“You are smart, and you were born to learn!” – Tollis Bond. When I learned that I would be able to observe any class, I was eager to begin. In my education class 2130 we were expected to observe for five hours and teach for five hours hours. I was assigned with Mrs. Bond’s class for my Junior Achievement. I was incredibly fortunate. Mrs. Tollis Bond is a wonderful and experienced teacher. During the 2015-2016 school year, she won the “Life Changer Award” out of all the teacher’s in the United States. She has a magnificent personality. She instantly put me to work, but at the same time she made me feel included and prepared. After my ten hours last semester, I volunteered to intern in her class for the month of May. This year her class was much larger and more challenging, yet I unquestionably saw improvement in myself compared …show more content…
The two that stood out the most was Unit 5: Poverty and Education, and Unit 6: High stake testing. Northwest Elementary school is a Title 1 school, so they receive money from the government. However, you can tell that the school lacks many funds. Mrs. Bond explained how she bought most of the class’s supplies. The class was running out of paper towels, glue sticks, and pencils. Looking at the students, you could tell that many would fall under the middle class spectrum. Most students did not bring snack money. Mrs. Bond is very kind to bring snacks and drinks in for those students. Being in a Kindergarten class, I did not experience actual testing. However, Mrs. Bond did asses the students in her class during my observation. She explained to me that she has to review and asses each student one on one every two-weeks. She also explained to me that she did not enjoy it and that it took a lot of time out of the allotted time for academics. During my observation Mrs. Bond and Mrs. Bingam were preparing for State
Mrs. Chris is more than “just the substitute” teacher at Westminster Christian Academy. Many of the high school students who attend attribute her determination
Across America, young people are being short changed due to a broken education system. Bliss is just one example of the shared frustration felt by students. In an interview, Jeff said one of his key points is the fact that it's not just about his education, it's about our education. "If we embrace this, I feel as if we can make a serious change and a positive change. But if we just want to ignore and push this to the side then I expect to see the same problems again and again." Though he was not punished for his actions by the district, Bliss reveals that after dropping out of school and returning the next year, he takes his education very seriously and expects his teachers to do the same (Collins). “You got to take this job serious, this is the future of this nation… this is my country’s future and my education,” said Jeff. A video of the outburst, taken by another student, has since gone viral on various social media outlets causing a buzz throughout the educational system. Bliss expressed his own opinion about the changes he wants to see implemented by saying, “I want to see a teacher stand up and interact with the students, get involved, discuss, talk, question and dig deep into the subject,” in the interview (Klein).
John Henry is a 15 year old 9th grade student who suffers from ADHD and anxiety disorder. John frequently makes inappropriate verbalizations during teacher’s instructional time. This behavior causes distractions for himself and his peers. The teacher would ask John to stop talking out of turn, but the student only stopped for a short amount of time. The teacher would then pull John out of the classroom to speak one-on-one on some adjustments he can make with his behavior to make his learning more successful. After pulling John out of the classroom, he would be complaint for 2-3 days, but not for a week long period. Afterwards, the parent/guardian were contacted, but the target behavior was still not altered in any way.
Observation is a skill taught from a young age, anywhere from deconstruction in the classroom to wisdom throughout the course of life. Observation is a skill that everyone should master, as it comes with many benefits that can help you in a variety of situations. The skill of observation can help in a workplace, to ensure safety, or during social interactions. In Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Sign of Four and A Study in Scarlet, the skill of observation leads to positive outcomes.
Through my four years at Mercer University, my outlook on teaching, students, and the classroom has morphed into a greater understanding of what is best in the classroom. I have seen first-hand what happens when students feel like their teachers care about them. I have also seen what happens when you have parent and community involvement in the school. I hope to take what I have learned over the past four years and implement into my own classroom.
Your responsibilities as teachers at this community college are very important in educating the dedicated students that attend your school. As an aging baby-boomer approaching retirement, no doubt like some of you in this room today, I recognize the importance of providing opportunities for growth and experiential learning in our young adults that will affect not only their lives, but those of everyone else around them. It is this distinguished group of graduates that will become our leaders, policy makers, doctors, lawyers and business people. The focus on learning moving towards a learner-centered approach and away from a teacher based will become increasingly important to this new generation of learners.
