Technology Journal Blog 5
The 3 pieces of advice I would consider to be most impactful would be 1.“Manage your classroom fairly and firmly.” 2. “Find a mentor.” 3.”Make a personal connection with your students.” For the first tip, I struggle to be a disciplinarian type of person, I prefer to resolve issues through talk and compromise but I understand there’s a time and place where you cannot solve through only talk. In my third year as a paraprofessional, I have gotten better at being not a push-over with some of the kids and I feel in time, I will get better at not accepting disrespect if it’s ever doled out. The second tip, I am always trying to learn to be a better teacher. I treat my para job as mostly a job shadow and I always participate in teacher meetings or parent teacher conferences, just to get the experience and expectations in check. Getting a mentor would help a lot when I finally get my own classroom, I’m the one who usually is the mentor so it would be a nice change of pace. Third tip, I always try to connect with my students now, I think it makes it a more comfortable environment for all. It always makes my days when the students come to me to ask about personal advice, make pictures, or simply go out their way to say hi. Building these relationships is important to me and it will extend into my teaching career.
Probably “keep up with the times.” It seems the least important compared to the rest of the tips. Like yeah, would it be nice to be up to date culturally and with technology, yes. But I grew up with out-of-touched teachers and it’s not the worst thing in the world. It’s not a requirement nor a deal breaker.
I would love to hear more about tough situations teachers had to go through and how they dealt with it. I don’t crack easily under pressure, but hearing solutions on bad situations could help my learning.
I always appreciate words of wisdom - and I especially appreciate these kinds of resources because they come from teachers - not from a textbook and not from someone who hasn't seen a classroom in years. Three quotes that really speak to me are:
ReplyDelete"Don't get sucked into the myth that somehow you're a martyr for accepting a teaching position...focus on the children at all times. This isn't the army and you weren't drafted."
"Get to know your kids, and let them get to know you. You are a big part of their lives just as they are of yours. Feel their challenges, their sacrifices, their joys and their hurts."
"Listen earnestly to anything your students want to tell you, no matter what. If you don't listen eagerly to the little stuff, they won't tell you the big stuff because to them all of it has always been big stuff."