Great Teachers

            Every student can understand that if they are not encouraged to do well, they most likely will not even try to succeed.  Teachers come into play here as they try their best to motivate students to not only do well in school but to enjoy learning and gaining knowledge.  This is why keeping students motived is one of a teacher’s most important jobs.  To become a successful teacher, it is important to not only know a lot about what they are teaching, but also to have a passion for it so that his or her students may also grow a passion for the subject as well.

            As I did my blog, some tips of keeping students motivated were provided for me such as expecting excellence from your students (Condron).  If students were expected to fail, they would have no reason to try.  They would not have any goals and would just try to do as little as possible to slide by.  Students need to be given opportunities to succeed also.  Students stay motivated if they are pushed to succeed and do well.  Another way to keep students motivated is for a teacher to get to know them on a personal level so that he or she is able to know what the student enjoys learning or how they learn (Simple para. 3).  This will keep most students motivated because of the personal connection with their teacher.  They will want to impress their teacher because their teacher who will expect excellence from them. Creating a passion for students is a very important job as a teacher and they need to learn how to this.  Being able to find these tips and new ideas is a way that a teacher can stay on top of their job, and is able to be a great teacher for his or her students.

            Luckily in this time, getting new techniques is very easy for anyone.  The Internet is always there to share information with anyone who wants it.  Teachers are able to find many different ways and different ideas to keep or get their students motivated.  Along with the Internet, there are also many classes or conventions that teachers can attend.  They receive the help that they need to improve their skills as a teacher so that they can be the best one possible.  Being able to constantly get new information is very important.  Since every student is different and needs a different kind of attention, it is important for teachers to get as much information as possible.  They need to be able to teach any student and keep them motivated to learn and do well in school.

            Doing research on being a teacher has really helped in getting a feel for what its like to be a teacher.  Reading about all the tips and ideas of what it takes to be a great teacher really encourages me to be a great one.  I will continue to do research on the new tips and ideas that come around about being a teacher even when I already become a teacher.  This experience has also helped me to understand how important it is to keep your students motivated as a teacher.  Teaching lazy students who do not want to work would not be enjoyable and even more importantly, students need to stay motivated so that they can learn properly and learn to keep themselves motivated in the future so that they are able to succeed.

            Keeping students motivated is a teacher’s most important job.  Teachers should be able to make their student want to learn and enjoy learning.  They should want to gain knowledge so that they can succeed, and know that to succeed they need to obtain some knowledge.  An important key to keeping students motivated is to know how to do it.  Teachers are able to search the web and go to classes to keep up to date the best ways to get students motivated and they need to take advantage of these opportunities so that they are the best teacher that they can be.

Sources:

Condron, Annie. "12 Ways to Motivate Students." K-12 News, Lessons & Shared Resources By Teachers, For Teachers. K-12 Teachers Alliance, 2012. Web. 9 Oct. 2012.
"Simple But Effective Ways to be A Great Teacher." Squidoo. LLC, 2012. Web. 20 Sept. 2012

Games to Learn

A new way the children are learning is by games on the iPod touch, iPad or iPhone.  People are creating games that create a learning experience for kids.  In the article, "10 First Grade Apps Kids Need," it names the top 10 apps that parents should get for their kids (Munoz).  It includes apps like "Sids Science Fair" which teaches kids about science.  These are interesting and different ways for kids to learn instead of learning from a teacher in the classroom.  Even though these games probably have limits to how much it can actually teach kids, it could get them interested in the subjects.  They could create a passion for the subjects.  I think it is important for kids to learn in the classroom but I also think it doesn't hurt to provide other opportunities for them to learn.  Especially opportunities that they enjoy doing instead of being forced to.
It is good for teachers to know about these different games as well as parents so that they can provide every way possible for students to learn.

Source:
Munoz, Roberta. "10 First Grade Apps Kids Need." Education.com. Education.com, Inc., 2012. Web. 13 Nov. 2012.

