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Priscila Fojan TE 807 Spring 2012 Spring 2012

Priscila D. Fojan

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Priscila Fojan TE 807 Spring 2012 Introduction There are so many qualities of good teaching. When I try to imagine what good teaching looks like, I ask myself Who was my favorite teacher in school and why? I think of so many different teachers. There was my impossibly hard geometry teacher who wasnt nurturing but was able to answer any mathematics question I had. There was my fifth grade teacher that always had fun activities planned for us to do each week. But then there was that sixth grade teacher who I was always able to talk to if something was troubling me. Good teaching cannot be described with just one word, personality trait, ability, or technique. In Jennifer Reeders (2008) interview of educator, Allyson M. Poska, she states, Good teaching differs from person to person (p. 548). I firmly believe that there is no book, list, or recipe for making a teacher great, but rather the experiences, education, and personality of that person will foster its own greatness. With the recent trend to rate teachers performance all teachers are making adjustments to their teaching methods in order to keep their jobs. There is much research that is being done that offers new suggestions in regards to the craft of teaching. Considering the complexity of the job, being a great teacher means embodying more than just one simple concept.

Caring
Caring is an essential quality of being a good teacher. As an educator, one can show that they care through many different avenues such as offering help, showing compassion, showing interest, caring about the individual, giving time, listening, and getting to know students (Mcbee, 2007, p. 36). I personally believe that these qualities should come naturally to someone in the field of education. There isnt a course that can teach someone to genuinely care for another

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Priscila Fojan TE 807 Spring 2012 person. I attempt to model caring in many different ways, including: greeting students each morning; taking time to get to know my students interests through conversation; celebrating students birthday with a hat, song, and pencil; and attending extra-curricular activities my students participate in. These are only a few actions I practice in my classroom, but research shows that it is also important for the school to come together as a whole and provide a schoolwide program of caring. Lincoln Center Middle School established a program that both taught and modeled caring within the school through five critical activities: 1. establishing powerful policies for equity, 2. empowering groups, 3. teaching caring in classrooms, 4. caring for students, and 5. caring by students (Doyle & Doyle, 2003, p.259). Caring about your students can take many forms and different people will have different interpretations of the same thing. For instance, I have a different take on what it might mean to show compassion compared to one of the teachers McBee included in her study, When a teacher gives a student the opportunity to redo a paper, project or exam, [they] show compassion (2007, p. 38). I personally dont agree that this is always a proper way to show compassion in the classroom. I believe that having high expectations is a wonderful way to show your students that you care about them. I truly care about all my students and I want to prepare them as best as I possibly can for the real world. A real world lesson is that you dont always get a second chance to do things in life. Perhaps others will feel that this is cruel or unsympathetic because I work with elementary and middle school aged students, but it is what I believe is right. I do agree with most of the other viewpoints of what caring looks like, but this is one in which I cannot agree. Tough love can sometimes be the best way to show someone you care. There are so many ways to offer assistance to students. Each student is an individual who thinks and feels in a unique way to each situation they may encounter. It is up to me, as an educator, to pay 2|Page

Priscila Fojan TE 807 Spring 2012 attention and to learn about each student and figure out what their needs are. Based on the information I gather about that student, I go with my instinct on how to personally assist that student during that given time. Caring should also include paying attention to your students quiet troubles. In Richard Weissbourds article, The Quiet Troubles of Low-income Children, I felt he had come to the school I interned in last year and was talking about my 5th graders and their quiet troubles. I interned in an elementary school in Hazel Park, Michigan and you would find multiple students in the school that exhibit one or more of the issues Weissbourd discussed that stand in the students way of success in and out of school. Some of these quiet troubles include hunger, dehydration, asthma, obesity, hearing/vision problems, frequent moving/transferring schools, lack of transportation, financial trouble, caretaking responsibility, sleep deprivation, and psychological troubles in students and/or parents such as depression and anxiety (2009, p. 5-6). I am not exaggerating when I say I encountered these problems multiple times with my students. Last year, I had a student who always fell asleep in class and at first I thought he was just bored and didnt care, but I later discovered that he had to stay up to care for his baby sister while his mom was at work. I wouldnt punish him for falling asleep, but rather ask him to splash some water on his face to help wake himself up. I didnt want him to get behind in his studies, but he also needed his sleep. During the morning I usually allowed him to sleep a little and he caught up with his work during lunch. Another case was a student that never did any of his work during mathematics. He never told me he couldnt see the board, but I noticed he was squinting a lot while he was reading his book of choice. I conducted a mini vision test to discover he needed glasses. Luckily the school participated in a program that assisted families with glasses. It was a

