Archive for December, 2011
Posted by teacher on
December 29, 2011
I have not always wanted to be a teacher. I knew that I wanted to be able to help people and make a difference, and this was the factor that made me originally go into the nursing field. I soon realized that this was not making me completely happy, and quickly found what would make me happy, becoming a teacher. There are so many reasons that I chose this as a profession. It is hard to think of just one particular reason I want to be a teacher there are so many it would be impossible to narrow it down. Being a teacher is very rewarding profession because you are constantly learning something new. Not only do you learn from technological advancements and co-workers but from the students as well. The main reasons that made me pick this profession would have to be the multiple ways it is rewarding and it gives me the opportunity to make areal difference in someone’s life.
When you become a teacher you are not only responsible for educating your students, it comes with more responsibility then that. You are now a role model for these students and their community. Students are with teachers eight hours of their day and sometimes consider their teachers as second parents. Being held to this standard you have now become a role model.
Being a good role model means to respect, love, instruct and guide students as they grow older. As a teacher I want to teach my students more than just the educational side of growing up. I want to teach them how to establish good relationships, guide their behavior, and how to communicate effectively because these are all lessons that are necessary to becoming a well rounded person.Schools and teacher are vital to our communities.
Posted by teacher on
December 28, 2011
Parents, obviously, can teach and bring up the children well and be very important teachers in children’s lives. They show their children the first lessons such as how to crawl, stand and speak. Parents; however, are not always the best teachers.
Firstly, parents, undoubtedly, give birth and take care of children for the whole time. Therefore, parents are the ones who understand children most. The closer parents and children are, the easier parents can educate their children. They know children’s strong points and weak points. From this, they can orient the suitable way to teach their children. But in reality, they seem not to be the best teachers. There are some parents actually don’t understand their children much because the have a bit time to be close to children. For example, it takes them to be on business trip and do not care anything about their children.
In addition, parents sometimes do not pay attention to their children’s desire. Parents seem to separate their children from their mind. For instance, if parents love art, they may try to force the children to love art, too. But what if their children’s true interest is art? Thus, parents and children have some difficulties in solving problems. It’s difficult for parents to become the best teachers.
Posted by teacher on
December 27, 2011
1) Teachers are usually in the best position to identify kids who later turn out to be violent. I have had numerous teachers tell me ” I knew Johnny was aggressive since he started preschool at the age of three.” As you are probably aware, good teachers often have a second sense about their students. These kids are usually the ones slapping other children and teachers and throwing temper tantrums in the classroom at an early age. You might even be astonished by the changes in a child’s behavior: cold calculating and aggressive behavior towards others one day and then the next day, they are sweet as can be. It can be exasperating. What can you do?
2) Request that your school have in-service programs for teachers specifically for the purpose of identifying the symptoms of at-risk children. Kids may act in ways that we don’t expect. For example, many times boys who are depressed will act aggressively by yelling, bullying etc. If you see a child with signs of aggressiveness or one that holds everything in and then blows, talk to the parents or school staff about referring the child to the school psychologist or for a psychiatric evaluation.
3) Teach critical thinking skills: they can prevent violence. There has been research showing that youthful impulsiveness may be linked to younger teenagers’ frenetic brain activity in the amygdala, which is primarily linked with emotions and instinctual reactions. Older teens and adults show more activity in the frontal lobe–the brain tissue involve in planning, insight and organization. Teachers can encourage young teen-agers (and younger) to develop the frontal lobe by teaching them to think more rationally (Yergelun-Todd, 1998). This may translate into integrating more critical thinking skills into school curriculums to teach kids more logical ways to solve problems. Paradoxically, school curricula aimed at helping teens get in touch with their emotions may actually make things worse–given the emotional makeup of many troubled teens–while programs that substitute rational thought for emotion may help them deal with their problems constructively. Star Trek’s “Mr. Spock” turns out to be right: cool logic is the enemy of hotheaded violence.
4) Set a good example. Use your clout as a teacher to call into question administrative rules in your school that might be leading to misbehavior. These regulations may start out with good intentions, but often create other problems. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is one good example. Many kids with behavioral problems are in special education classes. As you know, because of this, there are restrictions on how many days they can be expelled from school even for very serious and violent acts. Meanwhile, the kid in regular education is expelled for misbehavior of a less serious nature. Zero Tolerance works the same way: Kids who are no threat are often expelled from school for bringing a butter knife or model rocketship–getting the same consequences as the kid found with a gun. What is this teaching children about adults’ abilities to think critically? Administrators who cannot distinguish between right and wrong teach children that all acts of misbehavior are identical. This sends the message that you might as well commit a serious crime because you’ll get the same punishment. Vocalize these concerns to school administrators or even to your legislators. On a smaller scale, provide students in your classroom with consequences that are comenserate with the misbehavior displayed. Allow your students to see you performing critical thinking in action.
