My biggest belief in teaching is that students need achievable, but also challenging goals. As a person who was (and still is) driven by reaching goals, I believe that goals are very important for growth. Setting achievable goals not only helps to challenge the students but it will also make the activities more engaging. If goals are too easy and something that students already know how to do, it can be boring and create a false sense of confidence that discourages students from trying things they may fail at first. On the other hand, when goals are set too high…
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One of the biggest characteristics that the village project has made evident is that teachers have to be lifelong learners. A teacher will not be effective if they remain stuck in one spot or one belief. As the methods of education are continuously changing, and technology becomes more important to teaching, we must be able to accept and adapt to this in order to learn how and when to use these tools. This remains as my number one takeaway because throughout the second semester I saw how much I could learn from the kids. They have helped me be more…
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One of the biggest characteristics that the village project has made evident is that teachers have to be lifelong learners. A teacher will not be effective if they remain stuck in one spot or one belief. As the methods of education are continuously changing, and technology becomes more important to teaching, we must be able to accept and adapt to this in order to learn how and when to use these tools. Furthermore, being able to show that you are learning with the kids and not just telling them what to do can make you more approachable. Body language and…
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My biggest belief in teaching is to treat students fair but not equally. Students in a classroom are all at varying levels of skills and it is important to be able to cater to all students, not just some. If students are treated equally it does nothing to help students who are at a disadvantage or challenge those who are above the standard. Treating students equally only helps those who are in the middle of the group or at the expected level for a “normal” student. One thing that I have seen very prevalent during my village project experience is…
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As an educator it is important to advocate for the students and community. We must take responsibility and leadership both within our classroom and outside of our classroom. Sometimes it can be hard to stand up against administration and social norms but that doesn’t necessarily mean that what we are doing is for the common good. Living in a world that is changing so rapidly and where decisions made for schools are often by people who don’t understand what is going on in the classroom. That being said, it is important to advocate for both your needs and the needs…
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I am excited to become a teacher because I am excited to be able to teach something that I am passionate about and hopefully be a good part of someone’s day. In my teacher interview, one of my teachers made a point that when you are excited about something it is hard for others not to be excited too. This has stuck with me and is something that I hope to demonstrate while teaching. Science is something that I have always been interested in and I am excited to be able to teach it to others and share my enthusiasm…
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After doing a teacher interview, and having background from previously talking to teachers I have found it to be most impactful when students can tell that the teachers care. Impactful teachers need to demonstrate to students their passion for both the content and the students as people. For starters, when a teacher is enthusiastic and excited about a lesson and teaching it is more inviting and makes it easier for a student to want to learn. Furthermore, when kids see that even the teacher is bored by what they are learning, they are much less likely to want to engage…
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Although this project seemed very tedious and frustrating at first, however, once it is complete it holds many important values. One of the biggest lessons that I took away from this project is that there is not only disparity between different school districts but also the disparity between schools within a district. It has also been useful in giving us practice on researching what may seem like important factors in school which could help us in the future. Our school district was the Madison Metropolitan School District which covers a fairly diverse area. With a larger area such as Madison,…
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One of my biggest takeaways from the EdTalks is that we can’t assume anything about our students. It is quite easy to think that teaching is a perfect world where all students are equal, they all want to be there, or they all have the same resources. But the reality is that many of the students we teach are far from what we want to believe. We often say that all students are equal and should be treated the same. However, each student has different needs; therefore, students shouldn’t be treated equally but they should be treated fairly. It is…
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Introduction After taking a closer look at the history of education, I specifically took note of a few dates that represented the evolution of the education system. We have talked a lot about how teachers need the ability to adapt to different situations and events in their classroom. However, not only do teachers need to adapt and respond to students who are constantly changing, but the school and system as a whole need to adapt to the ever changing society. With that thought, as I looked through the educational timeline from the 1600’s to the 1900’s I took note of…