As I take a moment to look back and reflect on the past month of being in Educ250, the thing that sticks out to me the most is a conversation we had during orientation about the requirements of professionalism. Although the discussion about professionalism during orientation is the
most prevalent in my memory at the moment, I remember also talking about
professionalism when we went over the standards in class. The need for teachers to be professional is referenced in Standard 1e, "Teachers demonstrate high ethical standards." During small discussions in class (usually via whiteboard tables with the people sitting near me) I have begun to "hash out" the link between professional teachers and successful students. If my goal as a teacher is to provide a safe and nourishing environment for all of my students, I must treat them all in a similar, professional manner. There must be no favoritism or partiality in my future classroom, despite the fact that I have always struggled with showing it toward better behaved students. Simply saying "this kid is better behaved" or "this child reminds me of my brother" is no excuse for treating students differently, and it is unethical. As part of Standard 1, "teachers demonstrate leadership," I must ensure that I demonstrate professional and ethical leadership, which will be taught to my students mostly through the way that I behave around them, rather than through any lecture I give. In speaking with several retired teachers from my church, I have continued to make the connection between professionalism and student success. One retired teacher reassured me by saying that it was nearly impossible for any teacher to avoid becoming more attached to certain students than others, but what is important is that a teacher not let that attachment exclude any other student from his/her service as a professional educator. Despite my future feelings about a particular student, I must treat them with the same respect and kindness that I would show to any other student. I realize that what I have recently begun to understand is only the beginning of my professional journey, but I am eager to continue to learn about and develop my professional skills.
This week in Educ 250 we learned about incorporating TPACK into our lesson planning. It was very interesting as I began to think about the need for technology in my future classroom--if I am a teacher until I retire, some of my last students will be born in 2050, graduating in 2068! The world in which they live will be vastly different from my own, and I need to prepare them as best as I can for their adult lives. I agree that incorporating technology into my lessons is an excellent way to keep students engaged and help them see the relevance of subjects. If they view subjects like math as something that can only be done on pen and paper, while everything else in their life is done digitally, they may not respect it or see its relevance. The TPACK lesson definitely gave me a bit of anxiety as I thought about what life might look like in twenty years. I am honestly a bit skeptical about how much more technological progress the human race is capable of making due to the current stress it...
Thank you for your post! I love how you emphasize professionalism, the inclusion of diversity, and leadership. I agree that these things are extremely important for a successful career in education. The average student no longer exists, so we must begin to equip ourselves to successfully educate diverse students with varying backgrounds and differing learning styles. I love that you speak on leadership and professionalism in your first blog. I believe that these are the areas that we can heavily practice during our time in undergrad. Effective leadership is essential to engaging a classroom of learners, and I agree that your disposition will heavily impact the response of your learners. Furthermore, your professional nature will command respect from your students/parents, and maintain the dignity of your role as the teacher. I plan to focus on practicing professionalism in my daily life at Gardner-Webb, so that it is natural as I shift into the teacher role in the future. I am confident that you will be an inclusive and effective teacher, with a professional disposition!
ReplyDeleteI like how you made your post very detailed. and I very much agree with the fact that we must treat all teachers and students in a professional manner. we cant just act like a professional when we are talking to teachers, parents, and administrators. from this post it shows that you pay attention to detail very well and im very interested to hear more from you!
ReplyDeleteAbigail, Great post on being professional. You are right - teachers respect teachers more when they know their teacher is a true professional. I am also glad to see you have begun to make great connections between the NCTCS and your understanding of the expectations of a teacher.
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