Nutritionist Lecture.

I am on Luther's Swim Team.  We were required to attend a lecture given by a popular nutritionist from Tennessee.  She traveled up to Luther to give lectures to each of the sports teams.  I was spectacle about attending this lecture.  I had attended other nutrition lectures in the past, and I thought I might be bored at this one.  However, my attendance was required, so I reluctantly went and sat near the back.  The first thing I noticed about the speaker was her presence and energy.  She was dressed conservatively, which made me think this would reflect her personality.  I could not have been more wrong.  She was very spunky, something I picked up on through the inflection in her voice and her hand gestures.  She also made use of the space she had by constantly walking around the room.  Her presentation mostly consisted of a Powerpoint with explanations on each slide.  However, she did not have only words on the slides; she also included various pictures and charts.  It was interesting to follow along.  She knew how to relate to us and did so as much as possible during the presentation.  Overall, her presentation was very personable and engaging.  I was pleasantly surprised that I learned many new tidbits of information about nutrition that I did not know.  Her "teaching" style was something that I admired.  Her energy and passion about the topic made for an inspiring presentation.  At least for me, she did what I think every educator should strive to do - present new material in an intriguing way that causes the learner to think more deeply about the topic.

Humility in the Classroom.

I am a very stubborn person.  Many times I will think that I am right, when in fact I am wrong.  However, even if I know that I am wrong, I will still try to convince those around me that in fact, I am right.  It is hard for me to admit when I am wrong.  This is definitely something that I need to personally work on.  So to answer the question asking when the last time I was wrong is tough because I am wrong a lot of the time!  I believe that as teachers, it is okay to be wrong.  No one person knows everything about how to manage a classroom, or write a lesson plan.  It is impossible.  A teacher may come very close to having everything all figured out, but will never actually reach all-knowing.  Based on that, I strongly agree with the statement that ALL teachers MUST have a correct balance of confidence and humility.  The first step to learning is making mistakes and recognizing when you are wrong.  That is humility.  Then, you learn from those mistakes and become more confident because of them.

Collaboration with Peers.

According to Merriam Webster's dictionary, collaboration is defined as "working jointly with others or together especially in an intellectual endeavor."  Collaboration is essential for teachers.  Not only collaboration with teachers, but collaboration with parents and administration.  It is extremely important that groups work together toward a common goal.  This is the first step toward effective collaboration.  I believe collaboration occurs when group members come together and share their ideas with one another in order to reach a common goal.  Collaboration is different from group work and cooperative learning because everyone is expected to participate equally.  Everyone should have something to share in order to collaborate with other group members.  I think sometimes in group work and cooperative learning, group members may not feel obligated to participate if they do not have anything to contribute.  In collaboration, every group member is expected to participate.

Creativity in the Classroom.

It is common knowledge that schools are being ridiculed more and more for their stifling of student creativity.  So how as teachers do we avoid this?  It is important that we recognize student creativity, and applaud it.  Each student learns differently.  In the classroom, we need to offer a variety of activities to accommodate to all of these learning styles.  This way, students can express their creativity not only through their writing, but maybe through an oral presentation, or poster project.  Teachers should also offer students a number of choices.  When assigning homework, let the students choose from a variety of activities in order that they may express their creativity they way they want.  I believe that creativity is extremely important as a skill for the 21st century.  In today's ever-changing world, new jobs are frequently created, and old jobs eliminated.  Creativity is extremely important in order that these new jobs are filled and executed successfully.   These new employees are essentially the pioneers in these new positions and need to utilize their creativity to create them how they want.  Creativity starts when a child is young.  It is extremely important that we as future teachers understand the impact we have on a student's creativity, and foster creative thinking so that they may carry it into the future.
 

Reflectiveness in the Classroom.

I am currently taking Education 222, which is Instructional Strategies for K-12 Teachers.  Right now in this class we are really focusing on this aspect of teaching.  Reflection is extremely important.  It is when we, as teachers, can modify lesson plans and maybe even try a different lesson next time.  I think it is hard for many teachers to reflect because they think it will take up a lot of time - too much time that they do not have.  They also probably think that many times their lessons went as well as possible, and they have nothing to change, thus, nothing to reflect on from the day.  However, this belief is false.  If a teacher had the best day of his or her career, that should be even more reason to reflect!  On those days, teachers should reflect on why that day was so good. What was done differently that made that day particularly smooth?  On the other side, if a day did not go as planned, reflection should be done then too.  When reflection is done on these days, teachers can evaluate exactly what made the day go wrong, and how to do it differently next time.  This could provide an opportunity to brainstorm different ways of running the classroom, or different ways to approach a lesson.  I think for reflection to be most effective, it should be done immediately after the day is over.  The activities of the day are fresh in the teacher's mind, making it easy to reflect.  If it is not possible to reflect after each day, then reflect every couple of days, or at week's end.  Reflection does not have to be a long process.  Even a few minutes can benefit the teacher's instruction and the students' learning.

Passion in the Classroom.

