I have included writings that detail my assumptions about professional development, No Child Left Behind, the definition of teacher leadership, and my continual development of my concept of diversity. I have also answered questions about 'what I would like students that I have taught to say about my teaching' and 'what are some of the things are I would look for in a successful classroom.' I hope you will find that I have provided a wide range of my views, assumptions and abilities.
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Professional Development
I completed a survey about my assumptions about professional development. I scored high on Development/Improvement, indicating that I feel that improvement is imperative to development. Close seconds were individually guided and Observation/Assessment. They each scored a 26. In third was Inquiry and in fourth there was training.
So, what does that all mean? In general I feel that if I am not trying to constantly better myself than there is no reason for living. The whole point of life is to make something out of nothing, to grow and to learn. There is no place to level off. If we, as a race, are not constantly trying to better ourselves and those around us then we are moving backwards instead of forwards. In addition, I feel plenty of that drive to keep on growing has to be individually guided. After college, and for the most part after High School, there is no one there to tell each one of us to keep on working. We either do or we don’t. We either progress, or we regress in stagnation. It is up to all of us to keep on pushing forward. As for the foresight to see in which direction we need to push forward, there is observation and assessment. Plenty of people have been in the exact same stage of their life as I am now. For that matter, I feel it is important to create a comprehensive view of their world through observation, pick out what I feel is best for me to strive for, and what is not best for me at all. This way I am not just constantly hanging on. In addition, part of this observation is inquiry. However, I feel this is more a basic step in observation than anything else.
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No Child Left Behind
I think legislation that protects public education is very important. However, I think No Child Left Behind has all the main ideas backwards. True, there needs to be accountability for teachers, but isn’t that what principals are for, or what about the praxis? There needs to be funding in our schools, but we need to fund our poor, broken down and inefficient schools as well. Didn’t anyone who made this law see that maybe the reason schools are doing so poorly is because they are inefficiently funded? Finally, what about the children? How can we test a child’s potential through multiple choice? The answers are not simple, even though No Child Left Behind may think they are.
I feel teachers, and administrators need to be trusted. We have spent enough money and time perfecting our craft and calling; we can be trusted. If the government can’t trust school faculty then I suggest there be state appointed evaluators, who have to evaluate teachers every five years or so just like a teacher is evaluated for the praxis three. The funding situation is our school is ridiculous. There needs to be a state or locally appointed auditor for each school district. That way money can be tracked. And, for those schools that can’t make it on the minimum amount allotted, provide more money. This country needs to start taking responsibility for its future. How can I tell the state Johnny should be allowed to pass because he turned in all of his homework and received an A on each one, and is extremely kind and wise beyond his years if Johnny is a poor test taker and didn’t pass the stupid multiple choice tests? A child’s potential is not quantifiable. It is sad that the government believes it is, so much so that they base funding decisions and accountability of the teacher on the ability of a student to perform tasks that aren’t even at the ability level of a monkey. And, besides, who, in real life, is ever evaluated based upon a multiple choice test anyhow?
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Teacher Leadership
Teacher leadership is the act of standing up for students’ rights, whether that means having one stand up to one’s self, to students, or to others. When one is a teacher leader he or she advocates for students’ rights. In addition, a teacher leader can use the system to change errors in the system, for the betterment of his or her students. A teacher leader doesn’t just completely bunk the system.
The teacher leader has to overcome his or her own stereotypes as well as the stereotypes of others in relation to his or her students to be able to look at each child as an individual with a background and culture, that isn’t necessarily wrong, just unique. Or in other words, the teacher leader is culturally competent.
This means that the teacher leader has to teach in the best way possible for his or her students to understand. The teacher leader knows that students are intelligent. The teacher leader has the ability to not just teach a subject but to be taught a subject by his or her students. Teacher leaders recognize that learning is recursive. In short, the teacher leader uses democracy in the classroom.
A teacher leader can captivate the attention of the classroom and foresee discipline problems. A teacher leader can deal with discipline in a low key manor and successfully remedy the situation with little to no conflict.
When it comes down to it all, teacher leaders are friendly but not a friend. They are controllers but not controlling. They are knowledgeable but do not have all the knowledge. They are patient, open for suggestions, but they can use what they are given to aid their students in the process of learning.
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Concept of Diversity
I have always held that if I didn’t see color, that if I only saw children, there would be no problem within my future classroom. I had heard that, that kind of of approach to teaching would end me up in a lot of trouble. I never understood why. I figured I would be in more trouble if I addressed my children’s cultural differences. Therefore, after reading Dr. Terrell’s article I was quite curious to find out what he thought, because he made a couple of good points concerning entitlement. So, as a white female, part of a dominate culture, how do I approach the different cultures of my children, and why is overlooking them so wrong? Dr. Terrell perhaps put it more bluntly than I had ever heard it put, ‘you cannot see only children because not all children are the same.’ After that it was clear. It’s not that I should address cultural differences between groups of students in my class; it’s that I should address the personal differences of my students, and part of those personal differences is each student’s membership within their certain culture. By addressing each student as an individual, and not just as a student in a class that I teach, will help me tailor my lesson plans to the benefit of all my students. By addressing the specific child’s cultures I see the person’s family, I see the person’s life; I see a way to connect with that person.
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Questions
Question 1: “What would you like students that you’ve taught to say about your teaching?”
Answer: Way off in the distant future after I have taught for several years, I will be visited by most of my former students who will up-date me on their present and future goals. They will tell me that they are going to study to be a pianist, going to med school, studying to be a teacher, or going to technical school and all because I encouraged them to follow their dreams and because I provided them with the confidence to do so. I want my students to say that I was persistent, that I never gave up. I want them to say that I was able to shed light on subjects that had never made sense to them before. I want them to say I was creative. I want them to say I was inspirational.
Question 2: “What are some of things you would look for in a successful classroom?”
Answer: I’d look for love first and foremost. I believe a teacher cannot teach if he or she does not first and foremost love his or her students. After love, I’d look for innovation. Good teachers are always on their toes looking for new and exciting ways to present information to students so that they can understand it. Third, (if we are going with general here) is respect. Students should have respect for their teachers, teachers should have respect for their students and students should have respect for other students. Finally, I would look for procedures. No classroom can have management unless there are set procedures and expectations that both the teacher and students are expected and determined to follow.
