many of the professional conferences as I could without sacrificing the time owed my students.
Obviously, the most recent focus in education has been reading, and naturally, a language arts teacher must focus on reading in order to help her students develop into well-rounded communicators. Learning to implement new ways of tea...
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... They are standing in line to check out certain titles. They are truly enjoying that quiet, rich time they have each day to just read for their own enjoyment and understanding. I am less a dictator of information and activities and more a facilitator than ever before. This doesn’t necessarily make my job any easier, but it does make it much more enjoyable.
What teacher doesn’t want to be able to say what I am now saying? That my job has been a joy and a pleasure…that I get up each morning knowing that I am fulfilling my destiny…that I teach because I love learning…that I am doing what I love to do, teaching children. If I can continue to pass my passion for learning, especially my love for reading, along to others and see them make progress, then I will know that I have won great victory in the fight to help others become proficient readers. What a reward!
Fountas, I., C., & Pinnel, G. S., (2009). When readers struggle: Teaching that works. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
... that sort of reaction to the reading. Lastly, I can read at my own pace. I have no obligation to read speedily in order to seem as though I have no complications with the words in the text.
Reading, Thinking, Writing: Resources for Teaching. By Michael Meyer. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2012. 15-16. Print.
This semester I had the pleasure to be in Mrs. Smith’s kindergarten class at Normal Park Museum Magnet School. For the last four months I was able to observe and do a guided reading lesson. During this time I was able to reflect over what I have learn from Teacher Reading and connect it to what I have seen happen in my classroom during Guided Reading, writing, and reading. During Professional Development School I had the opportunity to see many different reading levels and see how my teacher taught her many different reading levels.
Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. Tenth edition. Edited by Laurence Behrens and Leonard J. Rosen. New York: Longman Publishers, pp. 371-377, 2008.
The first reward is my desire to work with young people. I want to interact with young people and help them learn and develop. Teaching is a satisfying profession. A national survey suggests that teachers as a group are satisfied with the profession and their level of satisfaction has increased in the last 25 years (Introduction to Teaching, 2007, pg. 5). Being able to help in shaping our young people gives one a great feeling.
As my voyage to reaching my goal of becoming an educator nears its final stages, I am becoming even more eager to finally be able to do what I’ve been dreaming of doing for practically my entire life. I know that my immense patience for children will be beneficial to my future students. I know that I will make a difference in their lives. I know that I will be a valuable member of whatever school in Lee County that I teach at.
In order to become a teacher she has to pursue higher education, graduate with a Bachelor degree, and pass the certification test. Teachers are not in the profession for the money or for the glory, but they truly have a passion for young people. They want to make a difference in the lives of their students. Teachers do not desire to see students fail classes, and they do not enjoy placing failing grades on assignments that the students didn’t put any effort in to. They would much rather have classrooms full of students who are eager and willing to learn. They don’t enjoy standing up in the front of the classroom staring at blank faces, but they desire to see students engaging and being excited about learning. A teacher’s work is never finished and she is never satisfied with the way things are. The responsibility of a teacher is great. Robert J. Marzano, author of The Art and Science of Teaching says, “The teacher must provide clear direction to students and generate an atmosphere in which all students feel valued and intellectually challenged.”(85) She is always looking for ways to make the classroom experience more enjoyable, and one of her top priorities is making sure that her students feel loved. We need to understand that the ideas that many people have about teachers are
Teaching has always been an honorable and valued profession. With teaching you instill the knowledge and values that the student will take with them throughout life. I have volunteered at the elementary school with my children and have enjoyed watching the encouragement and nurturing of these teachers towards their students. I felt that I have the ability to nurture and share in the wonderment of the knowledge that prevails around us. To achieve this goal I will strive to give these students the understanding, love, and confidence that they need to prepare them for their journey in life.
...ferentiated to meet the needs of individual children and for children sharing a variety of group characteristics” (IRA Standards, 2010). We can do this through professional development activities as well as individual and practical reading support for educators. Research has shown that teaching quality is one of the most important factors in raising student achievement. For teachers and school and district leaders to be as effective as possible, they continually expand their knowledge and skills to implement the best educational practices. Effective professional learning is grounded in research related to adult learning and organizational change as well as research on reading acquisition, development, assessment, and instruction (IRA Standards, 2010). Creating and maintaining professional learning has many implications and applications for reading professionals.
Behrens, Laurence and Leonard J. Rosen, eds. Writing and Reading across the Curriculum. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2011. 566-594. Print.
Reading serves a predominant role in society, and is not a concept that can be easily glossed over. As a teacher, there is a crucial role that I will play in how students perceive reading. Since all students do not learn the same way, analyzing and integrating various techniques and theories can help me reach a majority of students. By focusing on comprehension, connections, and continuation of reading outside of the classroom, I hope to encourage my students to invest in reading.
Until the twentieth century, teachers had very little preparation and training to becoming an educator. Teacher training typically involved one to two years at a teacher’s college before being employed at a local school, where teachers had to follow strict rules and regulations- even outside of the school. However, teachers have recently been working hard towards being professionals in their fields and they have earned the right to be judged on their success at work, rather than their behavior outside of the school. For the greater good of society, teachers have been striving to reach a full professional status.
An effective teacher will excite, inspire and motivate students to be active in their learning, investigate new areas of knowledge and make connections to future learning (Whitton et al 2010). When a teacher is successful, their students are motivated, mutually respectful and ready to build on their knowledge and solve real-world problems. To be a teacher of value, one must have many skills and qualities to cater for a diversity of learners and their individual development; this includes many personal traits that are noticed students.
Individuals who enter the field of education reply to the question why teach with various answers. There is beauty, joy, and fulfillment in this profession, and these spirit-lifting emotions are the result of watching annually as a new group of children enter to learn and leave with the knowledge to achieve. Richard Dufour (2000), author of Why Teach expressed his views on the profession first by stating that teaching is not the career for everyone. He goes on to say, that the education profession has the ability to present the “unique opportunity” for individuals to cast a positive influence upon others (Why Teach, 2000, p.1). The smiles received from a room full of students when as a whole their individual needs, both educational and personal have been catered to, prompts a burst of passion in every teacher.