Young, E. (2009). What makes a great teacher? PDK summit offers many ideas. Phi Delta Kappan, (26) 438-439.
This article suggests various ideas regarding what makes a great teacher from various professionals. Thomas Guskey, (Young, 2009) reports that we need to lead change in the classroom and use our knowledge in good and positive ways. I agree with this, but have witnessed how hard it is for ONE person to make a difference. I'm not saying one person CAN'T make a difference. I'm just saying it's hard on that person. As a young innovative teacher, I had many ideas and strategies that benefited many students. However, not all of my colleagues agreed with my strategies or enthusiasm. Eventually, they gave me "burn out" due to their negative response to me, talking about me to other colleagues, and even to students. I had to learn that it is more important to thrive on the success of students and rejoice in their response before worrying about colleague attitudes. It just makes for a hard work-place environment when others think you have outrageous teaching tactics when really you are just trying to help your students learn in a positive manner.
Mary Clement, (Young, 2009) suggests five key elements that make a good teacher: education, teacher preparation, hiring, quality induction, and ongoing support in the work environment. Again, I agree with all of these concepts as well. I believe I had the best of the best education for my career. Working with students began early in my program; the most amazing training was in the block program where I worked with students daily and attended my college classes in their school. It made the entire experience real before student teaching even began. This created strong preparation. I've seen principals hire; therefore, I've seen strong hires and not so strong hires (in my opinion) and the term "who you know" most always comes into play here. A big one for me is the ongoing support in a quality workplace. I've worked for a very supportive principal and a not so supportive principal. My loyalty definitely stood with the principal who supported me, but the teachers were not fond of my practices and made the workplace hard to enjoy. Interesting enough, it was the total opposite at the other school. It's hard to find the balance.
Sherrie Williams, (Young, 2009) finds a great teacher is one who can find balance between content knowledge and relationships with students. I know that when I had a bond with students they were not only excited to come to my class, but excited to work in my class. Even while teaching at the same school, in the same grade level, and the same content I had classes I did not get along with very well and classes that I looked forward to all day. It was a mesh of students combined with our attitudes that brought a peaceful feeling or a feeling of contention. It was my responsibility to work through those negative feelings and provide a positive learning environment. Some days it took “a day off” to get that feeling. I called this my day to recoup. We would tell stories and talk about life rather than “work” which in my mind was still building the classroom community and provided for good story writing in the end.
Overall, I think it’s important to remember that students are not all the same-they do not learn the same and therefore we cannot expect to teach them the same.
Rose, M. (2010). Reform: To what end? Educational Leadership, 6-11.
What is reform? Rose (2010) discusses reform as to the change in education. Our country is in the midst of reform and it can be positive or negative. Yes, we need change in education. However, at what costs will the change take place. For example, No Child Left Behind has become a huge mistake! Rose suggests we take a step back and think about what we are trying to achieve. I have to ask, who needs to step back? Who needs to do this thinking? I think it needs to be those who are sitting behind a desk in a big building making decisions based on what they think is right. Have they ever taught in a classroom? Or taught in a classroom in the past 5 years? If not, they should not be making the decisions as the classroom is evolving with the times. One suggests that teachers should start to receive merit pay. How can merit pay work if we are trying to get AWAY from teaching to the test? Merit pay will only make it worse because teachers will definitely teach to the test at all costs. The innovative teaching and learning will for sure go out the window. Rose (2010) shares insight on his travels across the nation regarding observation in various classrooms. The outcome of his observations included the following traits to create a successful classroom environment: safety, respect, student responsibility for learning, intellectual rigor, ongoing support, and genuine concern for student welfare. These traits sound simple enough; basically, they sound much more like common sense. I can only imagine how wonderful it would be to teach in a school where these qualities are more important than test scores. I cannot help but wonder how much more test scores would go up if these traits were placed in higher regard than the former?
Brighton, C.M. (2009). Embarking on action research. Educational Leadership, 40-44.