A Remix

There are many different forms that someone can produce information to get it out in public.  In my blog I have for the most part only found articles done by teachers but there also could be videos and other ways to get the same informations that actually might be interesting.  Kidsknowit.com is one of those other sources. This site provided different activities for kids to use to learn topics in school.  Using this kind of learning could be just as useful as other ways to some students.  Some students might even learn better this way.
The revision of this website makes a teacher think of different ways to teach their students like in games or other activities.  Teacher could also use the games as a guide to create their own ways of teaching their students.  The arrangement is different kinds of games in different subjects that a kid could click on or play or a teacher to play to find a new understanding of how a child would understand that topic. The invention of this website is producing different ways and ideas to teacher students subjects in school.  The website comes up with different games that can help a student learn.  The delivery is very interesting with all the different pictures and how they provide information in game form for students to learn.  The style is very simple so that kids are able to understand and use the site without a lot of help from their parents.  It is important that kids do some things on their own without help.
The purpose of this site is to help some kids that have difficulty learning in the classroom, a chance to learn in a different way.  It is also a chance for teacher to get new ideas to keep students interested in learning.  This site works very well in a the way it can get kids attention and provide them with different ways to learn.

Source:
The Totally Free Children's Learning Network. Kids Know it Network, 2012. Web. 13 Nov. 2012.

Understand Math

Basic math is important to anyone in their daily life.  It can be used everyday.  To some people, math goes even farther and they must know more about it.  But it is impossible to go deeper into mathematics without knowing the basics.  The article, "Learning Mathematics," stresses the fact that young children need to be taught the basics of math such as adding and subtracting very well (Learning 1).  They need to understand it, or else moving on to more difficult concepts will never work.  Learning all about math takes steps and without a sturdy foundation children will struggle in the future.

Seeing that I would like to be a math teacher eventually, I am going to have to make sure that all my students know all the basics such as adding and subtracting as well as multiplication and division.  I want to teach algebra, so without this basic knowledge, it will be very difficult for me to teach these students.  Basic math is important and without it, students will not be able to succeed in school as they get older.

Sources:

"Learning Mathematics." Education Articles. Education Articles, 2012. Web. 5 November 2012

Importance of Great Teachers

Bill Cosby showed up to Booker T. Washington's Nathan E. Harris Field house late in September to talk to some students about the importance of education.  He spoke about how important teachers and administrators are to every community (Plummer 4).  Teachers have a very important job, not only to teach students but also to make sure students have goals and ambitions.  Teachers need to be motivators to their students, giving them all the tools they need to succeed.
Cosby also talked about how we can not blame the decline of want in eduction in the children, but it is the community around them that is the cause (Plummer 6).  It is not the children themselves that are to blame, but everything that goes on around them.  Their community is a very big influence on all the decisions they make and how they act.  The children of this generation are different from the past but its because of everything that goes on around them.  Children need good teachers that keep them motivated to try hard in school and strive to succeed in whatever they want to do.  With out these types of teachers, eduction will continue to decline in future generations as well.

Sources:
Plummer, Sara. "Bill Cosby Stresses the Importance of Eduction in Speech at Booker T. Washington." Tulsa World. World Publishing Company, 2012. Web. 4 Oct. 2012.

"Teacher Amnesia"

One of the the disadvantages of teaching is the stress it puts on the teachers.  Teachers feel responsible for the progress their students are making.  Joe Brooks, in his article "Don't Get Teacher Amnesia," calls this teacher Amnesia (Brooks para. 2).  Being a teacher can be very stressful and teachers become very hard on themselves.  The article explains how it almost seems like teaching causes someone to age faster than the average person (Brooks para. 2).  Teachers tough task of teaching young kids, is difficult to put on one person.
Teaching can also keep someone very young at heart (Brooks para. 2).  Being around young people all the time, helps people stay in touch with their young side.  Teachers have to stay in touch with their young side in order be a successful teacher.  A good teacher knows what their students are thinking and what they want.  With out thinking like a student they would not be able to get through to their students and would never be a good teacher.

Sources:
Brooks, Joe. "Don't Get Teacher Amnesia." New Teacher Success Begins Here!. LDH Technology. Web. 30 Oct. 2012.

