Blog Assignment #9

End of School Year Reflection 2008-2009
When Mr. McClung wrote his blog, "What I've Learned This Year (2008-09)," he was a first year elementary teacher. His blog post is definitely a wonderful "go to" post for any new educator. The first main thing Mr. McClung learned was, "how to read a crowd". He said the most important thing is to make your lessons student centered. Mr. McClung also said that in the beginning he worried about how he was being assessed, but then realized it's more about the students comprehending what you're teaching. The second thing Mr. McClung learned was to "be flexible". By this, he means that things aren't always going to go as planned, and if you end up getting steered away from your lesson, it's okay! Ultimately, being flexible is still getting the main point across that you're trying to teach even if it doesn't go the way you planned for it to. Third, he explained the importance of communication. I believe communication is the key to success, and having good communication between students and teachers is vital.

The fourth main thing Mr. McClung learned was to "be reasonable". By this, he means not to have expectations so high that they can't be met. Setting the bar high to challenge students is a good thing, but when the bar is impossibly high for them to meet it can lead to disappointment. "Don't be afraid of technology" is the fifth thing Mr. McClung learned. This sections main point is to not to be afraid of technology! Technology is constantly becoming more advanced, and we as educators should keep up with the times and give our students the best that there is. The last two topics Mr. McClung points out are the most important to me. They are, "listen to your students," and "never stop learning". Listening to your students is vital for so many reasons. One reason is that if you listen to them, and show them you respect them then they will respect you. We owe it to our students to never stop learning, and to be the best teachers we can be.

Mr. McClung made so many points in this that could be very helpful for a beginner educator. I know whenever I begin teaching I will definitely look back on his posts as references. The main topic Mr. McClung pointed out that I know I'll have to work on is reading a crowd. Having fellow educators judging my every move at first is going to be nerve-racking. I'm just going to have to get over it, and realize that I'm there for the students, and not for the teachers.

End of School Year Reflection 2011-2012

For the second part of this assignment I read Mr. McClung's post, "What I Learned This Year- Volume 4 (2011-12)". This post was Mr. McClung's fourth year of reflection. For this reflection only two themes stuck out to him. The first theme was about finding out how his fellow teachers viewed him as an educator. Before this year Mr. McClung never worried about what anyone thought about him except for his students. For some reason, which he is unsure of, his thoughts were wrapped around what other teachers thought about his teaching strategies. By the end of the year Mr. McClung was finally able to cope with his anxiety of what others thought about him. Him came to the realization that as long as he is true to himself, and his students are happy, then it doesn't matter what others think of him.

The second theme that stuck out to Mr. McClung about his school year was about challenging yourself. This year was the third consecutive year that he taught the same subject at the same school. Mr. McClung was becoming dependent on old lesson plans, and felt his creativity vanishing. He pointed out that he was not being challenged so therefore his students weren't being challenged. Mr. McClung said his "goal as educator is to do everything I can to ensure that students enjoy class and not resent school as I did as a child". This is something that I will strive to do every day in my classroom. If a student doesn't enjoy the class they're in then there is no way they will pay attention. I want to challenge my students daily, and change up their routine. If the same thing is done day after day then anyone would get bored, especially children. My goal is to have my classroom be a place where my students are excited to go and learn, not a place they dread.