Igot this from Dree at Chalkdust. Happy Back to School to all of you teachers!!!
I am a good teacher because... I treat my students as individuals. I really try to do what is right for each student. It really burns me up when I see other teachers force their styles on their studnets even if it doesn't work for the child.
If I weren’t a teacher, I would be... a children’s librarian OR a children's bookstore owner. I love books and reading and love to share that joy with others. (I used to think I wanted to be a chef but after watching all of the chef reality shows on tv I realized that I am much too picky of an eater to have that job!)
My teaching style is... energetic, comical, flexible, compassionate, fun, and sometimes noisy.
My classroom is... my other home. Sometimes it can get a little disorderly but I can tell you where anything is at anytime. I fell that it is homey and inviting for me and my students.
My lesson plans are... lesson plans??? Just kidding... My lesson plans are a loose guide of what I teach. They help me to set a focus for the week, month and year but are not fine tuned. The state standards guide my lesson plans and I throw in the CORE texts when they align to the standards. (you would be surprised at how much they are not aligned.)
One of my teaching goals is... to turn my students who are disinterested in school into disciplined and focused learners. This can be very tricky when they don't have the support at home. My other goal is to make my students lovers of books.
The toughest part of teaching is... I can't control many elements that I would like to be able to control. One of these items is silly mandates from NCLB and testing demands. Another big one is home environments. I have to remember that I can only focus on the areas that I can control and not let the other areas eat me up.
The thing I love most about teaching is... the smile on a student's face when they "get it" when I teach something. I also love the genuine appreciation that the students give me. That is priceless.
A common misconception about teaching is... ( I am stealing this answer from Dree because she nailed it on the head!) that anyone can do it. I’d gladly hand over my classroom and all its responsibilities for one day to any non-teacher, just to see what would happen. Another misconception is that teachers get nights, weekends, and summers off. Some people don’t realize the long days and late nights we have with things like Open House and Back to School Night and parent conferences. And they don’t know that we spend our nights writing lesson plans and grading papers and worrying about the one student who doesn’t quite seem to be on level with the rest of the class.
The most important thing I’ve learned since I started teaching is... I have great power over students and I need to use it wisely. Students, for the most part, worship and mimic their teachers. Whatever I do and say is watched carefully by students. If I say I like or don't like something, the students adopt that idea too. I want my students to become independent thinkers so I really try to foster that by not giving my opinions and trying to help students form their own thoughts and learn how to express them.
Happy Teaching All!!
I am a good teacher because... I treat my students as individuals. I really try to do what is right for each student. It really burns me up when I see other teachers force their styles on their studnets even if it doesn't work for the child.
If I weren’t a teacher, I would be... a children’s librarian OR a children's bookstore owner. I love books and reading and love to share that joy with others. (I used to think I wanted to be a chef but after watching all of the chef reality shows on tv I realized that I am much too picky of an eater to have that job!)
My teaching style is... energetic, comical, flexible, compassionate, fun, and sometimes noisy.
My classroom is... my other home. Sometimes it can get a little disorderly but I can tell you where anything is at anytime. I fell that it is homey and inviting for me and my students.
My lesson plans are... lesson plans??? Just kidding... My lesson plans are a loose guide of what I teach. They help me to set a focus for the week, month and year but are not fine tuned. The state standards guide my lesson plans and I throw in the CORE texts when they align to the standards. (you would be surprised at how much they are not aligned.)
One of my teaching goals is... to turn my students who are disinterested in school into disciplined and focused learners. This can be very tricky when they don't have the support at home. My other goal is to make my students lovers of books.
The toughest part of teaching is... I can't control many elements that I would like to be able to control. One of these items is silly mandates from NCLB and testing demands. Another big one is home environments. I have to remember that I can only focus on the areas that I can control and not let the other areas eat me up.
The thing I love most about teaching is... the smile on a student's face when they "get it" when I teach something. I also love the genuine appreciation that the students give me. That is priceless.
A common misconception about teaching is... ( I am stealing this answer from Dree because she nailed it on the head!) that anyone can do it. I’d gladly hand over my classroom and all its responsibilities for one day to any non-teacher, just to see what would happen. Another misconception is that teachers get nights, weekends, and summers off. Some people don’t realize the long days and late nights we have with things like Open House and Back to School Night and parent conferences. And they don’t know that we spend our nights writing lesson plans and grading papers and worrying about the one student who doesn’t quite seem to be on level with the rest of the class.
The most important thing I’ve learned since I started teaching is... I have great power over students and I need to use it wisely. Students, for the most part, worship and mimic their teachers. Whatever I do and say is watched carefully by students. If I say I like or don't like something, the students adopt that idea too. I want my students to become independent thinkers so I really try to foster that by not giving my opinions and trying to help students form their own thoughts and learn how to express them.
Happy Teaching All!!