5) If your school does not already have a violence prevention program, talk with administrators about putting one in place. Education is the key in helping students to identify other potentially dangerous students. Several recent school tragedies have been averted by other students telling school officials that someone has a weapon. Get to know your students and establish a trust with them. You might just be the one they turn to if they or their friend is thinking of violence.
Posted by teacher on
December 26, 2011
1. Teachers know all the answers.
2. Teachers have to be in control of the class.
3. Teachers are responsible for the learning.
4. Students are obliged to respect teachers.
5. Learning can be measured by a letter or a number.
6. Teachers should plan activities and then assessments.
7. Learners need to sit quietly and listen.
8. Technology integration is optional.
9. Worksheets support learning.
10. Homework is an essential part of learning.
Posted by teacher on
December 23, 2011
A teacher is a person who helps the learners to the right
way, who is the guide for learners.
Five qualities of a teacher:
1. Attractive personality
2. Having immence knowledge about the subject
3. Helpfull
4. Social
5. Enthusiastic
Posted by teacher on
December 21, 2011
1. Establish an in-school PLN
Create a ‘personal learning network’. Connect with other teachers/learners at your school and share ideas, bounce off each other, listen to each other, criticise each other, learn together.
2. Interact with someone who thinks differently than you do
Work closely with someone who doesn’t always think like you. Listen to their perspective. Share yours. Provoke each other. Argue. Defend your opinion. Compromise. Don’t compromise. Learn from each other.
3. Listen to TED talks
Keep up to date with TED talks. There are some incredible, inspirational thinkers and presenters on TED. Watch the ones that are not about education to broaden your learning and thinking. Consider how you might be able to apply the ideas in education.
4. Make global connections
Learn about other people, other schools, other cultures. Connect with them online. Be a learner first. Then make global connections for your students too.
5. Join Twitter
Find someone to help you get started (I will, if you like). Follow topics, not just people. Participate. Ask for help and offer help. Be patient, it takes time to build an online network.
6. Create your own opportunities
Be a risk taker. Start a focus group. Participate in online conferences. Explore new ideas. Experiment with new tools. Initiate something new in your school. Do something that’s not in your job description.
7. Subscribe to blogs
Set up an RSS feed for educational blogs you find interesting. Or start by subscribing via email. Ask for recommendations. Comment on blogs you read and get involved in conversations.
8. Write your own blog
Seriously, anyone can do it. It’s great for reflection and helps synthesize and clarify your thoughts. It’s not about the readers as much as the process.
9. Work in an IB school
Teaching through the PYP makes you think. It challenges the way you do things. You shift from facts and topics to conceptual ideas. You plan collaboratively across disciplines. You become an inquirer.
10. Be part of a learning community.
Or three. Learn from and with your students. Learn from and with your colleagues. Learn from and with other educators online.
Posted by teacher on
December 19, 2011
1. Computer is a part and parcel in our daily life
2. Computer is an indispensable tool (It is not perfect of course, but it hardly makes mistakes)
3. It is now used in many aspects, especially education.
4. Students use computers to do their research and make a perfect paper
5. Students often find educational computer programmes more stimulating than other forms of teaching.
6. However computers cannot replace teachers.
7. Students may play games while using computers
8. Teachers know who pay attention to his lessons or not, who do badly and well in their studies.
9. By giving their experience, teachers show students how to study effectively ( studying method)
10. Students can ask teachers if there’s something they don’t understand
11. Teachers can tell jokes (/ teach students some songs/ hold some classroom games)
12. Teachers stimulate student’s curiosity and creativity by giving questions and instruct them to the answers
13. Teachers may broaden student’s worldview.
Posted by teacher on
December 14, 2011
1. Respect your students.
Don’t talk down to students. Model mutual respect. Don’t have double standards. Give what you’d like to get back. Know every child’s story and treat each as an individual. Cater for different learning preferences, strengths and weaknesses.
2. Have a class agreement, not top-down rules.
Ask what helps them learn and what hinders learning. Use that as a basis for establishing an essential agreement as to how the class will run and what behaviours will be evident. Have everyone sign it. Put it up on the wall. Refer to it constantly.
3. Be part of the learning community.
Don’t be the boss of learning. Encourage kids to take ownership of their learning. Be an inquirer too. Don’t pretend to know all the answers. Learn with and from your students. Divide your groups in a variety of random ways, so that everyone learns to work with different people.