Hands on Experience

I have been wanting to be a teacher since I started high school.  Since I had always wanted this, over the summer I was asked to tudor my cousin in math, the exact subject I want to teach.  This hands on experience is so much different than learning or hearing about it.  I got the chance to experience what it is like to teacher the exact subject and age that I am hoping to teach in the future.  I went through the frustrations that teachers go through everyday, as well as the satisfaction of making a difference in the students life.  Even though this is not exactly what it is like to have a full class of students who most likely do not want to be there, I got a good taste of the teaching experience.  This experience only makes me more excited to one day have my own class of students and help them to learn something new and help them grow as students.

Teachers Must Know

It is always important for a teacher to know what motivates his or her students.  If the students aren't motivated, they will almost accomplish nothing.  Every student is different and will be motivated differently.  Some are motivated by just being told what to do (Warren para. 4).  They simply listen to what the teacher is saying, and do it because they feel obligated to.  Other students must receive some sort of reward (Warren para. 5). Whether it is being able to play sports or the grades they receive from the work they do, some students just need that something extra at the end of all their work to help them stay motivated.  How to motivate his or her is important for a teacher to know.  Without motivation nothing will be accomplished and the students will never learn what they need to.

Source:
Warren, Linda. "What Motivates Children to Learn?" Educational Articles. 2012. Web. 23 Oct. 2012

"Controversy in the Classroom"

One of the biggest controversies in public schools is whether or not to teach religion or how to teach it.  At the same time, religion is very important to learn about since it is very important to the world history along with the United States history.  But with all to controversy, some schools are finding it easier just not to teach it.  One reason is that religion is difficult to teach without any bias (Barton para. 6).  Every teacher has their religion, so trying to every religion without a bias is very difficult.
Another thing is that the parents do not want their children learning about any religions besides their own (Barton para. 10).  They do not want their children's views to be effected by other people besides themselves.  Parents know that their children are young and minds are easily changed since they just accept anything that they are told.  They are scared that their children will be effected by their teachers and what they are say, so they do not even want to take the chance of them learning other religions from anyone but them.
Learning about religion is very important to the worlds history yet there are some risks to it.  This created the controversy.  Parents are worried about their children because it is difficult for teachers to teach religion with any bias.

Source:
Barton, Keith and Jennifer James. "Religion in History and Social Studies." American Historical Association, 2006. Web. 18 Oct. 2012. 

Impact

Being a teacher is a very important job.  Students look up to them and these students' teacher might even become role models to them.  This makes it important for teachers to make impacts on their students.  Making sure that their students feel good about themselves and are proud.  Joe Brooks, in his article "Teach it Forward and Reap it Forever," talks about an impact one of his teachers had on him.  His teacher wrote hime a not saying what a pleasure it was having Joe in his class (Martin para. 6).  This really impacted Joe and gave him a certain confidence (Martin para. 9).  He now does this for his students, picking just one and giving them a note to tell them what a pleasure it was having them in his class (Martin para. 10).
Teachers really need to make sure that their students know that they are proud of them and enjoy being there.  Joe encourages teachers to make sure that is known because who wants to sit in a class where their teacher hates everyone.  As a teacher, people need to make an impact on their students, and there are many ways to do this.

Source:
Martin, Joe. "Teach it Forward and Reap it Forever." New Teacher Success Begins Here. LDH Technology. Web. 17 Oct 2012.

Teacher's Arguments

One of the biggest arguments in teaching right now is the debate between phonics and whole language way of teaching young kids to read.  Phonics is the originally way that schools taught their students how to read (Kaura para. 2).  First the kids would learn each letter and then move on to the sounds they make and were eventually able to put words together (Kaura para. 3).  This seemed to work well and kids were able to figure words out on their own. Whole language, on the contrary, was teaching students complete words at a time, having them memorize every word intend of the single letters that make up the words (Kaura para. 8).
Both of these methods have their advantages.  Phonics allows the kids to learn less and allow them to learn on their own.  While whole language learning allows the kids to focus less on sounding out words and more on interpreting entire books or even just sentences.
This argument has lasted very long time and seems to never be settled because both ways have their advantages and disadvantages, so I believe that it would best to just combine these two methods to get the advantages of both and giving the students their best chance to be great readers.  I know that I learned from phonics and do have trouble comprehending books and essays. Maybe if I my teacher had combined phonics with whole reading I would be a better reader as well as comprehender.

