Blog Post Number 9

What I've Learned This Year By: Mr. McClung

When Mr. McClung wrote this blog, he was a first year elementary education teacher. Through that year, he said he grew as a teacher and person. He learned a lot from his first year of teaching and he summarized it all in this post.

The first main thing he learned was "how to read the crowd." When teaching, it is not about meeting certain requirements and doing exactly what you are told, it is about making sure your audience is comprehending what is being told to them.

The next thing he learned was to "be flexible." By this, he means you do not have to stick to what you were planning. If things don't go according to plan, it's okay! Being flexible means you stay teaching the main idea but it doesn't have to go perfectly. As long as the students are learning what they need to learn, then it doesn't matter if your lesson didn't work out like you imagined it to.

"Communicate." To me, this is the most important thing to do. Communicating makes everything better in every situation. Lack of communication can only lead to more problems. Communicate with classmates, fellow employees, superiors, student's parents, anyone!

Mr. McClung also says to "be reasonable." This means to not have high expectations that can't be met. It is good to have high expectations to push the students to their personal best, but it is not good to set the bar so high that it only leads to disappointment when the student doesn't meet that goal.

"Don't be afraid of Technology." If I have learned anything in this class, it is this. Computers and other devices are only there to HELP us. Not take over our job or replace us. Technology is used as a tool for the students to learn even more than before.

Also, we need to "listen to our students." In order to gain respect from them, you need to make sure to understand them as a person and create a personal relationship. One that they can trust you with, therefore wanting to learn from you.

The last main point that Mr. McClung made was to "never stop learning." We only owe it to our students to give them the most efficient form of education we can. The world never stops changing, meaning there is more new things to learn everyday and we must embrace this and use it to our advantage.

Mr. McClung has made some very great points, ones that I will for sure listen to and think about while teaching. The main one I think I'll personally need to focus on is to be flexible. I know I can sometimes get stuck in my own ways and want things to go a certain way, but I'll need to realize that things won't always go as planned! I feel like I have learned from this blog and I am glad that it was assigned to us!