Characteristics of a Caring Teacher

           When it comes to being a caring teacher, the first thing I think about is putting the students first. I plan on doing this in many ways. I know that I will believe in all of my students because as long as I have faith in them they will be able to believe in themselves. Knowing someone believes in you and has faith that you can accomplish something always makes it easier to succeed in the long run. I also plan on treating all of my students with respect and to listen to them because I know that if I do not give them respect, I will not get any respect in return. Also, I plan on attending my students extra-curricular activities because I knew, as an athlete in high school, it really meant a lot to me because it showed me that they supported me in more than just academics and in their class room. I feel as if this helped me to make a closer relationship with my teachers because they knew me as more than just the girl in their third period class. I plan on attending a lot of my students activities because I know how that made me feel about my teachers and I just want them to know that I support them. I feel that if the students know that you listen to, support, and respect them it will allow them to give you the same thing in return.

            Another one of the key concepts of a caring teacher is that they should be work oriented. When I become a teacher I plan to devote everything to my job. I feel as if the student come to class ready and prepared, so should I. It would be completely unfair if I would show up to class not having any idea what I was teaching for the day or how long it would take. Every teacher should use their class time wisely and have a specific lesson plan ready ahead of time that way nothing is rushed or misunderstood. I also feel that every teacher should be willing to work outside of the classroom. For example, attending and volunteering to work at after school activities, grading papers outside of the classroom, and making lesson plans ahead of time. These few things can show how much you care about your teaching job and your students. I plan to be trusted by my teaching staff and my students that I will always put my students and work first.

            When I become a teacher I hope to be very active and engage my students in their education so that they are able to enjoy coming to my class every day.  I feel as if this is extremely important because if your students look forward to interacting with you in your class, it will make them want to learning and give you their attention. If I know what I am talking about more than likely the students will listen especially if I let them interact with what we are learning about. It could be simple this as randomly having class outside or having a guest speaker or even having an experiment so the student never know what to expect each day. I want to be able to provide assignments that the students actually look forward to doing instead of dreading them. With some of the teachers today, they seem to stick straight to the book and do not let their students physically or emotional experiment with the topics. I want to be able to relate my teachings and knowledge to the students’ daily lives. The main thing I want my student to know is that I want them to be the best they can be and that I am willing and will push them to reach their goals and dreams. I had many teachers like that throughout my life and they made me into the woman I am today. I want my students to be able to say that I helped them reach their goals and succeed.

Influential People

           While growing up I had many influential people in my life. Other than my family members the people that stand out the most were my teachers. Every one of them, from my Pre-School teachers at St. James Catholic School to my professors here at Mount Union College, have impacted my life in some way.  Some of them impacted me through the curriculum they taught me, others through their personality and enthusiasm to teach, and a few by their willingness to push me to succeed and strive for to be the best.  All of these teachers have influenced my decision of wanting to become a teacher in their own individual ways and I hope when I further my career I will be able to be just like them.

Having wonderful teachers like I did throughout my elementary, middle, and high school years made me realize that teaching would be something I was really interested in.  As a young child I attended a private catholic school, St. James, from Pre-School to the Sixth Grade. While attending St. James I had formed very close bonds with all of the teachers there because there was only a maximum of twenty students in each classroom and grade. With this happening it gave the teacher plenty of time to get to know her students beyond the classroom. With these teachers being able to know everything about me made me feel more comfortable around them and made me look up to the teachers even more because they cared about my activities outside of school, even though I was so young. As a child I always wanted to be at school because I loved all of my teachers, which is why I had perfect attendance all throughout school until my freshman year of high school. They showed me that caring about each and every one of your students makes them want to come to school every day because they know that someone is at school wanting to see them and wanting to teach them more about the life around them. I want to be able to bring this mentality to all of my students when I become a teacher. I want them to know that I will care about every one of them and be willing to do anything to help to succeed. I wanted to be just like all my teachers.  In high school I had many teachers similar to the ones I had in elementary school. Many of my teachers in high school pushed me to achieve not just in school and sports but in everything. They taught me that nothing was impossible and that I could do anything I set my mind to. With all of them pushing me to do my best I believe they helped form me into part of who I am today. If it were not for them being there every day to help me succeed I do not believe I would have excelled in school and sports as much as I did. Also, in high school, many of my teachers were energetic about teaching which made everything about their classes so much easier. The teachers like this also helped make my decision about teaching because I could tell that they loved everything about their job and did not mind coming in every day and being around children. They were willing to step outside of class and do anything you needed them to do, write a recommendation letter, talk about your day, or just acknowledge you as you walk down the hall. These kinds of teachers made me realize that I would be interested in teaching because they showed their love for the job and nothing ever made them not want to come to school in the morning.