This article gives great insight as to what action research is and how it can be implemented. There is first-person action research, which is when one teacher studies his or her own classroom and usually results in personal change. Also, there is second-person action research which is collaborative and usually improves a team. Finally, third-person action research is a global research (Brighton, 2009). Regardless of the model of research, the first step is to find an area of teaching or learning that concerns you, which you want to study or research. The next step is to develop a plan and determine data collection and assessment measures. This step also includes creating pre-assessments that will determine which areas need to be addressed further and how the students learn. Step three is to collect data. This can be done with formative and summative assessments. They do not need to be more than one problem and can be from any type of review system. Step four is then to organize that data in a way that is meaningful and easy to understand. Step five requires one to analyze the data and draw conclusions. Step six is to share findings with others who will be able to take the information and also use the facts as a guide for their own teaching. Finally, step seven is to find a new plan of action for those topics that still need further instruction or additional strategies.
Just reading this journal and thinking about the teacher who put together the research made me really miss the classroom. I enjoyed developing strategies that would engage my students. I think I used some of the same strategies too often (now that I think about it). I also think that my last year of teaching-being 8 months pregnant and going to work was not beneficial for my students, as my motivation was long gone. I think about how much more I could have done and how I could have taken more time to develop lessons that were meaningful rather than something to get a grade or to keep the students busy. There are days I wish I could go back on, but at the time, I was doing my best…my best is different now.
Sitler, H.C. (2009). Teaching with awareness: The hidden effects of trauma on learning. The Clearing House, 119-123.
As teachers, we get up in the morning, rush to school, check our mailbox and get to our classroom as quick as possible to make sure everything is ready for the day. When the bell rings, we get the students in the classroom and settled as quickly as possible, knowing that a 50 minute class period really only mans about 40 minutes of instruction and practice. Therefore, we take no time to pay attention to things that really matter, but focus on getting the standard taught that day. We are held accountable for those standards and worry more about teaching the content than teaching with care.
This affects students of all levels and situations. The author discusses two students with varying trauma dealing with home life. Their reactions to the trauma were also different, but still evident in their learning process. The author reminds us that students need to feel safe in order to fulfill academic expectations. One of the most important aspects here is to refrain from judging students before you know what their situation is outside of the classroom. Even then, they should not be judged but cared for and accepted. I feel like I missed the boat in this area. I know I connected with certain students and tried to help many that I knew struggled at home, but there were more and I did not take the time or effort I should have to educate those students with love. The author reminds that helping students’ feel their worth is the best thing for their academic achievement. In addition, it is imperative for educators to understand how the trauma manifests itself and what the educator needs to do to address the physical, emotional, and cognitive needs of students exhibiting these issues.
Jacobs, A.K., Vernberg, E., & Lee, S.J. (2008). Supporting adolescents exposed to disasters. The Prevention Researcher, 7-10.
The authors address adolescent behaviors and attitudes after being exposed to major disasters. They begin by sharing the insight that it is just as important to build strong family relationships before the disaster in order for the young adult to feel calm and in control. To be honest, I have never thought about disasters. I have lived in Las Vegas, NV my entire life and the closest thing we had to a disaster was when the marshmallow plant blew up. Seriously. We also dealt with much flooding when it would rain because our land was not prepped for the water, but for the most part, we’ve never even thought about natural disasters. So for this to be a topic of discussion, does not surprise me, it is just foreign to me. The authors remind us that the adolescent may be worried the disaster will once again occur and that a huge issue for them is reliving the first disaster and remembering the things they did or did not do when they were in the midst of the disaster. It is important to be aware of their feelings and emotions and try to comfort them as much as possible. Small group sessions, as well as individual meetings with counselors may be necessary and beneficial. It is also suggested that on the anniversary of the event, adolescents are given the opportunity to share feelings, be limited to media exposure, and provided constructive ways to share their feelings and emotions.
Wow! It sounds like common sense to me, however, if I was actually in the situation, I do not know if I would handle it correctly or even know where to begin. An adult must deal with their own emotions and feelings-especially if they have lost loved ones themselves-and then figure out how to help their students. This is a such an interesting topic that, like I said before, has never crossed my mind.
