Blog Post #9

Mr. Joe McClung's Teaching Reflections

For the post that I got to choose, I choose Mr. McClung's first year of teaching reflection. This post was done in May of 2009. It was his first year as an elementary teacher in Noel, Missouri. He described himself as a young and inexperienced teacher. But by the end of the year,he had grown and matured as a person and as a teacher. He describes lessons that he has learned as a teacher. McClung observed that a lot of teachers do not make lessons that are student centered. Teachers worry about the delivery and forget to check for student comprehension. He says, "No lesson is ever perfect. The lesson you teach and the one you plan are always different." In the beginning of the year, he felt like he was trying to control things too much. And he had to get over that. Next, he talked about communication. Communication is the best way to work things and issues out. Everyone needs to practice their communication skill, because everyone can get better at it. Fourth, he talks about reasonable expectations and goals for students. He reminds us to make sure you are reasonable with your expectations and goals. Since, they are children, and they are not perfect. Also, he warns teachers to not be afraid of technology. Technology is a teacher's friend not an enemy. He then stresses the importance of teachers listening to their students. By listening to your students, you build respect and a good relationship. Lastly, he tells his audience to never stop learning. Teacher except students to continue to learn and grow. So, teachers should also always continue to learn.

In the what Mr. McClung has learned Volume 4,he takes a completely different approach compared to the fist reflection. He explains that he really didn't learn as much this year as he had in others. He only reflected on two topics on this post. The first one was that he worried about how he was viewed as an educator by his peers. In previous years, he only cared about how his students and superiors viewed him. He explains how he had anxiety about what his peers may think. But he came to the conclusion that you can't change who you are as an educator based on what your peer think. He said now he only goes by one rule: "Are the kids having fun?" The next topic he talks about is that you need to challenge yourself as a teacher. He tells how he had taught the in the same school and subject for the past three years. And he had become comfortable in his teaching. He noticed that he started to use the same routine, used old lesson plans, and his creativity slowed down. He began to realize that if you become comfortable as a teacher, you get lazy and lesson plans will start to "suck". The consequence of that is that students then will not enjoy your class. Which has a bigger affect.

I think that Mr. McClung had a lot of important information in his reflections for new teachers and experienced teachers. I choose the first post because I will be a new teacher sooner than I will be an experienced teacher. I think he had some great advice in his first reflection. My favorite was when he said if things go wrong fix it with a smile. I really liked it because first year teachers need to realize that things are going to go wrong that's how we learn is from our mistakes. But once it goes wrong fix it and with a smile. I liked the first post better than his last reflection because I think it is more relatable for me than the last one. But they both had some great advice.