Source:
Kaura, Rajni. "Phonology vs. Whole Language." ESL Website for Students and Teachers. Michael Buckhoff. Web. 10 Oct. 2012.

Staying Motivated

Making sure students stay motivated could be an educator's hardest job. Yet it is also one of the most important jobs he could have. The article, "Top 12 Ways to Motivate Students," provides a couple way for teachers to makes sure that his students stay motivated and focused because thats the only way they will learn.
One of the tips is to "expect excellence" (Condron). I think that this is very important because if you expect your students to fail, they most likely will.  Yet, if you have high expectations for them, they will do their best to live up to those expectations and succeed.  Students will a lot better in school if their teachers make it clear what they want and expect of their students.
Another tip is to give students jobs (Condron).  When students are giving specific tasks to do they focus on them and make sure that they are done correctly.  Students will make sure that they are proud of what they are doing.  If they are given jobs, they will do everything they could to make sure their job is done right.  Teachers really need to make sure their students stay motivated and these are some really good ways to make sure of that.

Source:
Condron, Annie. "12 Ways to Motivate Students." K-12 News, Lessons & Shared Resources By Teachers, For Teachers. K-12 Teachers Alliance. 2012. Web. 9 Oct. 2012.

Code of Ethics

The basic code of ethics for an educator is that that educator "strives to create a learning environment that nurtures to fulfillment the potential of all students" (Code par. 1)  A teacher needs to make sure that they are always looking out for the well-being of their students and that they are doing whatever they can to help their students.  As a friend or even just a fellow classmate, I try to do whatever I can to help those around me.  I offer my help whenever I can and do the best I can to help them with what they need.  I think it is very important for teachers to have that urge to help people.  Because without that urge, they would have no motivation to give his or her students the best possible education that a teacher can give them.
In preparation to one day becoming a junior high or high school math teacher, I am taking classes like math classes and teaching classes to help me better understand what I am going to teacher and also to better understand how to teach it.  Another thing that is helping me prepare is my will to always learn new things.  Being a teacher you need to be able to adapt with your students and change your ways of teaching to adapt with their ways of learning. So being open to new things is always important.  One more thing that helps me prepare is this research, which helps me to know what I am eventually going to get my self into one day.

Source:
"Code of Ethics for Educators." Association of American Educators. Association of American Educators. 2012. Web. 9 Oct. 2012.

"Change Phobic"

One of the biggest problems teachers have, is that they will not change their teaching ways.  Some methods do work for some time, but eventually they get out of date.  The article, "Be a Pro-Change Teacher," by Joe Martin, challenges teachers to let their students throw in some ideas to switch up some of the teaching methods they use.  I think this is very important for teachers to do because it is always good to get a students input on how a teacher is teaching a class.  You can see what they are thinking and how they are taking things in.  It is obvious that teachers usually know a little more about teaching than students do, but it is still good to know how students of that generation take things in, and how they are processing new information.
All teachers should consider doing this, just to get a feel for what their students are thinking, because even if they come up with stupid ideas and nothing that could be possible for a teacher to do, maybe there really is nothing more they could do.  It is always important for teachers to stay connected to their students in whatever ways possible.  This could also be a good way for a teacher to get to know his or her students better.

