Blog Post #9 (Out of Order)

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

I really enjoyed reading this post, and I agree with everything Mr. McClung wrote about. The first two things he talked about were about having a plan that is centered around the student and being able to be flexible with some things. These are two things that I have had to learn how to do for campers, which take the place of the students in my scenario. The past two summers I have volunteered as a camp counselor at Camp M.A.S.H., which is a camp for children with juvenile arthritis. The director of the camp would always tell us that we needed to "check ourselves at the door" and be flexible. That week wasn't about us and how tired we got, instead it was about the children and what we could do to make that week the best week they could have. We also had to be flexible, because not everything goes as planned during a week-long summer camp, especially when you add in the fact that every camper has a medical condition. I think this also applies to what he mentioned about having lesson plans that are student centered and driven by the audience.

My favorite thing about his post was when he said, "Our job as teachers is to simply pick them up after they fail, dust them off, and encourage them to try again." I think this is so true. We aren't only teaching the students about the different subjects. We are also teaching them about life and how to be future members of our society, and, like it or not, failing is a part of life. He also says that we shouldn't be afraid of technology. I think that people who are "scared" of technology are more scared of change or the unknown. The people who are scared because of the change really need to understand that things are going to change with or without them, and the best way to deal with it is to change as well, if it is for the better. For the people who are scared of the unknown, it is a lot less scary if you just go ahead and learn what the technology is and how to use it. Once they do, they will realize that there was nothing to be scared about.

I think teachers should take his advice to listen to and take interest in the student. This is so important, because I believe that if we are genuinely interested in listening to what our students have to say, then they will be more willing to listen to what we have to say. Honestly, doesn't seem like this is something that is very hard at all. A lot of what students have to say is very interesting. You may hear opinions or ways of seeing things that you might never have if it wasn't for the students who weren't afraid of having and voicing their opinions and views, because they knew that you were genuinely interested in what they had to say. The last thing Mr. McClung talks about is that teachers should never stop learning. I fully believe this statement. I think that once teachers stop being willing to accept new ideas and learn about ways to improve the way they teach, they stop being the best teacher they can be. Through this blog, Mr. McClung has not only shared what he has learned, he has also shown us that a good teacher doesn't stop learning. He learned that there were better ways of doing things than the way he was doing them, and he wasn't afraid to change. After reading his post, I believe that Mr. McClung is a good teacher. He has lived as a teacher for the past year, learned about how to be a good teacher over the past year, and is now passing on the knowledge to all of us, so we can be good teachers in the future.