In the first part of his blog post called, You gotta dance with who you brought to dance, he talks about his image as an educator to his peers. He is extremely worried about what his peers think of him as an educator, instead of his superiors and students. Overall, he understands how his relationship stands with his current students but not his peers. He begins to worry which causes him to have anxiety from not truly knowing his peers opinions. He began to let this worry and anxiety affect his mood in the classroom. He starts to realize that he cannot worry about what his peers think of him as an educator and just worry about his students. He starts to remember that worrying about what his peers think about him has never helped him, but worrying about the students has made him the educator his is today.
The second part of his post called "challenge yourself", it is about how he became a routine educator. Mr. McClung found himself losing his creativity as a teacher. This is every educator’s nightmare and I would never want this to happen to me. He had taught Social Studies and AR history for years and was becoming bored with it. He started using old lesson plans and becoming less creative. Next year, Mr. McClung is going to teacher two new subjects called Pre- AP civics and American Government. He is very enthused over this change and feels it will increase his creativity because it is new material. He learned that you can never get to comfortable because your lessons will become boring and you will lose your students interest. He feels that losing the interest of your students is one of the worst things that can happen and he never wants that to happen again in the future. He wants to make sure his students will not resent learning as he did during childhood.
I loved this blog post because it was very easy for me to relate to as a student and a person. I feel in the first part of his post that he made a great point. Never change who you are to satisfy your peers. I have found myself as a victim of this and want it to never happen again. I feel as though if you change the person you are then you will end up disappointing more people in the future along with yourself. I loved the fact that he overcame his anxiety and worry and started to understand what was best for the students. I felt that Mr. McClung is a great educator because he realizes the wrong he is doing and tries to fix it out of the best interest for his students. One should never doubt themselves, always do your best and try to satisfy the people that matter most like students and superiors.
In the second part, I loved the fact that when his lecture became boring, he changed it. I can completely understand the fact of becoming comfortable with something and no longer giving it your full interest. I think that when he realized that it was affecting the students and realized he must change it was inspiring. I feel as though several teachers do not realize this problem they are having. If more teachers would fix the problem and teach something else, learning could be more entertaining. Overall, I loved reading this post because it opened up a new image of teaching and problems I never knew were out there.
What I have Learned this Year (2008-2009)
In the first part of his post, What I have learned this year, he talks about worrying about what he needs to show superiors rather than the student comprehension. He talks about how many teachers make the mistake (including himself) of trying to plan your lesson and know your path before you have even taught it. He feels as though teachers sometimes can be so concerned with the delivery of the content rather than the comprehension of the student. Also, he states how teachers should be flexible rather than trying to control everything. He feels as though teachers start to worry about themselves and their goals and forget about the importance of their students. He starts to talk about the importance of communication. He interprets how students must learn communication because that is how they can get behind and not understand the material.
Another great piece of advice that he talks about in his blog is being reasonable. Mr. McClung talks about how teachers tend to set high expectations for their students, but sometimes their expectations are too high. If these expectations are too high, then students will be set up for disappointment when they do not reach these goals. He states that their role for teachers is to pick them up when they fall and encourage them to keep trying. He also covers the topic about listening to your students. He tells how important it is to listen to what your students have to say because you may be the only one listening to them. It is always important to take interest in your student’s lives because it will show them that you truly care. Also, he tells us how teachers should never stop learning. He says how some teachers refuse to learn and grow as teachers, but you should never let this happen because if your students are learning then you should too.
I really enjoyed reading this blog post about Mr. McClung's first year as an educator. I thought he talked about some great topics. One that I really enjoyed was the communication topic. I think this one is very important because as an athlete, I have to make sure I communicate well with my teachers. Also, I loved how instead of trying to make lesson plans that satisfy your superiors, he makes them to satisfy his students which is very important. I enjoyed how he talked about being reasonable with your students because I can remember when I did not reach goals and it was very discouraging. Teachers should always encourage and boast their students because it gives confidence and that is what they need most. I really learned a lot from Mr. McClung's blog post and thought that he hit several familiar points that I can relate to. This really opened my mind about teaching and made me realize some important aspects
Thorough, Thoughtful, Well Done!
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