What the School of Ed Should Have Taught

By -
I have been teaching for five years and I realized that there are a lot of things that my college's School of Education did not prepare me for.  So here is my advice to colleges out there that are training those bright-eyed and bushy-tailed college students to become the best educators that they can be.

Have a class on:

1. How to be in the "staff room" and not get cynical. 

2. How to hear other teachers talk negatively about their jobs and not let it affect you.

3. How to handle administration when you don't agree with them.

4. How to make connections with your students that show them that you really care.

5. How to deal with parents and work as a team for the benefit of the students.

6. How to get students to think about learning beyond the school walls.

7. How to foster your passion for education.

8. How to collaborate with colleagues.

9. How to balance your life with your career.

10. How to handle the politics of education.

I am sure that this list will keep growing with each additional year that I teach.  It's a good thing educators are life-long learners.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Will You Take The Challenge?

By -
For the last 30 days, I have been answering one reflection question each day and I have learned so much about myself as an educator. Whether you are a veteran blogger or brand new to blogging, I invite you to take this challenge. Video tape or write your answers to each of the reflection questions and share it with your PLN. Here are the questions that I came up with. Are you ready to take the challenge? 30-Day Blog Challenge Day 1:  How did you decide to become a teacher? Day 2:  What do you believe is your greatest strength as a teacher? Day 3:  In which area do you think you can improve the most? Day 4:  What were you most worried about as you approached your first day as a teacher? Day 5:  How do you keep your classroom organized? Day 6:  What have you observed of other teachers that might work in your own classroom? Day 7:  How can you best promote responsibility in your students? Day 8:  How do you connect with your students? Day 9:  What do you want out of the “Staff
Read more

Standards Based Grading

By -
Okay along with my 30 day reflection videos I do want to use this blog for sharing my ideas and collaborating. I was just telling my students that we live in a "global community" and I started thinking that I could collaborate with great teachers from all over. I have been researching a lot about standards based grading and I think it is the right thing for my classes. I have been reading books on grading and my eyes have really opened. My grade book used to be filled with all homework assignments and assessments. This doesn't tell anyone what the students actually came away with. I know that I need to change how I have been doing things and I know that it is best for my students.
Read more

Confession: Why I stopped blogging

By -
Image
It has taken me a long time to write this post. In the beginning I was very excited to start blogging and share my experience with other educators. Unexpectedly and noticeably, the blog started to become something else. The focus started to be about view counts and comments. I started to feel like I wasn't this great teacher that I thought I was and I was scared to write about my ups and downs. What would people think if they knew that I found changes and improvements to the units I was teaching?  Would anyone want to read what I was saying if all I had were questions instead of knowing all of the answers? This anxiety got the best of me for a very long time. This is why I stopped blogging. I was scared to show myself, except I started to realize that I got into blogging to show myself... all of it. I am not the most amazing teacher (...yet), but I am a teacher that is constantly learning and evolving. I am a teacher that wants to be honest with my peers so that I can learn from
Read more