It is so important that a teacher is passionate about what he or she is teaching.  I have had numerous experiences in which my teacher has not been passionate about the subject he or she was teaching.  This has definitely negatively impacted not only my learning, but also my view on that subject as a whole.  Not only did this affect me, but numerous of my classmates as well.  This was especially relevant in my 8th grade year.  My social studies teacher was clearly not passionate about what he was teaching and simply sat behind his desk and gave us assignments to do each class period.  He had minimal interaction with any of the students, and did not know any of our names.  I remember countless class periods spent coloring maps or filling out worksheets.  Before that class, I actually enjoyed social studies.  However, since that class, social studies has been one of my least favorite subjects.  A counter example of this actually occurred in the same year.  We were required to take Woods class, something that I dreaded.  I went in with a pit in my stomach, but to my surprise, came out actually enjoying the class.  This attitude was definitely partly the result of the teacher.  He was so passionate about what he was teaching and was very involved in our learning.  He always had a lot of energy in class, and was so excited when we accomplished something that was challenging for us.  I never thought I would enjoy a class like that so much, but fortunately, it was a great experience.  Taking these two examples, it is obvious that a teacher's attitude and passion toward the subject matter directly impacts the students' viewpoint on the subject matter.  It is important that we enjoy what we teach, or at least pretend to enjoy it, for the sake of the students.

An Authentic Teacher.

I think that as future teachers, the issue of authenticity is very relevant.  As I was thinking about this topic, I came to the conclusion that authenticity can be seen in many levels; it has a sort of spectrum.  A teacher with very little authenticity is the teacher who is overly nice in the classroom.  This teacher is usually very enthusiastic, bubbly, and really cares for his or her students - so much so that in fact, instead of correcting the students if one of them gets a problem wrong, the teacher will say they are correct to avoid hurting the child's feelings.  Obviously, this teacher has very little authenticity because he or she is not teaching the students anything by telling them that every answer they give is the right answer.  This teacher may come across as being an excellent teacher, very kind and comforting, when in reality, he or she is just hurting the students.  On the other hand, a teacher on the other side of the authenticity continuum is the teacher who students dread to have.  This teacher usually comes across as being harsh, and not very compassionate.  This teacher does the opposite of the teacher with little authenticity.  This teacher will not acknowledge any wrong answers, and let the students know directly that they are wrong.  A teacher such as this may come across as being too hard on students.  I think as future teachers we need to be somewhere in the middle of the authenticity spectrum.  It is important to tell our students when they are right or wrong, but it is also important to be aware of their feelings, and take them into consideration as well.  I believe that authenticity is not only something we as future teachers will have someday in the classroom, but also something that is a part of our personality today.  If someone is very fake, they are obviously not very authentic - and this can translate in the classroom.

Compassion in the Classroom.

Compassion is an important piece of one's personality that is necessary to have in the classroom.  I personally have been affected by the compassion a teacher showed towards me in the second grade.  That year, I had two teachers, Mrs. Fesser and Mrs. Miller.  They team-taught in the same classroom.  One morning, my mom received a phone call from my dad saying that my grandpa had had a massive heart attack and had passed away shortly after.  Even at my young age, I understood what had happened and was devastated.  That day in school we were going on a field trip to a nearby farm.  Despite my mom's wishes, I had begged her to let me go.  She complied, and brought me to school shortly after the phone call.  Upon arriving at school, she informed the teachers what had happened.  I will always remember Mrs. Fesser coming up to me and expressing her sympathy for my family.  She told me that she was going to be my "partner" for the day so I would feel comfortable at the farm.  While we were at the farm, Mrs. Fesser stuck by my side and periodically asked how I was doing.  I felt completely at ease the whole time, and it really meant a lot for her to be there with me the whole day.  It showed that she truly cared for my feelings, and sincerely wanted to make today at least a little bit enjoyable, despite what had happened.  Obviously, if I can remember the story ten years later, it left a pretty big impact.  When I become a teacher, I will always try and model the compassion she demonstrated that day.

Respect in the Classroom.

"The secret of education lies in respecting the pupil."    -Ralph Waldo Emerson

As "teachers in training," it is crucial that we respect our students in order that they may respect us back.  Many years ago, schools and teachers were much more strict.  My parents constantly tell stories of their previous elementary school teachers who would hit students' heads with rulers, or slam clipboards on their desks if they were not paying attention.  It was brutal.  These teachers wanted respect, but what they did instead was instill a sense of fear in their students.  I am sure more than half of those students hardly said a word or answered a question in class because they were too afraid of the repercussions of a "bad" answer.  Obviously, education and teaching has come a long way in the past thirty years.  Today, teachers learn that one of the best ways for a child to learn is if that child has respect for his or her teacher.  So how do we, as the teacher, instill a sense of respect in our students?  Well, as Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, we have to show them that we respect them back.  It seems simple, but it is a lot harder than one might think.  To respect each and every one of our students, we must be fair.  That is the sole way to earn respect from the students.  We, as teachers, cannot act prejudice or discriminate against any student.  That means we need to be impartial with our grading, and be sure to have the same expectations for each student.  We should hold each student accountable for their actions, and discipline each child the same way.  These are all unbiased actions a teacher can practice.  If these things are done, students will most likely show respect not only to you as the teacher, but also to their fellow classmates.  Although we have come a far way since the 1970s, education and teaching still has a long way to go.  There will never be a perfect way to correctly teach children, but a good place to start is to respect the students.