Blog Post 9

Reflections on 2008-2009
Joe McClung

Mr. McClung had a few words of wisdom for an educator or student teacher, "Stay positive."  Being positive about the day or your hope for a great year is important.  Every day try to be optimistic about what the day will bring in the class.  Another tip is to learn how to read the crowd.  As a student teacher, you fall short of the audience in front of you and concentrate on being graded.  Once your degree is final and your in front of the classroom, think about them.  If the class has a certain interest, let it guide the instruction.  Be flexible in the classroom.  Many educators are very regimented about their instruction.  If the class doesn't go with what you have prepared, be flexible on the situation.  If things should go wrong, work through them them, and don't panic.  Communication with colleagues is essential in a great working environment.  Communication also is key in working through any problem with students and parents.  Being reasonable is another lesson learned for Mr. McClung.  Expectations in the classroom need to set at a reasonable goal.  If they are not met, go with it, and never become upset.  Encourage children to have high expectations, but when they are not delivered, try not to lay blame on you or the student.  No one is perfect, and that includes you as a teacher.  Technology is your friend.  Stay aware of how technology can help you in the classroom.  Better yourself as a teacher by going to workshops about new technologies in the class.  Mr. McClung has a few more things to address for his first year.  They are never stop learning, and listen to your students.  Never stop learning new avenues to enhance your teaching abilities.  Learning new things helps you become a better teacher.  Listen to the students' views on situations.  Listen to the children by letting them talk and elaborate on subjects.  You're there to learn from them as well as the students learning from you as an educator.

Mr. McClung has some great advice on his first year of teaching.  As teachers, you think you should control what goes on in the classroom.  Sometimes, you must learn to go with the flow if it is being productive.  Communicate with others and be flexible in any working environment.  Sometimes losing sight of the children and what is interesting for them is easy to do.  Embrace change in the class as well as with technological advances.  Learning in any area is essential in growing in the classroom as an educator.  This year seems to be a great growing experience for him, and he learned a lot.  I think in your first year of teaching you are so bogged down with pleasing administration and co-workers that you forget about the class before you.  You try to keep your head above water and hang in there.  Mr. McClung has learned a lot and will be a better teacher for that reason.
                                                         
Reflections on 2011-2012                                            
Joe McClung

This year, Joe McClung has kept it short and sweet.  He has learned two great things this year.  They are as follows:  You have got to dance with the one who brought you and challenge yourself.  Both points sound like he has learned a lot since his first year teaching.  What he meant by dancing with the person who brought you to the dance is this, worry about your classroom and not what your colleagues think you should be doing.  If what has been working in the classroom so far is helping, don't mess with a good thing.  Challenge yourself as a teacher.  Teaching the same subject for a period of time can make you complacent.  He was asked to move to a new subject, AP Civics, and American Government.  The new subjects will challenge him as a teacher.  Doing new and different things help keep you alive and vibrant as an educator.

I like this blog post.  It seems like he has learned so much in just a few years.  Educators need to learn not to bring each other down but lift them up.  Encourage new teachers, and give them help and an ear.  I think sometimes we as people like to see others fail.  That is definitely not what we should do as educators and colleagues.  Challenging yourself in areas can be good.  Taking on new and different things can be scary at first, but then you might like it.  I have learned so many things from Mr. McClung's blog posts.  I wanted to see the differences between his first year teaching and his last.  He learned a lot.