Monday, March 14, 2011

Blog Post #9

What I've Learned This Year by Mr. McClung
cartoon of first year teacher with a crazy classroom

This is a post done in 2009 by a teacher finishing up his first year teaching, Mr. McClung. Mr. McClung shares with us his experiences, his do's and don't, and helpful tips he's picked up along the way. He begins by telling teachers or future educators that we must learn how to read our crowd. He describes how concerned he was with his presentations that he wasn't focusing on what his students were learning and understanding. He also warns teachers to be flexible, that there's no such thing as a perfect lesson and not to be upset if things don't go as planned. Mr. McClung points out the importance of communication with other teachers and parents. He says "Communication is the best medicine" and it is the way to build rapport with other educators. In this writing he also tells us to be reasonable about our expectations of students and listen to what they have to say. He warns us that they are not perfect, and neither are we. He describes that technology is important in the classroom and not to shy away from it. Lastly, and maybe most importantly, Mr. McClung tells us to never stop learning. We need to be examples for our students and have a passion for new information and experiences.
As a future teacher, I am grateful to read blogs of educators like Mr. McClung. He gives such good advice to upcoming educators! I love seeing teachers share there knowledge and experiences with us. It's amazing the benefits of technology and blogging. The upcoming generation of teachers has access to opinions and lessons from other teachers at the click of a button. By writing posts like this, teacher's like Mr. McClung give us a ton of insight on what to expect when we have a classroom of our own. I plan on following his blog and several other teachers' blogs for advice when I start my career. So thank you for sharing Mr. McClung, it was extremely helpful!

3 comments:

  1. This hysterical cartoon speaks volumes! Not a single "classroom management" class you'll ever take will prepare you for the realities of a real classroom and real students, I guarantee you!

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  2. I thought that Mr. McClung's post was very useful as well. It's amazing how focused we can get on our objectives and fail to see the answers that are right in front of us, but Mr. McClung addresses the mistakes that we can all make easily if we don't keep our eyes wide open and our perspectives while we're at it.

    We can't stop learning just because we're teachers, and we aren't perfect at our jobs despite out qualifications. Each teacher has to be willing to continue with his or her own education in order to be the best he or she can be. It isn't an easy task, but it is necessary.

    You did a good job of highlighting Mr. McClung's points. I enjoyed reading your assessment. And I love the cartoon!

    Bailey

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  3. You are welcome. I am glad you found it useful. As you will see this week he is an even better teacher in Year 3!

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