Blog Post 9

What I've Learned This Year by Mr. McClung
When I saw this blog post assignment I was excited to read Mr. McClung's reflections on his first three years as a teacher. Being an aspiring educator I like reading or watching people talk about their early experiences as a teacher because all teachers feel the same way and go through the same things early in their career. It gives me confidence when teachers say early in their career they had difficult moments; I know we all want to be the perfect teacher when we first start and when we mess up it frustrates us.

The first post I read was the May 27, 2009 post of What I've Learned This Year . The first thing he learned this year was How to Read the Crowd. He was so worried about being criticized by his superiors he lost touch with his audience, which is the students. He believes teachers miss the most important part of teaching and this is making sure students are understanding the material. The second thing he learned this year was to Be Flexible. Mr. McClung felt he was trying to control things too much because he likes things a particular way. This is understandable, especially when you become an educator because teachers need structure in the classroom. He does not let mistakes stress him out anymore and when he does make a mistake he just tries to make the situation better. Another thing is Communication in the workplace. He experienced some drama with fellow colleagues but he says when you talk about the problem it resolves the issue faster. One the most important things up and coming teachers can learn is to Be Reasonable. Mr. McClung realizes at times educators set high expectations for their students and when the students do not reach it they can get frustrated with the students. There is nothing wrong with setting high expectations but do not crucify the students when they make a mistake. Students will make mistakes so we have to encourage them to strive harder and they can be successful. He also goes on to talk about technology and how it is very useful to educators, he talks about listening to students because students can help you become better teachers. Students are our consumers so when they speak teachers should listen. The last topic he talks about is Never Stop Learning. Teachers must know how to adapt and switch styles of teaching. Educators must grow just how we expect the students to grow.

The second post I read was at the end of his third year June 23, 2011 of What I've Learned This Year . I chose this one because I know the third year is critical for a teacher. The third year the teacher is qualified for tenure and they are considered "veterans" in the field. The first topic he talks about is Know Who Your Boss Is. He feels he gets consumed in trying to please his supervisor and that can take away focus on the students; Mr. McClung quoted, "Our decision making process should always be student centered and not centered around pleasing adults". The second topic he talked about was Don't Expect Others to be as Excited About Change as You Are. He used Professional Development as an example. He said he has trouble understanding the people who never give new ideas a chance. Mr. McClung is the teacher who gets excited about new ideas being presented during Professional Development. He says do not let the pessimistic teachers detour you from implementing creative ideas to your classroom and school. A lot of educators are stuck in the traditional way of doing things and we as potential educators cannot be scared by those teachers. When we think of innovative ideas we need to at least try it out and not afraid of being different. That goes into the next thing he learned and that is Don't be Afraid to be an Outsider. He admits he does not fit in with the other adults in the building and he is perfectly okay with that, he enjoys it actually. I do not completely agree with wanting to be an outsider and not fit in with the adults. As educators we need to rely and learn from each other. One of the last things Mr. McClung learned is Don't Touch the Keyboard. This means when we are teaching a student something do not do all the work for them. When teachers do all the work for the student the student is not learning. The student needs to make mistakes because making mistakes is a never fail way to learn; Mr.McClung stated, "This means that our students will struggle a little bit in the front end but it will help them excel in the end game". The last thing Mr.McClung learned is Don't Get Comfortable. He feels teaching can become a routine career. Having a routine is not a bad thing but it can develop complacency in a teacher's work. Mr. McClung's way of not being one of those teachers are joining committees and doing Professional Development sessions.
I enjoyed reading Mr. McClung blog post on what he has learned his first three years of teaching. Like I said before it is great to read about a teacher's beginning of their career because we are going to be there soon. We can gain more confidence knowing we are not expected to be the best teacher when we first step in the classroom. I will take some of the things Mr. McClung learned and implement that in my life as a teacher. Whatever I learn as an educator I will make sure I share those experiences with future teachers.