Aed201_Final

AED 201 Teaching as a Profession 2010 Professional Development Plan November 14, 2010 Suzanne Devitt When anyone makes a decision about the work he will do in life, it is important that the decision be based on criteria that reflect his personal values, temperaments, experiences, and skills. My choice of teaching as a career was not made lightly; rather, it was the culmination of a process of reflection about what I wanted to do with my life and my education. When decided to pursue education as a career it was after much thought and lots of pressuring from other family and friends that are already in the profession. After some of the horror stories and experiences that I have heard from those same family and friends, and getting a hint of the type of children and parents I would encounter I decided that my passion for the career and my love for children out-weighed all the other politics that I would encounter. I chose to continue to pursue a career in education because I care. In this course I learned that a major part of showing that you care in the classroom is by communication. Although this course only reiterated my sentiments I about the politics that will stand in the way of me being an effective teacher and a career as a quality educator, in spite of that I want to pursue the career. Personally I have a love for education, for the education of the youth of tomorrow and I have a strong belief that education holds the key to all, the bottom line is, I care. Teachers are people who care about their students. I believe teachers who are available to students, and who like, understand, and empathize with them, have students who behave better and are more emotionally and intellectually involved in classroom activities. I have noticed through my work as a preschool teacher that students who see personal support from their teachers seem to have more interest in their class work they realize the importance of it. I also believe students that receive support from their teachers are more likely to display a social responsibility to their education and start to carry out things related to their education on their own, without the overseeing of an adult. Yes, they do, even at the ripe age of 4 and 5. Each of the points previously mentioned combined together hints to the fact that a classroom environment where each student is valued regardless of academic ability or performance contributes to both learning and motivation. There are several things that play major roles in a person decision to become a teacher. The important ones in my opinion are: one whether you have the ability to be an effective decision maker, a good communicator, whether you possess the ability to reflect and learn from your day, and if you will be able to abide by ethical standards for conduct set forth by your superiors and still have the ability to put out the best education for your students. A good teacher hold ability to make effective decisions on a daily basis, everyday decisions such as organization of classroom, types of learning activities, and how these learning activities will be carried out. Every day, teachers make decisions on their feet and change directions if the original lesson is not going the way it was planned. Teachers also decide the right questions to ask to guide instruction and keep students interested and on track. It takes a professional teacher to make good decisions in hard and unforeseen situations. Teachers use professional knowledge daily such as when, what, why and how to implement different strategies to carry out instruction. A good teacher is an effective and respectful communicator. Although the ways that a teacher interacts with each student are on an individual basis, I think that devoting time and showing respect are the baseline for clear communication channels in the classroom. Everyone has 24 hours a day, and the way we allocate those hours is the most accurate indicator of our priorities. Caring teachers make time with students a priority. Spending extra time and effort to ensure that all students understand a topic, helping students who are struggling with an assignment, or calling a parent after school hours communicates that teachers care about student learning. Spending personal time to ask about family members or compliment a new hairstyle communicates caring about a student as a human being. Sometimes devoting time to students may show them that you care and that small amount of devotion the inkling of interest and respect may be the one thing that opens a flood door to their education. The great teachers I have had throughout my education are my heroes and my role models. I began to understand more fully in high school and throughout my time as a college student that great teachers had skills I wanted to learn. I wanted to excel at the things in which they excelled, but I also experienced teachers who were not effective, and they too taught me something. From them I learned what I would not do or even try when I would someday become a teacher. I fully realized that to be a teacher is truly a calling of not just the mind, but the heart as well. I saw that the great teachers were good at explaining content, were patient, yet firm with students, were always fair, set high expectations, knew how to motivate us, and used humor appropriately. They were excellent communicators who had a command of the subject-matter content they taught. I wanted to be like them, to be able to do what they could do, and yet I understood that I would have to forge my own style of teaching that would draw on my strengths, knowledge, skills, values and experiences. I have arrived at that point in my preparation, fully realizing I still have much to learn. I have chosen education as a career because I believe that education is perhaps the most important function performed in our culture, or for that matter, any culture. I believe that teachers individually and collectively can not only change the world, but improve it, and in the process find personal and professional renewal. I want to be part of this profession, and