          As you can tell, the teachers I have had growing up have had a big influence on why I am interested in becoming a teacher for the rest of my life. I feel as if teacher can have the biggest impact on children of all ages. I figured teaching would be good for me because I want to be there for children and love working with people. I love the interaction and knowing that I am able to teach them something.  I want to be the kind of teacher like I had, pushing my students to be the best they can be, but also having them enjoys themselves as they succeed. I want the students to be able to look up to me and say that maybe one day they want to be like me and do the things I do. I can see myself being a kind of pushy teacher just because I would want the best for my students. I also see myself being a fun and interactive teacher. I do not want to be the teacher no student wants to have because my class is boring and they get nothing out of it. I want to be able to do for my students what my former teacher have done for me. I want to be able to see their faces light up once they learn and understand something. I want to be able to feel satisfied and accomplished after seeing all my students excel in everything they do.

The Case for Special Education Vouchers

            In the journal titled “The Case for Special Education Vouchers” by Stuart Buck and Jay P. Greene informs of how many special education students parents are able to have the student’s education paid for by the school only if the parents of that student ask the school. It informs us of how all students, no matter what their needs are should have the exact same opportunity to learn and be educated as all other students. In the article it states the special education voucher laws which consist of the four key provisions, every child, no matter how disabled, has a right to a free and appropriate education no matter what the setting, an Individualized Education Plan must be designed for each child in consultation with his or her parents, the child should be educated in the “least restrictive environment”, and the parents can object to the educational provisions for their child by requesting a “due process” hearing with an independent hearing officer, whose decisions can be appealed to the courts. These laws show how education should be equally available to all and any students.

            When analyzing this journal, I agree that every child, no matter what his or her disabilities, should have an equal opportunity to be educated. Every child, no matter what, has the right to learn and further their education. I do believe that students who have special needs should have the opportunity to get the help that they need, such as help from an Individualized Education Plan or even a tutor as long as it approved by the parents and the parents address the situation with the school. One thing that I do not agree with in the journal was how the special education students are able to get an education for free but all other students parents have to pay. To me only having some of the students pay, somewhat contradicts the idea of every student have an equal opportunity to receive an education. Other than that one disagreement, I think the journal is right and every child no matter what disabilities they may have should be able to receive an education.

Literacy Night at Alliance Early Learning Center

      When first being asked to help out at the Alliance Early Learning Center's Literacy Night, I thought it was going to deal with reading with the students and sharing different stories and activities with the students and their parents. Once I had arrived at the learning center I realized that the event had nothing to do with reading. The event was a way for parents and students to get involved and work together on different activities. At the Literacy Night there were three activities that the students and parents did. They had three stations, a noodle dying station, a play-dough making station, and a silly putty station. It was very nice being able to see how excited the students were to work together with their parents. All the students made their parents stick their hands in the putty and play-dough because they loved the reaction of the parents. I really enjoyed the Literacy Night because I got the chance to meet some of the students that I am observings parents and I got to see some of the students outside of school and business attire. I feel as though the students felt special while introducing me to their parents because they all made it a point to make sure their parents knew that I was the "helper" in the classroom. Overall, I thought this was a great experience.

Limits In The Classroom

In the article, “Setting Behavior Limits in the Classroom”, by Karen Plumley, she shares how effective, important, and beneficial it is to have a set of classroom rules that are able to be followed and are visible to all the students, especially for students with disabilities. Karen states how it is extremely important to have rules that are able to be visually seen by the students and how important it is to go over the rules with the students. This is important because you will be able to refer back to the rules when children are misbehaving and it makes the rules known to the students. She states that teachers should also leave some sort of leeway so if for any reason they need to change or revise the rules they are able too. Karen also discusses the importance of teaching and giving students examples of how they should behave in public places and at home. In doing this she believes that teachers should correct the student’s manners and behaviors and show them what they should have done. Karen Plumley’s article shows how having rules and limits in the classroom will help the classroom run more smoothly.