Source:
Martin, Joe. "Be a Pro-Change Teacher." New Teacher University. LDH Technology. Web. 1 Oct. 2012

Service-Learning Project

For my major, I am taking a teaching class and this class requires me to do a Service-Learning project.  In this project I have to go to a local school in Lansing and tutor middle to high school students.  The first time I am going to one of these schools will be tomorrow, but I got a chance to go to the orientation.  At this orientation they just gave us a lot of information on what to expect and what they are all about.  It was really cool to listen to what they do for all these kids.  The leaders of this program provide food for all of the students and help them with their homework, along with ways to study and be a better student.  I think is it so cool all the stuff they do for these kids and I can't wait to be apart of it.  This will really help figure out if teaching is for me and the things I need to improve on to be the future teacher I want to be.

Interview from a Professional

Being able to ask people in the profession that you are looking to take up is a great experience.  Taking someone else's point of view and asking them questions can really help students understand what they are getting themselves into and learn more about it first hand from someone who is doing that specific job everyday.  Since I have decided to be a high school teacher one day, I decided to interview one of my old high school teachers.
Mr. Brandt is the head of the english department at Lutheran High North in Macomb, Michigan. To get  a different perspective on teaching I asked my old high school teacher why he chose this profession, he then explained that he wanted to "contribute something worthy to society."  Mr. Brandt knew teaching students would always keep him satisfied because he got to "develop self confidence and a genuine desire for learning."  I also decided to ask him about some advantages and disadvantages to teaching.  My old teacher then explained that he loves the chances he gets to laugh at himself but that sometimes plans don't turn out how you want.
I then asked a couple questions about what kinds of writings he has to do as a teacher.  He explained that he has to write a lot of comments on his students work.  He also will perform explain rough drafts in front of his class.  I personally experiences some of these and it really helped to see someone else writing and struggle through a rough draft.  Mr. Brandt also explains that he uses word clusters of ways to get the ideas flowing and start papers off.
It was good to get some information from a professional in a field that I want to go into.  It really gives me a different perspective and learn more about the job in a different way.

Obviously

The article, "Simple but Effective Ways to be a Great Teacher," has a couple obvious tips on how to be a great teacher, like making sure you show up for your classes and make sure you know what you are teaching(Simple para. 1-5).  Even though these seem like common sense, they are also very important, because who wants to learn from a sub that has no idea what the class did previously.  Also who can learn from a teacher who doesn't even know what they are talking about. A teacher needs to be informed on what they are teaching, and if they happen to not know an answer to a question, they should do whatever they can to get it eventually, even if it is at a later time.
Some tips that don't seem as obvious is to get to "know [your] students on a personal basis" (Simple para. 3).  This is very important so that a teacher can easily connect with his or her students.  If a teacher has no connections with his students, it makes it very difficult to get on their level and understand what they are trying to say sometimes.  Many teachers do put these tips into action and thats what makes them a hard teacher to learn from.  Great teachers know their students and are always there to help them.  They understand everything they are teaching and keep their students informed.

Source:
http://www.squidoo.com/classroomteachers

Always Remember the Students

One of the most important concepts to remember as a teacher is that you are not focussing on yourself but on your students. Always trying to think of what you can do better as a teacher rather than thinking what the students should be doing.  Although sometimes the students can be wrong and not doing what they should, sometimes it is the teacher that needs to change their ways.
In the article, "Teaching is Not About Us," talks about this exactly.  The author, Professor Joe Martin, talks about how you need to believe what you teach and always practice what you preach (para. 8).  If a teacher does not even know what they are talking about or when being in the same situation, doesn't do what he is teaching, can not be trusted.  Who trusts people who don't even take their own advice?
Professor Joe Martin gives a couple questions that teachers should ask themselves if they feel that they are losing touch with their students that really help to figure out the problem.  One of the questions is "Am I part of the problem or solution?" (Martin para. 11).  This is a great question to start with because a teacher needs to know where to begin.  Should he start with himself or his students, because solving a problem with the students is very different from solving a problem with yourself.
All teachers need to remember how stay connected to their students and always remember why they are teaching.  Not for themselves but for the students.  They need to want the students to learn for the students to want to learn.

Source:
Martin, Professor Joe. "Teaching is Not About Us." New Teaching Begins Here. LDH Technology. Web. 18 Sep. 2012.

