From The Alternative Reflection

Journal One in The Alternative by Galen Leonhardy, tells the story of a teacher who helps open an alternative school in Kozol Creek, Idaho, and the struggles he faces in attempting to implement a collaborative education process. The author writes of teachers who let students run free through the halls or simply ignored kids because they did not know how to handle them. He also writes of teachers who strive for a more personalized education by learning who their students are and understanding the environment from which they come. I have also dealt with both kinds of teachers in my educational experience, as I was a student of an alternative school. Mr. Lamar, to me, represents what a teacher should be. His personal dedication to making a difference in students’ lives and his willingness to go the extra mile by empowering students to take responsibility for their education changed how I perceived my own education. Mrs. Patton, on the other hand, is a teacher I would much rather forget. Her militarized style of teaching made learning an afterthought to the daily complications we encountered in the classroom. Both Mr. Lamar and Mrs. Patton taught me the importance of being included in your own education.

“The teacher is of course an artist, but being an artist does not mean that he or she can make the profile, can shape the students. What the educator does in teaching is to make it possible for the students to become themselves.” ― Paulo Freire

While growing up and observing my teachers at school, I have learned that it isn’t always an easy job. Teachers do everything they can to teach their students’ academic, social and other formative skills. Plenty of my teachers have to deal with complications, most of them being minor, but it isn’t always an easy job helping children, teens and young adults. As a student myself, I know they can be stubborn, unwilling to learn, aggressive, and irresponsible. Sometimes, they simply don’t care. However, that is a teacher's purpose: to help and shape their students to become better learners, so that they have a clearer understanding regarding a variety of subject matters. Someday, I actually want to become an elementary art teacher, which is

In the first journal of The Alternative, Galen Leonhardy journals his daily experiences as a teacher for an alternative school is Kozol Creek, Idaho. He describes the students in his classes and discusses his teaching methods to aid these students academically and socially, in order for them to transfer back into public life. The goals that he sets for himself regarding assisting the students are encountered by obstacles such as uncooperative colleagues and a local community that is ripe with preconceived stereotypes, poverty, and systematic neglect. The stark contrast between Leonhardy’s teaching methods and those of his unaccommodating coworkers reminds me of the disparity between some of the teachers that I had in middle school, some utilizing effective methods to encourage students and others employing unproductive methods of disparaging students.

Teaching is an extremely important profession as we are responsible for training up the future generations of our community, country and in effect, the world. In order to be a successful and effective teacher there are some basic skills and competencies that one must possess. The experiences that students have inside (and outside) our classrooms, schools and various other institutes will shape and mould their approach to our subjects and to life in general. Therefore, it requires a certain level of skill and training to be deemed professionally fit to enter into this career path and even then, continuous

While there are many ways to be an outstanding teacher, every high-quality teacher should, in my opinion, have these skills and dispositions:

It takes hard work and a lot of energy to become an expert in the education world. There are amazing teachers who would do anything for their students, but there are also teacher who are just there to go through the motions. The best teachers are to ones who are passionate about what they are teaching and would go out of their way to see their students succeed.

I learned all the important aspects that a teacher needs to have to be excellent, from the passion to work with the children to how organize the environment to facilitate the learning; also how to collaborate with families, colleagues, to research and increase constantly own knowledge personally and professionally. How to use strategies and create a curriculum that will keep children engaged and challenged in their thinking.

In today’s society it is nearly impossible to survive without an education. It is important that we have the right kind of teachers to accomplish certain goals. A good teacher is one who listens to their students and tries to answer any questions they might have about anything. I think that a good teacher should also be able to listen to others opinions and not argue with them but try to understand their point of view on the subject.

In my 24 years of experience employed with the Department of Education I have found that working with children watching as they grow is inspiring as much as it is rewarding. Teaching helps one to sharpen their skills on all levels for the curriculum is forever changing. Being an educator has its challenging moments but its something I want to accomplish. To be successful at educating others I must continue to grow, increase and improve within.

I believe that teaching excellence comes from two different things, dedication and the desire to help others. Teachers who are dedicated to their students and classrooms are definitely going to be excellent and never give up at what they do. Teachers who have a great desire to help their students and their career will continue to do everything they can to make sure their students receive what is needed. The two characteristics that make an excellent teacher are dedication and the desire to help others.

In September 2017, I began writing 39C and to be honest I believed that I was going to have no problems in this class. The reason being I had taken Writing 39A and was able to pass that class, taken Writing 39B during the previous summer and managed to get an A in the class. Along with having experience of doing research from high school by trying to researching on local social issues and trying to advocate on how to effectively solve the issue; I thought there was nothing more for me to learn. I was very wrong about that statement in about the next three weeks.

Last but not least, a good teacher must be passionate about what he/she does. Teaching young people is a teacher’s dream and

When I think about teachers that I have had in the past, several different ones come to my mind. Each of these educators stands out in my mind for a variety of diverse reasons. Whether it is their sense of humor, their tactfulness, their love of the subject matter, their fanatical and sporadic behavior, or their yearning to be childish themselves, I can still remember at least one quality of every teacher I have ever encountered. Every one of these teachers conveyed subject material to their students just as they were educated and employed to do. However, I trust that every professional in the world has an abundance of opportunity for improvement; teachers could discover and improve themselves merely by having

Being a teacher is not an easy task as many people could think. To be a teacher does not only imply to know the subject to be taught, it also includes being willing to constantly improve oneself integrally, as much as updating the resources and materials one uses in teaching. Reflecting and analyzing over and over again the best way to teach to learn and how to make students to extend what has been learned. The many hours spend in the classroom will never be enough to plan lessons, prepare materials, review pupils tasks and exams, as well, all the administrative requirements one has to cover for whatever institution we work. Besides all this a good teacher, a professional one, will have to find the time to keep preparing to improve