            I feel as if Karen Plumley’s points are very true because a teacher will not have any control over his or her classroom if the students have no set rules to follow. The room would be absolute chaos and the students would have no respect for the teacher or anything else in the classroom. She does a great job of supporting her key point because she gives examples and ways to solve these problems throughout the article and gives details that are very helpful. Another thing I found interesting was that throughout the article she provide helpful suggestions and advice to help maintain a controlled and organized classroom setting. For example, she shared why it was important to have rules for the classroom and students and also how to handle a situation when a student is not using manners of behaving correctly. I feel as though these small suggestions could be extremely helpful for a beginning teacher.

            After reading “Setting Behavior Limits in the Classroom”, I felt as though I was able to relate to a lot of what Karen Plumley was talking about. I remember many times in high school, middle school, and elementary school where teachers would have no idea how to handle some of the problems in the classroom and times when there was absolutely no control over the students. When I was in fifth grade my teacher had no rules in the classroom and every student did what they could to push her buttons. It was an awful experience because my class that year ended up going through three teachers. When you experience something like that it helped me realize the importance of having rules and being able to handle your students.  If the students respect you and you respect them, it is more likely that they will appreciate you as a teacher and listen and follow what you tell them to do.  Like I had stated before, I learned how important it is to have classroom management. It is beneficial for the students and for the teacher. I feel that the better classroom management you have the smoother the days in the classroom will run. This information will benefit me because I now have an idea of some of the things and behaviors that could, in the future, come about in my own classroom. After reading this I now have a better understanding of how to handle and prevent some situations.

Is Middle School Really Necessary?

    In the article, Is Middle School Bad For Kids?, it shares how many middle schools are starting to be combined with the elementary schools making the elementary schools kindergarten through eighth grade. Officials believe that in doing this it will help students stay focused on academics more as they grow older. Also, with students staying in the same school for a longer period of time they will be more comfortable and know the teachers and other students on a more personal basis instead of jumping into high school not know anyone or any of the teacher. They would have the one-on-one relationship with the teachers for a longer time and keep out of trouble in the kindergarten through eighth grade schools. Officials believe that this is what is best for the students and many school districts have already begun to remove middle schools.

     When reading this article, I believed that the authors did very well with supporting their positions. Before I had even read the article I had looked at the title and was surprised because I immediately thought that there was no way that middle school could be bad for kids. After reading the article I had realized that the authors had very unique facts that I had never thought of, such as when a student would move from an elementary to middle school would be when they were going through puberty and they would more than likely be overwhelmed and nervous with all the changes going on with themselves and the new school. Also, the authors had changed my mind completely about getting rid of middle schools because there statistics about how many incidents had to be reported to the police in middle school compared to elementary schools, the differences in proficiency levels in reading, math, and science, and how parents do not like moving their children around to different schools. With the authors having facts and statistics made many of the key points stand out to me and the article has changed my mind personally because now I feel that we could do without separate middles school buildings to increase the academic standings of all students in grades kindergarten through eighth.

     I feel as if this article, Is Middle School Bad For Kids?, connected to education in many ways. It is important as teachers to make sure that you know your students on a personal level and have a strong relationship with them so they are able to trust you and confide in you for help. With having the kindergarten through eighth grade elementary schools it would make it easier for students and teachers to develop that relationship and bond. I attended a private elementary school that was grades kindergarten through sixth and I had a rough time with the transition to middle school because I had never changed classrooms for classes, I had never been in a class that had more than fifteen students, and I was not used to all of the teachers in the building not knowing me. With having this experience I was able to relate to how beneficial and easier the step from elementary to middle school would have been if it was combined together. Something that I had not realized before reading this article was some of the problems that the middle school students face, such as, puberty, violence, bullying, relationships, and crimes that take place at that age level causing the students to act the ways they do. This article could be beneficial to many teachers of all ages because it will bring the daily struggles that students go through to their attention so they will be more aware of the situations and why their own students may be acting and responding to certain things.

