What makes a teacher?

This semester was not easy for me by any means. There were times when dealing with troublesome students and parents that really made me question if I was going into the right field or not. What I always seemed to come back to and ask myself was; why am I doing this? What makes this something that will be more rewarding in the end than not? I always found myself answering with “it’s the kids who have ‘ah-ha’ moments, it’s the kids who never say a word but walk into your classroom and smile or simply say hello, or the kids who ask if you could talk to them after class just because they need someone to talk to and they trust you.” It’s those kids that make this profession worth it. The fact that I am able to help and influence so many kids throughout my career is a blessing and makes all of the hardships and helicopter, finger pointing parents and students worth it. I’ve known since the third grade this was what I was meant to do, and though it might be hard sometimes, I still am confident that this is exactly what I should be doing with my life and exactly where I should be. This semester has helped to give me even more confidence in my decision to become and educator and made me want to strive to continually learn of ways to improve myself and my classroom.

This semester has really shaped my teaching philosophy and classroom management style. I have a much better understanding of what it means to control a classroom and the variety of techniques I can use to do so. I understand now the importance of establishing the respect of your students before relaxing and having fun. I also gained an understanding this semester of the effect communication has on the classroom. I think communication is key to dealing with student behavior issues and I’ve learned the power of a phone call home.

Classroom management isn’t the only thing I’ve learned this semester though. I’ve learned how to continually assess my students and adapt my lessons on the spot depending on the information I receive throughout the lesson on my students. I have a better understanding now of how to approach various lessons and how students learn. A strategy that I’ve noticed shows up often in my approach is constantly finding time to work with students individually. Throughout the lesson students are given time to work independently, this is when I take advantage of the down time and meet with students individually to assess their progress and use this to clarify any misconceptions individually or make note to clarify them as a group. I also then take the information I’ve gathered and use it to adjust the next portion of my lesson. I use it to decide how quickly to move with the next material and how many examples should be covered as a group, in pairs, or individually.

Another technique I’ve found I use often is collaboration/discussion. My classroom is loud, students are constantly talking and collaborating. I think this is key to learning; students should be able to discuss mathematics and the critical thinking involved in it. If a student is able to explain how to solve a problem to someone else, this solidifies their own knowledge. This works for me because this gets students actively participating and creates a more welcome atmosphere for students. My students aren’t afraid to make mistakes and are willing to learn from them together as a class. This, in my opinion, leads to a deeper understanding of key ideas and more critical thinking.

Overall, this semester was filled with so many more learning experiences than I could have ever imagined. And I’ve walked away with so many more teaching techniques than what I started the semester with. I couldn’t have asked for a better support team and I definitely could not have accomplished as much without them.