Blog Post #9

What I've Learned This Year by Mr. McClung

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!