Are social skills important when it comes to learning?

        When beginning my research for my Critical Inquiry Portfolio for my Intro to Early Childhood class I found an article that was very informative about social skills of young children. The article I chose is, “Why Social Skills Are Key to Learning” by Ellen Booth Church (Church, 2010). This article was very clear and beneficial to both teachers and parents. Church explains how The Four C’s, confidence, cooperation, curiosity, and communication, are the first basic skills that a young child must learn (Church, 2010). Another topic discussed in the article is what parents are able to do to make sure that their children are becoming socially developed and how important it is for the young children to interact with each other through play. Church focuses on how at the beginning of school academics are the main focus of the teachers, a variety of skills are what is most important.

            In Church’s article, one of the main things that stood out to me was that Studies show that the most important skills to learn in the beginning of the year are social: cooperation, self-control, confidence, independence, curiosity, empathy, and communication (Church, 2010). I felt that this was very important because these social skills are key characteristics for a young child’s development. Without these social skills a child may feel left out and insecure about themselves because they are unable to interact with other students. At the beginning of school the students start out learning social skills in early childhood education because if they are unable to interact, listen, sit still, and take turns there is no way that the students will be able to be educated (Church, 2010). With that being said many parents worry that their child is not getting educated because they come home from school saying they did nothing but played all day. In reality, that is one of the best things a young child could do because developing themselves so they are able to be educated. It is extremely normal for early childhood programs and schools to slowly introduce academics as the school year goes on, this is not just happening in one or two schools (Church, 2010). These social skills have a key role in a child’s education and have an effect on a students learning.

            Another main point that I found interesting was Church’s First Basic Skills: The Four C’s, which are ways that parents can support their child’s social skill development at home (Church, 2010). The Four C’s consist of confidence, cooperation, curiosity, and communication and each of these are very important social skills that need to be developed in every student (Church, 2010). I feel this is important because if every parent would take the initiative to stress these characteristics a child’s social skills could change dramatically. That little bit of extra motivation, that one little compliment, or letting the child express his or her own idea could have a dramatic impact on a child’s confidence, cooperation, curiosity, and communication skills. Like I had stated before, these little things a parent can do could help encourage and develop their child in a variety of different ways. That little support can make a huge impact and I do not think that many parents realize that in today’s society.

            One topic that caught my eye was a section that talked about what parents are able to do to help with their child’s development and learning. This section really focused on how to make sure your child is involved and has friends at school. One point the Church stated was that it is often easier for children to make friends in their own space, one-on-one, than in school (Church, 2010). I feel that this would be extremely useful as a parent especially with younger children because many parents feel as though it is a nuisance to have their child’s friends come over to play when really it is helping them develop socially and make friends. I feel that these things that have an impact on social development are often over looked because they seem little and unimportant when really they could impact a child for the better in many ways.

            Lastly, in relation to the last topic, Church discusses the importance of play for young children. Many people do not understand how play helps a child grow, learn, and investigate the world through complex activities and that it invites the child to think, problem-solve, and participate in fantasy (Church, 2010). All these concepts of play help a child develop and form their own unique personalities. Many people do not realize how many strategies are used when a child plays, whether it is at school, in their backyard, or at the babysitters. I know that this is very key for the development of the students because in the classroom that I am observing in, the teacher takes out around an hour of the day to let the student do “centers”. Centers are a variety of different activities and games such as puzzles, a sand box, writing, reading, computers, housekeeping, and a science center. These centers let the students use their imagination and also interact with other students. I feel as though this play time is very important for the students because it is a time when they can relax and just let go because they know that they are not getting graded by the teacher on how well they perform but by if they are participating in some sort of play or activity.

            Overall, I felt as though this article was very informative and shared a lot of important details about how young children develop socially and how parents and teachers are able to help with the process. The article brought up many key points that today’s society tends to push to the side, like the importance of play and parent involvement in education. I would like to sum everything up with one of Church’s statements, “The experiences your child receives in the beginning of the year provide the foundation that will enable her to become an enthusiastic lifelong learner…enthusiastic because she has discovered that learning is fun as well as meaningful” (Church, 2010).