someday to be counted among those in whom future teachers will find inspiration. I believe that if I maintain my stand on running a caring classroom and being a caring teacher by showing respect to students as individuals I will get the best results from my students. One of the most important ways I plan to show that I care is by maintaining high standards. One of the best ways to show respect for students is to hold them to high standards. For example, simple things such as not accepting sloppy, thoughtless, or incomplete work, by pressing them to clarify vague comments, by encouraging them not to give up, and by not praising work that do not reflect genuine effort. As we are all aware of respect is a two-way street. Teachers should model respect for students, and in turn they have the right to expect students to respect them and one another. “Treat everyone with respect” is a rule that should be enforced in every classroom. Occasional or accidental incidents of disrespect can be overlooked, but teachers should communicate that chronic disrespect will not be tolerated. Caring sometimes extends to teachers ensuring that students’ rights are upheld as well as guarding students’ safety. For example, when Maria Lopez checked on the testing status of one of her students and met with the parent of another student suspected of needing special services, she was supporting the right of these students to receive an education designed to meet their individual needs. If teachers don’t detect special student needs, often no one will. One way teachers can guard student safety is by learning the signs of abuse or neglect. There are clear guidelines that require teachers to report student abuse in any context. Teacher caring takes many forms. A good teacher possesses the ability to utilize reflection on a daily basis by looking back on a lesson and assessing the good parts and the bad parts of that lesson. On a daily basis, teachers self-assess critique and analyze their methods of instruction and classroom performance. Reflection is good because it helps teachers develop professionally to become effective teachers who develop thoughtful lesson plans. This is done daily through student assessment. If the student show they understand it, than the lesson plan was good, if some struggled, teachers have to go back and look at what could have been different. Lastly good a good teacher holds the ability to follow ethical standards for conduct on a daily basis and still get their point across effectively. Teachers must use ethic guidelines set forth by the superiors to maintain a professional teacher-student relationship. When teachers abide by preset standards, it may make all their profession decision making easier. Teachers are governed by ethnic principals on a daily basis such as respect, fairness, and equality which sets the tone for the classroom.   In the past I felt strong and steadfast not to pursue a career as an educator, however now I am planning to be a great educator to the children I encounter in my future. Over the next five years I plan to complete my education, graduating from the University of Phoenix in the next two years. Shortly following graduation I plan to seek employment in a school with a not so pleasant track record. My decision to work in a school with low scores and a is recognized as having troubled kids is based on the fact that I feel they have a greater need for educators that genuinely care about their future. Schools of such nature have a greater need for educators that have the will to stand and withstand all obstacles that will come their way and stand in the way of providing the same education and giving the same opportunities to students that have been branded and written off as un-teachable and unworthy of a proper education. I don’t plan to spend my first couple of years in the profession feeling it out. I am feeling it out now. I am currently a preschool teacher. I educate children ages 4 ½ to 5 years of age. I strongly believe that getting accustomed to learning early is the key to making learning throughout the rest on their lives effortless and an enjoyment. I plan to go into the profession with an open mind and strong will to do good, keeping in mind that it will not be easy. I plan to go in head first mindful of all I will have to encounter and endure to provide a quality education to the students I encounter. In order to achieve my goals of becoming and remaining a successful and quality educator I plan to offer a productive learning environment. I hope and believe that this is essential to provide an effective and productive education. Its common sense to know that in schools and classrooms that are productive learning environments, students feel safe, both physically and emotionally, and the day-to-day routines, including the values, expectations, learning experiences, and both spoken and unspoken rules and conventions are all designed to help students learn as much as possible. I know from experience that the structured routine set forth in my classroom provides my students with a sense of security of know what is coming next. I stand strong in knowing that I am the kind of person willing and able to enter a profession subject to all kinds of pressures, criticisms, and calls for change. I am secure in knowing that I can be comfortable being responsible for the education of students in my classroom. I know that in addition to that I have a responsibility to gain a voice in whatever decisions are made that affect the school as a social-education organization. To be productive in today’s schools, as in many other workplaces, teachers need collaboration and negotiation skills and the ability to communicate unorthodox views in inoffensive ways. Being knowledgeable and well informed also assists teachers in their professional negotiations. There are a combined group of reasons as to why one chooses teaching as a career however there is only one bottom line issue, and that is if you have a love for education children and their and your own future. They are the future leaders of tomorrow.