Seldom in our lives do we encounter an individual or two that impacts our lives in ways that stretch far beyond what we conceived possible. Throughout my life, however, I’ve been incredibly lucky enough to encounter not one, two, or even three, but a handful of these extraordinary individuals. These people have not only ingrained themselves within my memory, but have also helped to shape the type of person that I would like to be in my life. Often times, accomplished careers are guided by the wisdom and generosity of these selfless individuals, known to most of the world as teachers. For me, my high school AP literature teacher is one of these very distinct and memorable teachers who has had an overwhelmingly positive effect on my life since the day I met her. But what made her the teacher she was to me? Teaching is one of the most complicated jobs the modern world has to offer. Not only does it demand long hours and intense planning, but boasts a need for extensive knowledge of specific subjects, syllabi, and standards. It necessitates passion, kindness - a yearn to learn and a general knowledge of discipline and management. Teaching derives itself off of a drive to make a difference in the lives of young people, a desire to educate and prepare the leaders of the future, today, in hopes for a better tomorrow. In my mind there is no better personification of these traits than this wonderful woman.
It’s funny how quickly time flies by it seems like just yesterday I was complaining about writing the first part of this assignment. Looking back at it now, the reasons why I want to become a teacher remain the same. I want to inspire, shape, encourage, and mentor my students. I want to make the kind of impact on each and every single one of them that they will carry on for the rest of their lives. Whether it be simply believing in them, and telling them that I know they are capable of accomplishing anything they want to, or helping them through a tough time. My desire to become a teacher has increased tremendously the past 16 weeks, and I am so eager and excited to finish my education to begin my teaching career.
Although I was thankful for my preclinical experience at this high school, I did not truly understand what it took to succeed in the teaching profession until I did my third observation at Naperville North High School. I had the opportunity to work with a fantastic teacher who incorporated many different teaching strategies into her classroom. Her positive attitude towards teaching and her relationship with the students was inspiring. I realized that a teacher must approach every day with an open mind, and provide a safe environment for the student in which they can learn and express their thoughts, opinions, and values. I was also given an inside look at how a high school operates. Prior to this experience, I had ...
When I began this exploration, these two words: pedagogy and andragogy, my first thought was here I go again with learning about pedagogy. What in the world is andragogy? To much my surprise, I learned the history behind pedagogy; instead of, the theories that are supposed to work in the classroom. I never heard of andragogy until I started my research; when I started reading about pedagogy and andragogy, a thought entered my brain. The old question, “which came first, the chicken or the egg?” “Which came first pedagogy or andragogy?” Does a student begin to learn from someone else, (pedagogy) or does child begin learning when they are self-directed (andragogy)
As I reflect on the past four years at Virginia Tech, I am fortunate to have had the opportunities to work two semesters in classrooms and learn first-hand about children, teaching, and how I fit into the profession. As I prepare to move to the next chapter of my formal education, I realize that I am no different than the students I worked with. As a teacher, I will become a life-long learner by learning new techniques and experimenting with different teaching strategies. How can one become an effective teacher without constantly reflecting on what works, what doesn’t work and collaborating with colleagues. I recognize that teaching is no small undertaking but I am confident I will remain dedicated to the profession with my genuine enthusiasm, positive perspective, compassion, and zeal for learning.
"The important thing is not so much that every child should be taught, as every child should be instilled with the wish to learn."
If life teaches anything, it's that the human race has a superabundance of individual stories. Living in a densely populated city provides the choice atmosphere to partake in one of my favorite pastimes; People-watching. In doing so, I can observe different aspects and details of each respective personage that idly passes by, unaware that they are the object of my observations. Every human being has a distinctive cognizance of history, style, specific preference, belief, and defining characteristics that compose their personality. Although, these human factors make it difficult to judge people simply by a passing observation, I wonder what one would conclude by observing me. Would they rest on my outer details; my black, curly hair, my toffee-colored
The teachers were giving the students positive reinforcement throughout the day. In class we talked about how positive reinforcement helps the students to succeed in their classes. Another ah-ha moment was the environment of the classroom. The classroom had no windows at all. In class we talked about what kinds of things are distracting to students with ASD in classrooms and one of those things are the windows in classrooms. The third ah-ha moment was the parent sheets that the teacher and the school provide for the parents. In class we talked about how parent involvement is very important for the students with disabilities. The teacher fills out the parent involvement paper that lets the parents know how the child did in school this week and what their child needs to improve on. The students must give their paper to their parents to look at when they get home. The things that I had learned during my observation experience that I will use in the future for my classroom will be including student learning objectives in the classroom, using positive reinforcement, and get the parents more involved in their child’s education. I will go over with the students what the student learning objectives are in the beginning of class so the students will know what they will be doing and what they will be learning throughout the day. I also will use positive
Through classroom observation I was exposed to the different methods of teaching a lesson. The methods of teaching depends on how will the teacher execute the lesson well. I learned that modern learners today needs both modern and traditional way of teaching as for them to fully learned the lesson in a meaningful way.