Blog Post # 9

What I've Learned This Year (2008-09) By Joe McClung
In this post Mr. McClung shares his first year of teaching. He explains that over the course of the year he learned a lot about teaching and being a teacher. Mr. McClung shared tons of informative tips for new inexperienced teachers. For example, the image at the top of his post says to stay positive, and that is a great attitude to have in the classroom. I enjoyed reading this blog post and learning from his first year of teaching.
Mr. McClung mentions that he was extremely worried about what his superiors thought about him. Therefore, he lost touch with his audience when teaching a lesson. Student centered lessons are what many teachers are lacking in their classroom. He explains that the delivery of the content is nowhere near as important as student comprehension. He learned in his first year of teaching to let his students drive the lesson. "NO LESSON IS EVER PERFECT. THE LESSON YOU TEACH AND THE ONE YOU PLAN ARE ALWAYS DIFFERENT." This is a statement that I plan on remembering for my future lesson plans as an educator.

Next, Mr.McClung says that we should learn to talk to one another. Communication is essential to have with co workers, students, and parents. We must be able to resolve issues by talking to one another about a problem. Also, educators often set their standards and expectations too high in the classroom. Students are going to fail and not always meet the required standards. Don't be so quick to scold them, instead encourage them to do better next time.
Always take the time to listen to your students, because you may be all they have in their life. Learn to take interest in their lives, earn their respect, and build relationships. When reading Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire the author Rafe mentions trust being the most important element in the classroom. Building trust in a classroom is essential by having compassionate and caring student and teacher relationships. A student should feel like they can count on their teacher and trust them with their education and feel like they can come to their teacher with any concern.

What I've Learned This Year (2011-12) Volume 4

After four years of teaching Mr. McClung was having a hard time deciding who he was as an educator. He held a wonderful reputation with his students, but he constantly worried about what his peers thought about him as a teacher. As he thought about this long and hard he decided no matter his students are what matters. When it came down to it the kids are the reason he wakes up in the morning to go to work not his co workers. Mr. McClung was having a hard time by bringing his personal life into the classroom and that believe it or not it affects the students. His love of teaching and desire to have fun while educating them allowed him to solely strive to follow the same steps, and use the same guidelines that allowed him to become who he is today. If Mr. McClung's students are having fun and learning he is doing his job as their teacher. I think we can all learn from this post and not just as future educators. Is it really important to worry about what others think about us ? Honestly we all wonder daily what others might be saying, but deep down if you stay true to yourself then nothing else will matter.

Over the years Mr. McClung found himself teaching the same boring lesson plans and basically stuck in the same routine year to year. Building creativity is essential in the classroom, and in my opinion how can we help our students flourish if we are never changing and stepping outside of the box. Luckily, he was offered a position teaching a new AP course and he accepted the offer. He spoke of his childhood and thinking back on how much he dreaded going to school. He wanted more than anything for his students to never feel the way he did as a child. This was an opportunity for Mr. McClung to step it up and have a fresh start. He can bring new and innovative ideas to the classroom for this AP course. Children have short attention spans and lets face it mine is probably not much better. It is important to capture a student and reel them into learning and giving you a chance as their educator. It is a must to bring new ideas and concepts into their old outdated way of learning. Whether it be technology or interactive lesson plans the choice is yours as an educator. The main thing I learned from Mr. McClung is that we have one chance as a teacher, and it is important to never fail your students. Give it your all and the possibilities are endless!