After reading the article, "An Educator's Guide to
Teacher Reflection," the section that most stood out to me was The Capacity to Reframe. This part of
the article discusses how when a teacher is faced with a problem, there are two
ways to handle it. Since teachers can’t always change the situation, they are
only left with deciding how to respond by learning to reframe or reposition classroom
situations and school circumstances. The teacher can either change the
situation or change their reaction to the situation. I wish I was able to say
that my clinical teacher does any of
those in her classroom.
Throughout each of my observations, my clinical teacher
does not think before she reacts to any situation and simply shames the
student(s) in front of the entire class. When I asked her how she deals with
unexpected problems in class, she states to me, “These kids are incapable of
learning and it is too far along in the school year to try something new to
help make any classroom situation better or positive.” When I asked my clinical
teacher if she takes the time to self-reflect within a journal or videotaping,
she tells me, “I kept a journal in the beginning of my teaching career but that
was it. I find that since I have been in this profession for almost 15 years, I
have mastered it. Since I will be retiring soon, I don’t find it to be
necessary either.” I was appalled yet not surprised with her answers.
When my clinical teacher is faced with a situation she
decides not to handle, she scares the student with cutting words and takes them
to the principal’s office with no care in the world. My clinical teacher has shared with me throughout my
observations, that majority of the students in her class come from broken families,
live in government assisted apartments, and don’t have access to resources such as
a computer. For example, one family consists of a single mother with 7 children
who all live in a two bedroom apartment through the government. The mother does not work or own a car
and the father is incarcerated. I feel as though it is even that much more important for my clinical teacher to become a greater role
model for her students because they can’t seek one anywhere else. My clinical
teacher blames low academic scores on her students’ home living and does not
put forth any extra effort in helping them succeed. But, those students who
come from wealthy families, my clinical teacher blames their low academic
scores are because “they can’t comprehend the material.”
Although my experience in first grade was completely different
from these students’, it is still important for the teacher to create a safe
and positive learning environment. All students must feel important and
respect from the teacher. Looking back to my childhood in school, I always
had nurturing, effective, and passionate teachers guiding me throughout the
way. I never had a teacher embarrass me in front of my peers, yell at me, talk
down to me, etc. My clinical teacher
exemplifies none of these qualities in which a teacher should, especially in the younger grades like
first.
As future educators, we should always become self-reflective
practitioners and should constantly be improving in order to increase our effectiveness.
This is clearly what my clinical teacher needs improvement on, including many
other factors.
Below are two brief videos that discuss the importance of
teacher reflection and another on how to train teachers to make a greater
student impact. I hope you enjoy them!
I really enjoyed the videos you shared. I think your clinical teacher could benefit from self-reflection. If she journaled or video-taped her lessons, she might realize that her students struggle as a result of her teaching style. It is important for teachers to do whatever they can to help their students, but it seems like your clinical teacher has given up on that.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like your clinical teacher has grown complacent and overconfident. It's never too late to learn something new and that may benefit your class and skills as an educator. However, it doesn't sound like she really cares at this point. I feel like she's lost the initial fire which I hope she started her teaching career with. That's pretty sad. I think the journal would be a good idea for us to monitor our progress and provide a better environment for our classrooms.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both of you!
ReplyDelete