4. Acknowledge their physical needs.
Allow students to drink water and even to eat if they hungry. Don’t try and control when they go to the toilet. (If your classes are engaging, they will only go when they need to.) Provide opportunities for standing up and moving around during learning.
5. Be fair and reasonable.
Don’t show favoritism. Expect everyone to stick to the agreement. Don’t allow put-downs between students. Accept legitimate excuses and even some that might not be. If the homework comes a day late because they had something else to do, it’s not the end of the world.
6. Have a sense of humour.
Laugh with your students but never at them. Laugh at yourself. Show firm disapproval if they laugh at each other. Don’t take school too seriously. Take learning seriously. But make learning fun too.
7. Provide a secure learning space.
Provide opportunities for risk-taking in learning. Create a safe environment where learners don’t fear failure. Be supportive of creative thinking and new ways of doing things. Make very student feel validated.
8. Be sincere.
Talk to students in a normal tone, irrespective of their age. Students see through adults who aren’t sincere very quickly. Don’t pretend. Say what you mean. Mean what you say. Show that you care… but only if you do. (If you don’t, why are you a teacher?)
9. Be human.
Acknowledge when you’re in the wrong. Apologise when you make a mistake. Admit you’re impatient because you’re tired today.
10. Lets Go.
Don’t be in charge of every situation. Ask yourself ’Is it important?‘ before you react. Don’t make all the decisions. Provide opportunities for choice. Show that you value initiative above compliance.
Posted by teacher on
December 9, 2011
A child has a distributed time for school and home thus he is distributed amongst parents and teachers. We can say that parents and teachers play a very important role in shaping child’s future. Education is basically a process that leads to mental and psychological growth of a child. Apart from leaning the academics a child learns various other things like team work, table manners, sharing, unity, teamwork. A school is a form of institute for a child; some say parents are the first teacher for the child however I feel teachers are the second parents for children. Since kindergarten a child is handed over to the teachers and teachers nourish him and bestow him with the love support and good habits.
Parents on the other hand are responsible for the overall development of the child; they play a very important role in the socializing process of the child. Right from the bed time stories to the behavioral habits parents play a very important role in making a child a responsible citizen. A successful teacher always has a keen ear on parents. Such teacher normally asks the parents about the behavior of the child, his habits and activities and behaves accordingly to him; she is responsible for his growth and development and thus tries to bring out the best in him. She is always alert with the cultures and family values of the child and thus tries not commenting or passing any judgment on the parenting styles. She thinks widely and makes sure that at any moment she may not hurt the mind of the child. Communication is best medium to solve problems. A successful teacher is always ardent at talking to the students and solving their problems, she is always approachable by almost every child of the class. Instead of blaming the child for not completing particular thing or being incapable of working on particular project or achieving bad grades she tries to find out the reason behind child’s failure or incompetency.
A successful parent on the other hand always takes the note of the suggestions the teacher has given. Such parents try to interpret on their own the suggestion given by the teachers and inculcate it in the upbringing of the children which in turn result in their growth. Over pamper or temper both results in the under development of the child. Over pamper makes the child over confident that results in the underdevelopment of the child while over temper makes the child under confident which may result in the mental turmoil of the child which also results in the underdevelopment of the child.
Posted by teacher on
December 8, 2011
In several TOK presentations we came into contact with the issue of “multiple intelligence“. This theory, originally proposed by Howard Gardner has been widely recognized and familiarized by the public. Now, it is commonly accepted by many people that different types of intelligence exist: linguistic intelligence, mathematical intelligence, music intelligence and etc. So which of these ‘intelligence’ would be considered to be most important in our lives? Why would certain intelligences be considered as inferior to other intelligences?
Why is that many people would think being good in mathematics is very important? At least I have been told by my parents that being good at mathematics is very important and would help me very much in the future. But why would being intelligent in maths be useful? It has to be taken into consideration that because as humans, we learn and absorb knowledge through different ways of knowing. As a result, because we frequently utilize numbers and mathematics, maths is considered as an important subject.
Therefore, it is commonly generalized that being good at mathematics would help people alot since people absorb so much of our information through numbers. But this generalization only applies to a certain extent as it is not necessarily true in every case. Someone who is extremely advanced in his mathematical intelligence may not be more successful than a person who is only mediocre in maths. This is because usually as mathematics become more advanced, the less applicable it would be in real life.
For instance, do we use decimal multiplication more frequently or calculus in real life? Just because one is better at mathematics, it does not necessarily make him more successful in learning or in life; it merely indicates that he would have more success in using that particular field of knowledge to acquire knowledge. Thus, it has to be taken into consideration that being “overly excellent” in one particular branch of intelligence may not render a person into being more successful.