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Priscila Fojan TE 807 Spring 2012 long process that included a lot of paper work, but after a few months he was able to see the board. As an educator, you may try so hard to show compassion and care for your students but at the end of the day you havent solved the multiple problems your students have to deal with. They might feel better for a short period of time, but the quiet troubles require more than a simple morning greeting. Weissbourd suggests posting signs indicating symptoms of parental depression and how to seek treatment and having schools coordinate with community health centers to get messages to parents about the importance of establishing bedtime routines and reducing late-night television watching (2009, p. 7). However, most of us know that these suggestions require money and/or significant parental involvement. There isnt money to go around during this hard economic time to supply children with glasses or mental health services to prevent depression. We need to make these problems visible and make them a priority in our school policy (p. 8). At the very least I can give my students some temporary help and make them feel a little better by showing them I care about their troubles. I hope that my positive actions will make them fight through their quiet troubles and succeed, because if they can do that then I believe they are capable of anything.

Community
Another cornerstone of good teaching is creating communities in and out of your classroom. There are several ways to do this. William Ayers (2010) portrays the importance of creating an environment for learning well in his book, To Teach: The Journey of a Teacher, A large part of the work of teaching is constructing the laboratory for learning: It must be sufficiently broad and varied to challenge a range of interests and abilities, and yet

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Priscila Fojan TE 807 Spring 2012 focused enough to offer students some coherent rhythms and goals. The learning environment is a complex, living reflection of a teachers values (p. 61). Teachers have the choice to transfer their classrooms from the mini lecture room with rows and white walls to a classroom that promotes learning and personal growth. I believe that teachers must create opportunities for learners to become more skilled, more able, more powerful (p. 74). First there is the shift from the all known teacher-centered model of teaching to a more realistic and practical model. In the teacher-centered model, the teacher is the one that gives all the information to the students. In this model it is seen that the teacher is the holder of all the power and knowledge in the classroom and the students possess none. This is not the type of community that I want to foster in my classroom. The student-centered model gives the students the opportunity to learn from each other as well as the teacher and gives the class a better sense of community. Students being their prior knowledge and experiences into the classroom and are considered a great resource in the classroom. My students are encouraged to teach one another and assist me in facilitating the curriculum. Students are not hollow beings that the teacher needs to fill with knowledge, but rather beings that bring much knowledge to the table and require assistance in making connections and adding to their schema. By involving students, they feel a part of something and that creates a sense of community in the classroom. I believe that creating strong teacher-student relationships are required in developing a positive classroom community. Teaching is often bridge-building; beginning on one shore of knowledge, experience, know-how, and interests of the students, the teacher moves toward broader horizons and deeper ways of knowing (Ayers, 2010, p. 77). The students who dont have a positive relationship with their teacher often disconnect themselves from that class. I try 5|Page

Priscila Fojan TE 807 Spring 2012 to make my lessons as student-centered as possible. I personally dont like to lecture all day because I feel that my students start to day dream. When I was in grade school and college I was that student that zoned out in class when the teacher was the one that talked all hour. When students are not involved in their own learning they begin to feel no connection in their class. Teachers need to also create communities outside of their classroom with other teachers. I am against the concept that once you get your own classroom you close yourself from the rest of the teaching community. You are in a building with many other teachers who have loads of knowledge that they can share with one another. I believe that Lesson Studies should be part of every schools professional development and co-teaching is a great way to build relationships with other teachers, learn from one another, and build a community outside of your own classroom.

High Expectations
Implementing a good teaching practice should also include having high expectations. I feel that teachers are challenged now to prepare their students, even at a young age, for the competition to get into college. However, with all the standardized testing and striving to obtain various accreditations for the school there is a lot more in the way of teaching the required material to our students. With No Child Left Behind many schools are dumbing down the curriculum to make sure their students pass, but that is only hurting our students in the long run. They are not learning the needed material and being passed along without the necessary skills they need to be successful in the real world. I feel it is our duty to go beyond the pressure and give our students the best education we can possibly give them. This may mean pushing our students to work hard and do things they think they are not capable of doing.

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Priscila Fojan TE 807 Spring 2012 No matter the path my students may take (i.e. college, technical school, work force, etc) I want them to be problem solvers and thinkers. Students today want to know the shortcut to every problem in order to get the work done quickly. For example, students would rather know the formula for an algebra problem than actually understand why that formula really works. Memorization is something that has been promoted in much of their previous education, but that will not benefit them in the real world. Students need to know how to think critically, because real world problems dont always have a simple formula to find the solution. This is a serious concern of mine and it is something I want to address in my teaching. It can be something as simple as making my students actually read the directions instead of me telling them what to do. If I want to be a good teacher, I must maintain high academic expectations for my students to help prepare them for the next phase of their lives.

