Arrowhead Frustration

Now that the department is making a huge switch, which even involves Casper and Thornberry exchanging classrooms, the head of the Arts department is concerned that the teachers will lose their touch. “Nobody likes change, I hate change, you hate change, everyone hates change, but sometimes change can ultimately grow into a positive outcome. I have full faith that Thornberry and Mistro (Casper) will continue to influence kids regardless of what branch of art they teach.” Ceramics and Intro To Graphic Arts teacher Dan Krause

A priority for the administration and counseling department at Santa Susan High School is to provide for the emotional, social and academic needs of all students. To determine and address possible gaps between the students and programs offered an informal questionnaire was provided to each teacher with the purpose to gather information. The questionnaire was designed to identify possible gaps, social and emotional issues that may be hindering learning in the classroom and conflicts that may be occurring between staff/students and students/students.

Overall, high rates of teacher turnover have direct monetary costs and alter the distribution of teacher experience and skill across districts. Dr. Maxwell, the Superintendent of PGCPS formed a Transition Team from which four subcommittees were formed one being the Teaching and Learning Committee (TL). The TL examined research on professional literature to answer the question and determined that in order for students to receive the high-quality education that prepares them to succeed in post-secondary opportunities, staff members must have instructional resources and professional learning opportunities to build their capacities

Every few years, some new process, concept, reform, or innovation is touted as the magic cure-all that will remedy whatever ails the profession – followed by disappointment that many ailments continue to plague us. Educators are often baffled by – and perhaps impatient with – these perpetual shifts and their accompanying array of

By the time September rolled around students have forgotten what classes they registered for. My school liked to move past things as quickly as possible. To elaborate, each student would receive a book with every class the high school had to offer, regardless of grade and prerequisites. Then, each student had to return a specific form with all the classes they would take within a week of attaining the book of courses. Knowing which class to take and how it would affect your next four years was a shared mystery to all the incoming freshman. While a flowchart detailing how the mathematics classes lead into each other was provided, all other classes looked as if they would never relate to one another. What the school failed to express to us is that once a student is put into a class, there is no switching out or dropping the class if the class proves too challenging or too easy, the class you take the following year has already been determined, and that if you want to try something new, you had better take the prerequisite early. As Rose wrote, “school can be a tremendously disorienting place” (127), and the absence of communication between students and the rest of the school verifies this disorientation. The illusion that students have a choice in how their education grows is perpetuated by a system that thinks it knows best.

The teacher candidate has always felt she puts more pressure on herself than her external factors. She is not as nervous to teach to students, but teaching in front of Maercker Intermediate School staff members. On top of putting pressure on herself, she become anxious worrying about what her cooperating teacher and other Maercker staff think. The teacher candidate knows she is not qualified teacher, and can make a few teaching errors along the way, but she worries if she not demonstrating the right teaching strategies and methods. At times, she did not feel confident to teach, but over time, she learned to not focus on what staff members think of my teaching, but focus on how I will impact student learning. Miss Butzen has communicated with Mrs. Corcoran on effective teaching strategies, which she suggests have students work in cooperative learning groups and have students participate during teacher-directed instruction. She has taken this advice, and prefers to use the interactive teaching instruction. Ashley has discovered she does not want to do the majority of teaching a lesson in lecture, teacher directed style, but have students engaged in the lesson by having students volunteer to model the measureable learning target and have students work in cooperative learning groups during the practice

Students are often told that the path to success tends to be a lonely one because only they can get themselves there. For the most part that is true, they must be self-motivated and passionate about their future, but along the way they get to meet special people that want to see them to accomplish their goals. From an early age the relationship built between students and teachers has molded and impacted the student’s life. The relationship they have with a teacher can define the attitude that student has with the subject being taught. A lot of emphasis is put on students when they fail a course and they question their effort. Although, the root of the problem is not always the student, but the method the instructor is using to teach the student.

Learners learn in different ways, and teachers teach differently. For a long time I’ve been used to a lesson, a worksheet, and a quiz to end end the unit. Being put in Mrs. Meeks class was different and something that I had to get used to, and still am getting used to. Daily Evaluations and book reviews have taught me about responsibility, and have made me think deeper than I was before when reading and writing.

Throughout this last semester, I have been student teaching at Shawswick Middle School where I was able to take a critical look at myself as an educator. Though the teacher and I did not see eye to eye, this disagreement helped me to better form my own pedagogical beliefs and establish confidence in myself as an educator.

However, Mrs. Fryer connects hers directly to her individual classroom. Another, idea that Mrs. Fryer mentions frequently throughout her blog is that she is not the only teacher in the classroom. Student's in Mrs. Fryer's classroom know that there is more than one teacher. Every student in the classroom can help teach. This helps students to build relationships with each other and to enable them to be comfortable speaking with their peers. This is a crucial skill for students who move frequently because they are constantly forced to make new friends and assimilate into a new environment. One final way that Mrs. Fryer helps to eliminate the stress and challenges of constant change and transition is by having a meeting with her students every morning. These morning meetings are where her students get to have deep conversations and discussions about topics that are bothering them and she tries to help them address the issues. Morning meetings are a great tool to incorporate into your classroom. They help to build peer and student teacher

After the twenty hours of observations, my overall personal teaching theory hasn’t changed a great deal. I still believe strongly in my three key beliefs established, which are passion, respect and adaptability. However, I would be lying if I said I haven’t altered my general idea of my teaching philosophy. The twenty hours that I spent at Valley View Middle-school in the seventh grade was quite an experience that made me realize, really just how much time and energy you have to give to the students in order to teach little work.

The transitions occurring in my classroom from last year to this include dissecting and presenting curriculum in a manner that provides more opportunities for collaborative work with increased individual accountability within their collaborative group. Students are presented with additional opportunities to make and share their critical assumptions, requiring them to think deeply about the lesson or selection.

Next, we will discuss the teacher subculture of a school environment. Teachers are an important “subculture since they make the most contact with students” (Ballentine & Hammack, 2012, p. 216). The culture that is set by the teacher impacts the learning process by either helping students thrive or be unsuccessful. Also, the subculture that includes teachers can be further broken down into grade levels, content areas, or length of service. For instance, an inexperienced teacher will not immediately be included in the subculture of seasoned teachers. It will take time for him/her to be accepted into that subculture. A new teacher who tries to be too friendly to students may receive sanctions from

This past semesters has been an eye opening experience that has changed my views on teacher. Ever since I was little, I have always wanted to be a fourth grade teacher. However after being placed in a second grade classroom my views have changed. I liked the idea of teaching fourth grade because my fourth grade teacher was my inspiration in life. When I was in Ms. Petro’s class I enjoyed being able to watch the students progress over time. Being able to see the drastic improvements in little children is very rewarding and that is why I want to continue to teach lower grades. I have learned that being a teacher requires a special someone, a person who knows that sometimes you will have to deal with tough situations leaving you exhausted and feeling like you are not able to help more. But at the same time, being a teacher allows one to be a visionary for the world and those who surround you.

Anderson, S. (Fall 1997). Understanding teacher change: Revisiting the Concerns Based Adoption Model. Curriculum Inquiry, 27(3), pp. 331-368. Retrieved December 2, 2006 from EBSCO Host, AN 9710272126.