Last summer I read a book about transformational teaching and it truly opened my eyes to why I become so frustrated with other educators. I agree with the authors almost 100% about why and how we teach students; however, there are several teachers I have encountered in my short career that probably would not agree with the principles discussed throughout the book, Transformational Teaching by Rosebrough and Leverett.
For those of you reading who are unfamiliar with transformational teaching, it is basically the why and how we teach- to transform the whole student. Contrary to transforming students is the common practice of feeding them information so that they can regurgitate their knowledge on a test. Transformational teaching involves teaching problem solving skills and identifying areas of strength and weakness in each student in order to challenge them to become the best they can be.
I always dreamed of being a transformational teacher- a person who touches the lives of others. Unfortunately, I feel as though I have gotten away from doing just that. In the book the authors mention that teachers can only control 14% of the factors that affect whether a student learns or not. Throughout the past two years I have been extremely frustrated with a lack of resources, which I felt had been holding back my ability to meet individual needs of students, as well as the attitudes of others in my building. The resources I speak of could be anything from a table with chairs to technology. While the attitudes of some of the fellow teacher are that of if a student does not understand a concept the first time they haven't tried hard enough. All of which I have realized this year as simple excuses. Transformational teaching doesn't need any of these things.
If I become an administrator or are viewed as a leader, as I aim to some day become, I hope that I can inspire teachers to become transformational and change the lives of the students in the building.
Showing posts with label teaching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teaching. Show all posts
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Tech Savvy
Today I attended and presented at a technology conference in Sumner County. Having been to several technology conferences before, I was pretty confident in what I had signed myself up for, but I was uncertain how my portion of the day would be attended. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised. I was also amazed how well the forty something adults in the classroom behaved while I stumbled through the free classroom technology I wanted to share with them. If you are interested in the programs I presented today, here they are:
- Sorting Hat- offered by brother
- PortaPortal- www.portaportal.com
- Classjump- www.classjump.com
- Cool Timer
- and...Emailing Weekly Newsletters
Friday, June 10, 2011
Stress Level of Educators
No matter what your connection is with a school, as changes continue to take place, stress levels continue to rise in an already stressful career field. Change is something I actually enjoy in life; however, many teachers went into the teaching profession for opposite reasons- they wanted to work at one school for thirty years, raise their children in that community, and then retire. In my short teaching career I have taught in four different schools in four different counties, with my longest tenure only two years. I have even taught in New Zealand as well as the United States. Please don't hear me wrong, I haven't looked for change, but with a husband that was active in the Army, it is something that was and still is inevitable in my life.
Sometimes I wonder if policymakers understand how stressful it is to teachers when every five years they are creating overhauling changes. Wouldn't admendments or gradual changes be better for both the educators, students they teach, parents who are trying to advocate for their children, and the families of educators?
Sometimes I wonder if policymakers understand how stressful it is to teachers when every five years they are creating overhauling changes. Wouldn't admendments or gradual changes be better for both the educators, students they teach, parents who are trying to advocate for their children, and the families of educators?
Friday, April 1, 2011
Brain Hiatus
I apologize for taking such a long break since my last post; however, I recently went back to school. Now that I am adjusted to all of the written requirements, I'M BACK!
Since we recently had Spring Break, I thought I would voice my observations about breaks away from school. Last year the district that I work in, gave us two weeks for Spring Break. Although I found it extremely relaxing, more so than the normal one week break, I was rather frustrated when people would say, "Why do teachers need so much time away from work?" I have one response- my brain.
Working with middle schoolers, or students of any age, requires me to be on my toes mentally for eight hours every day. I am engaged in a conversation all day long. Once the day is over, I am then forced to mentally evaluate all of the work the students turned in, or the challenging assignments I want to develop. My brain never sleeps.
For only one week away from school this year for spring break, I found I either slept or was lethargic the first few days of the break. To truly rejuvenate, I find I need time to engage in adult hobbies, such as photography, working out, or finding a home project to busy myself. Oh well, maybe I will return to my hobbies over the summer, when my brain isn't so busy!
Since we recently had Spring Break, I thought I would voice my observations about breaks away from school. Last year the district that I work in, gave us two weeks for Spring Break. Although I found it extremely relaxing, more so than the normal one week break, I was rather frustrated when people would say, "Why do teachers need so much time away from work?" I have one response- my brain.
