Blog post 10

           Over the past few weeks, many of my thoughts and opinions on certain issues within the educational field have grown and are still developing. The most important thing that I have learned is that being a teacher will never be easy but it will always be worth it and rewarding day by day. This class has truly motivated me to stop and think about the specifics of how I want my classroom to be like one day.

           I have learned that every kid is different and therefore it is important that the subject at hand is taught in many forms. For example, if I am teaching a high school English class and am focusing on vocabulary, I could have the kids read the words out loud, write the words on the chalkboard, use white boards or technology, or lastly play an interactive game. It is very important that I change my lesson plan up daily instead of just teaching it how I would learn best. Although this is a fairly simple concept I think it is an issue that many teachers still today overlook.

          Another important strategy that I have found useful is knowing that students will learn better if you incorporate something they are interested in within the lesson. As a student in high school, I have no doubt that I would be even more excited to learn if my teachers really put in the time to make the information connect to us in a more realistic way. For years I was always use to my teachers answering with the same answer to the why are we learning this question by replying "because you have to or it is on the test". Regardless, of what my kids are interested in and no matter how creative I will have to be, I look forward to tying in their interests with the criteria.

         Lastly, I really agreed with the idea that in order to be the best teacher one possibly can, they must know their students. I found this topic to be something that I can greatly relate to. I have had numerous teachers in high school that had taken the time to get to know me and it made a tremendous impact not only on my grade, but on my life. When teachers have a strong and supportive relationship with their students, students are more likely to reach out and take intellectual risks. Due to a teacher forming an incredible bond with me, she is the reason why I want to become a teacher, and thus be just like her one day. Getting to know each and every student should be a priority for every teacher.