Short and to the Point

The blog article, "Advice to New Teachers and New Students: Learning is a Quest" has a very simple delivery and style.  The author, Maryellen Weimer, PhD, gets directly to the point in her blog.  She talks about some tips for new teachers such as "Consider questions more important than answers" (par. 5).  By this she means that questions are how students understanding, so when they do ask questions it means they are learning or at least attempting to learn.  Weimer's style is so simple and to the point that it is perfect for the way it is delivered, in a blog.

The scholarly article, "Universal Screening in Mathematics for the Primary Grades: Beginning of a Research Base," the style is very formal.  The author's give a lot of facts that most people would not find interesting.  They go into details that almost seem unnecessary and make the reader want to stop reading if they don't have any reason to know any of the facts.  The delivery of this article is also very complicated only found on an online library which means whoever was reading this article wanted to find it for a specific reason.

The style and delivery of theses two articles make it very clear who their audience and purpose are. For the first article by Maryellen Weimer, PhD, is for any teacher interested.  She just states a couple interesting and helpful tips for any teacher to use.  The purpose of her article is specifically for the average teacher or anyone interested in teaching or even learning.  For the scholarly article the audience would have to be some researchers, either for a simple paper or maybe a parent looking for some answers about their child.  The purpose of the article would be to give out facts and details about why some children struggle with math and will always struggle.  The scholarly article is for a more specific group while the blog could be for anybody.

Sources:

Clarke, Ben, Gersten, Russell, Haymond, Kelly, Jordan, Nancy C., Newman-Gonchar, Rebecca and Wilkins, Chuck. "Universal Screening in Mathematics for the Primary Grades: Beginning of a Research Base." Exceptional Children; Summer2012, Vol 78 Issue 4. (2012): 423-445. Web. 13 Sep. 2012.

Weimer, Maryellen, PhD. "Advice to New Teachers and New Students: Learning is a Quest." Faculty Focus. Magna Publications. 12 Sep. 2012. Web. 13 Sep. 2012.

Always Up-to-Date

All teachers can use some improvement on their teaching skills no matter how long they have been teaching.  In the article, "Tactical and Structural Recommendation," it gives many tips and advice to better a teachers skill.
Some points that really stuck out to me is one of the tips that says "speak less, so that they think more." This really stuck out to me because I know that I can only sit through so much of a teacher only talking.    When a teacher continues to talk and ramble is when a students starts to get distracted or either start doing other things such as doodling or talking. When or even if I ever become a teacher, I really hope to make my students think, because I know when I figure something out before my teacher actually taught me it, I had more understanding of it and I would think thats how other people work as well.
Another pointer that stuck out to me was "think aloud in front of your students."  I would think that most students would better understand what a teacher is trying to teach if they know exactly what the teacher is thinking.  As a teacher is trying to explain something a student should know everything that is involved, so if a teacher is keeping ideas to himself or herself, it could confuse some students.  They would have no idea where an idea or thought came from.
This article had many good tips that could help any teacher in any subject and a lot of the tips I read I would definitely consider using as a teacher in the future. Any teacher could use some improvement, so looking up articles like this on a regular basis could help them keep updated with their teaching techniques and be the best teacher for his or her students.

Source: http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/tactical-and-structural-recommendations/467

Answering Some Questions

With teaching, comes a lot of different techniques.  Every teacher seems to teach in a slightly different way.  Some teachers seem to befriend their students while others seem to make sure every student in their class fears them to a certain extent.  Both techniques definitely work from my own personal experiences, but I would eventually like to figure out which one is actually best.
Using Reflections on Learning, which talks about the many ways in which children learn I learned some interesting facts.  Two learning approaches it talks about is behaviorism and cognitive.  The behavioral approach the idea that behavior should be explained observable experiences.  The cognitive approach depends more on thought.  These are two ways that might help someone know how to approach a student teaching them something new.
Other facts about being a teacher, such as salary is that most feel as if they are under paid, but obviously they feel as if it is worth and love their job, which is all the matters to me.  As long as I am enjoying myself in whatever I do, I am beyond happy.