Blog Post #9

Mr. McClung

Volume 1.

In Mr. McClung's first section he states, "In order to be effective you have to be able to let your audience drive your instruction." Lectures should be students centered. As an educator, you should be less worried about what your superiors think of you and more worried about the comprehension of your students.

In his next section he stresses, "NO LESSON IS EVER PERFECT. THE LESSON YOU TEACH AND THE ONE YOU PLAN ARE ALWAYS DIFFERENT." No lesson will ever go perfectly. You have to learn to work around the kinks and just work with the situation.

His third point is to learn how to communicate. Communication is the best medicine for any situation. Learn how to communicate with your fellow teachers as well as your students.

Mr. McClung's fourth point of discussion is about being reasonable as an educator. Do not get upset if your students do not live up to your exact expectations. Remember that you are working with children. They are just as imperfect as you are.

The fifth point of McClung's post is about technology. Some adults and teachers believe technology to be equivalent to the plague. Technology in the classroom should be embraced. You're not going to learn computer skills over night, and shouldn't expect to. You just have to continue to put in the effort.

The sixth very important topic McClung brings up is listening to your students. He uses a great example from his classroom where a student wrote in that he knew his teacher cared about him because he was listened to. One should take interest in the lives of their students. That helps build a stronger sense of respect between teacher and student.

The last idea brought up in the post is to never stop learning. Educators work in a learning environment and should soak up every ounce of it they can. Adapt your methods, lesson plans, thinking, and style in any way that could possibly help your students.

In conclusion, Mr. McClung focuses on 7 main points to remember as a first-time-teacher:
1.)Learn how to read the crowd
2.)Be flexible
3.)Communicate
4.)Be reasonable
5.)Don't be afraid of technology
6.)Listen to your students
7.)Never stop learning

I thought this was an absolutely fantastic idea! However, I would've done it differently. I would blog about the school year as the year went on. That way I could reflect on each situation specifically instead of trying to recall the school year after it has already passed. I loved Mr. McClung's posts though. They were very insightful and made me think about how I would need to conduct myself and my classroom.

Volume 4.

In Mr. McClung's first paragraph he goes into short detail about his thoughts on pleasing your co-workers. He feels that worrying about how you are perceived by your peers should be the last thought on one's mind. His main priority is always "are the kids having fun?" He says he needs to stay true to himself and who he is as a teacher and not worry so much about his peers.

His second paragraph is all about not getting comfortable with where you are. He says he noticed himself getting lazy. He used old lesson plans. He could feel himself becoming less of a teacher. Your teaching methods are going to start to "suck", as he puts it, when you become comfortable. He then got offered to teach a different course at a different grade level which changed things up for him. He said that could not have come a better time. The change gives him the opportunity to develop new lesson plans and learn new material. It's a challenge, but in the end it's worth it.

I thought this blog was very helpful. The idea of making your thoughts through the year more concrete so you can go back and reflect and improve for the next year is brilliant. I hope I remember this blog when I get my first class room so I can attempt to do the same. I never took the time to think that the teachers I've had over the years took something out of it as well. As students we all have experiences, but I've never stopped to think that the teachers experience things as well. Is that self-centered, or what? Really though, when I was in grade school I guess I always assumed teachers had a routine and never strayed or took anything away from the school year. This blog showed me a new perspective.