Teaching Profession -
I firmly believe that teachers do not get the respect they deserve. They work harder in one day then some people with a desk job do all year. Not only are they expected to teach children but to listen to the children, evaluate thousands of situations in an day, act on said situations, be aware of every single thing that is coming out of their mouths, be encouraging, be understanding, be attentive, be assertive, be intriguing and the lists goes on and on and on. People who argue that teaching is not a profession obviously have not spent one day with a teacher. Even after one hour with the teachers during some of my observations I was almost in shock. I realized quickly that teaching is not all crayons and rainbow.
One of the many things that come to mind as an example for this would be during my observation with a third grade class. When I arrived the teacher was bringing the students back from recess. They were all riled up and raring to go. So to calm them down she read a book, which pertained to what they are studying, for 30 minutes straight. Kids were all around the room, quietly listen, whether they were lying on the floor or sitting at their desks’, they hung on her every word. Then as soon as she had their attention and they were calmed down she went straight into small group with them. This transition was so smooth they did not even notice how calmed and attentive they were. They were covering sentence structure and she made sure they were all keeping up and following along. During this visit, since I was just observing I got some intrinsic rewards from learning something new. The children looked so happy and loved listening and learning and that just filled my heart with joy.
Also, now that I am doing my service hours in a Pre-First classroom I am also getting a lot of intrinsic rewards. All of the children want to run up and hug me when I come in and leave the classroom. They all want to talk to me when we are in line, walking to lunch or to recess and I have to remind them to stay on task. It is just so precious. Being in the Pre-First class is when I realized how much teachers are juggling during the day. Not only does this teacher have 19 students, 16 boys, 3 girls, but she had two students with low I.Q. and one student who she believes has a form of autism called Asperger's. When dealing with these special needs students she has to have different work prepared for them or spend one on one time with them so that they can complete the work correctly. Although it is hard work, seeing those kids do something new, and doing it right just seems to make everything worthwhile for the teacher.
Philosophy -
The teacher that I did my service hours with I believe had a mix of the Essentialism and the Progressivism. Obviously since the school I went to was a public school they must follow the state and county guidelines but this teacher mixed in something I never seen before. She had her basic subjects and everything was covered but she allowed the students to move around in an orderly manner from center to center. They were expected to keep themselves calm while changing centers and while doing their work. But they were given the freedom and respect to do so. The teacher showed them that I trust you and expect you to behave but in return you must do your work and respect my time. This shows the slight sign of progressivism. I believe that this style of teaching is something that I would in cooperate into my teaching style. I think that children, no matter what their age, when given expectations and consequences will have respect for their leader, thus, in turn allowing that progressivism to work in the 'normal' classroom setting.
Historical Roots:
I feel like I have two people from our historical presentations that affect my outlook now on teaching. Both are somewhat one the same. One is Sylvia Ashton-Warner and the other is Rafe Esquith. Both of these people had to deal with the lower income and the students who no one thought would ever amount to anything. They took their job seriously and understood what it meant to make a difference in a child’s life. These teachers sacrificed a lot in their own lives to be able to be present in the lives of those children. They also used music and the gift of song to inspire and intrigue their students. These things also helped their students learn things beyond their years. For example, Rafe Esquith students were understanding Shakespeare when some of the world’s most acclaimed critics don't even understand Shakespeare. That is the power of a good teacher. I want to have that power, that love and passion for teaching children. Not only teaching them but firing them up to learn. These people created passion in those little hearts.
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