In his third year post, Mr. McClung points out the importance of never forgetting why we started teaching, and that reason is the children. He reinforces the idea that the students are his primary focus and that it should be the same way for all educators. McClung explains that if you are trained to do a particular job, then why would you try to get out of doing that job. I completely agree with him that students will struggle and make mistakes, but as an educator it is important to not just simply take over and solve the problem for them. McClung explains that teaching is not about "fitting in" and that it should not matter what your peers opinions. He points out that a teacher's relationship with their students is more important than trying to impress other teachers in the school. I agree with McClung that it is the responsibility of the teacher to ensure the students enjoy and are not bored with class. A student will learn more if they like what they are doing. He isn't afraid to do things differently such as eating lunch with his students. McClung is a unique teacher who creates his own path rather than just simply following the heavily traveled path.
In his fourth year post, McClung entitles a point saying "You Gotta Dance Who You Came to the Dance With." This makes me think about how in middle school everybody's main concern is simply to care about what your peers opinions are. This relates to McClung's point because he states that it's not important what others think of you. He says he would not change who he is just because of someone's opinion of him. According to McClung, superiors and your students are the only people you should care about as an educator. McClung reminds us that we should not fall into a routine and become comfortable with one particular thing, but rather we should challenge ourselves to take on new experiences. He wants his students to look forward to going to school and not resent it as he did.
I hope you will make annual reflections like Mr. McClung.
ReplyDeleteYou have a very well written blog post here. I chose to do his first and last years just to see the contrast. I know that as a teacher, it is going to be more than difficult in the beginning, but we have to remember Mr. McClung's example that the children are first and foremost.
ReplyDeleteI promise that the end of the year reflections are the best because you get to really express how you felt you did in the class and give pointers to future students of EDM310.