Mr. McClung wrote about his first year of teaching. It struck me that his reflections could be about anything in life. Not just education. His key points are as follows with some of my thoughts included.
How to read the crowd. One really has to pay attention to how others are responding to them. If you don't, what is being said falls on deaf ears.
Be flexible. I have learned there is always more than one way to get a point across. The old adage, "There is more than one way to skin a cat," is very true.
Communicate. This relatively "simple" concept is not so simple. No one can read minds, and educators are in the spotlight to communicate. Administration, parents, and children all require communication and knowing how with each goes along with knowing how to read the crowd.
Be reasonable. Mr. McClung states "...we hold high expectations for our students..." People are human and do make mistakes. Students are in school to learn, and they learn from their mistakes. And ours.
McClung points out to not be afraid of technology. We cannot afford to be afraid. In order to compete globally, we have to educate ourselves with technology so we can educate our students.
The last two points McClung states in his post could be the most important. Listen to your students and never stop learning. Feedback from students will help to shape what can be improved. When one starts at the bottom, one can only go up. Educators should never stop learning. Really no one should stop learning. I truly believe wisdom is infinite.
Wow, well said, Amy! Wisdom is infinite! It does no good to have a teacher who "knows everything". When this happens, they are unapproachable, occasionally arrogant, and find no errors in their teaching methods. I truly do not believe that a person can know everything there is to know about a topic, which is a good thing. When you find something you are interested in, it keeps you interested when you keep finding something new about it! Even education! Good post!
ReplyDelete"It struck me that his reflections could be about anything in life." An excellent observation!
ReplyDeleteCarly's comment will do for me as well!
Last week Mr. McClung posted his third annual reflection. I think they get better and better. It will take only 5 minutes or so to read the 2010-2011 What I Learned This Year. I highly recommend it!