Working with middle schoolers, or students of any age, requires me to be on my toes mentally for eight hours every day. I am engaged in a conversation all day long. Once the day is over, I am then forced to mentally evaluate all of the work the students turned in, or the challenging assignments I want to develop. My brain never sleeps.
For only one week away from school this year for spring break, I found I either slept or was lethargic the first few days of the break. To truly rejuvenate, I find I need time to engage in adult hobbies, such as photography, working out, or finding a home project to busy myself. Oh well, maybe I will return to my hobbies over the summer, when my brain isn't so busy!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
One Nation Under...
Tonight as I found myself reading a friend's profile message, I was reminded of how frustrating moving is when you are a teacher. Over the past three years, my husband and I have moved three times due to his career in the military. Luckily for me though we only moved from Clarksville, Tennessee to Columbus, Georgia and then back to the state of Tennessee. With towns like Clarksville, Tennessee and Columbus, Georgia you may have guessed that my husband is in the Army. Teaching in military communities has caused my eyes to be opened to a situation that many people do not normally care much about unless they are nomads or are well-educated on schools around our great nation.
While teaching in Clarksville, Tennessee, a parent came in for a conference while he was home for his two weeks of leave from Iraq. This particular parent met with me so that he could be reassured that his son would be able to compete with his peers if they were reassigned to a base in another state, like Alaska. Knowing that our standards are not the same, that was something I could not promise him. It actually reminded me of when I transitioned from Cobb County, Georgia to Williamson County, Tennessee. All of a sudden I knew all of the answers, and felt as though the material had already been taught to me. I now know that I had this feeling because the standards were not alligned, so I may have actually already been taught the material I was being taught in Tennessee although I was in a new grade level.
A push in education is to have national standards. Many people oppose this way of micromanaging, but as families become more transiant, and certain jobs cause people to move around a lot, I feel that it is one of the only ways public schools can maintain consistency which allows students to grow and compete with one another no matter how long they have lived in their current town.
The other side of this debate is whether teacher licensing should be nationally mandated. Although I am not crazy for the federal government having their hand in too many things, I feel that this would be a great way to allow teachers to be certified to teach the same things. For instance, in Georgia I taught 8th grade and every subject. However, when I moved back to Tennessee the two years of experience I had teaching Social Studies, Science and Math did not equate to Tennessee adding those endorsements on my licensure in Tennessee. In Georgia my primary area of hiring was English/Language Arts, but I taught one class of Science/Social Studies and a remedial class of Math. Of course Social Studies is my favorite class to teach, and I can't teach it in Tennessee unless I take a test and pay more money. How frustrating!
While teaching in Clarksville, Tennessee, a parent came in for a conference while he was home for his two weeks of leave from Iraq. This particular parent met with me so that he could be reassured that his son would be able to compete with his peers if they were reassigned to a base in another state, like Alaska. Knowing that our standards are not the same, that was something I could not promise him. It actually reminded me of when I transitioned from Cobb County, Georgia to Williamson County, Tennessee. All of a sudden I knew all of the answers, and felt as though the material had already been taught to me. I now know that I had this feeling because the standards were not alligned, so I may have actually already been taught the material I was being taught in Tennessee although I was in a new grade level.
A push in education is to have national standards. Many people oppose this way of micromanaging, but as families become more transiant, and certain jobs cause people to move around a lot, I feel that it is one of the only ways public schools can maintain consistency which allows students to grow and compete with one another no matter how long they have lived in their current town.
The other side of this debate is whether teacher licensing should be nationally mandated. Although I am not crazy for the federal government having their hand in too many things, I feel that this would be a great way to allow teachers to be certified to teach the same things. For instance, in Georgia I taught 8th grade and every subject. However, when I moved back to Tennessee the two years of experience I had teaching Social Studies, Science and Math did not equate to Tennessee adding those endorsements on my licensure in Tennessee. In Georgia my primary area of hiring was English/Language Arts, but I taught one class of Science/Social Studies and a remedial class of Math. Of course Social Studies is my favorite class to teach, and I can't teach it in Tennessee unless I take a test and pay more money. How frustrating!
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