Technology
Good teachers nowadays are required to integrate technology into their curriculum and
prepare students for the new world in which we live in. I personally am very tech-savvy since I keep up to speed with the most recent gadgets such as smart phones, smart boards, computers, computer programs, social media, etc. I learn new forms of technology quickly and usually dont require the learners manual. I grew up around technology and I believe that is why it comes easy for me, but many older educators did not grow up during this time period. For these educators they rely on professional development to supply them with the needed knowledge to keep them up to date with technology. Plair (2008) discusses in her article, Revamping Professional Development for Technology Integration and Fluency, the gap between what is being taught in a technology based professional development and the support provided to actually implement it in the classroom (p. 72).

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Priscila Fojan TE 807 Spring 2012 All teachers need to adequately prepare our students for the 21st century in regards to technology. It shouldnt be isolated from the core curriculum, but integrated as much as possible. Most of the schools I work in have a lot of technology for students to experiment with. Personally I feel that much of the technology that is used by my students is actually at home. So many children already have smart phones, multiple new game systems, laptops, iPods, etc that they are more experienced with than their teachers. I think anyone is capable of learning how to use these new technologies if they set their mind to it. Like anything, it takes practice, problem solving skills, and critical thinking that we want to instill in all our students. We all know by now that the United States is not up to par with other countries in regards to science, mathematics, and engineering. Bybee and Starkweather offer the solution to our crisis by improving our technology education in K-12 education (2006, p. 27). Right now the budget for most school districts is being cut dramatically and thus technology is not fathomable for many schools. Technology isnt a cheap asset to have in our schools, but it is something that needs to be incorporated for us to keep up with the worldwide market. Luckily students are taking technology education into their own hands by having multiple forms at home. As educators, we need to make sure all our students are getting the exposure to technology. There are programs like Donors Choose that provide teachers a way to get funding from the public for classroom resources. If you want an iPad, computer, Smart Board, etc all you have to do is request to be included on the site. I have donated money to a former chemistry teacher who needed supplies for his demo days. There are also grants that educators or administrators can fill out to have a chance to win various types of resources including technology for their classroom or school.

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Priscila Fojan TE 807 Spring 2012 When you are able to have technology in your classroom there are many forms various avenues you can take to integrate it into your curriculum. Joseph and Brooks (2008) used an online simulation with third grade students that show the use of an inquiry based approach to teaching. Having science as my teaching concentration, I am very fond of using online simulations as a teaching tool. I also enjoy using the clickers that are associated with the Promethean Board, because they give you a quick assessment of student understanding. By using the information gathered and graphed in seconds I can make a decision to move on with the next concept or take more time teaching the concept assessed. This is not a resource teachers had twenty years ago. Good teachers strive to use new technology to benefit their students learning and prepare them for a rapidly changing world.

Conclusion
I have mentioned a few qualities that I considered to be the start of good teaching, but we cant forget that there are many ways to demonstrate good teaching practices and thus my list will change and expand throughout my career. My teaching career has only just begun and I will be confronted with many challenges to overcome and grow from. Teaching is my passion and by being caring, creating a positive community, having high expectations, and integrating technology I believe that I will be the best teacher I can be. I will collaborate with other educators and utilize research in my teaching practices to better myself. The most important part of being a good teacher is to think about your students first and what would be most beneficial for them.

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Priscila Fojan TE 807 Spring 2012 Bibliography Ayers W. (2010). To Teach: The Journey of a Teacher. New York: Teachers College Press. Bybee, R. W., & Starkweather, K. N. (2006). The Twenty-First Century Workforce: A Contemporary Challenge for Technology Education. The Technology Teacher, 65 (8), 27-32. Doyle, L. H., & Doyle, P. M. (2003). Building Schools as Caring Communities: Why, what, and how? The Clearing House, 76(5), 259-261.
Joseph, R., & Brooks, J. G. (2008). Simple Problems and Integrated Technology: Making Connections Beyond the Curriculum. Tech Trends, 52 (3), 60-63. McBee, R. H. (2007). What It Means to Care: How Educators Conceptualize and Actualize Caring. Action in Teacher Education, 29 (3), 33-42. Plair, S. K. (2008). Revamping Professional Development for Technology Integration and Fluency. The Clearing House, 82 (2), 70-74.

Reeder, J. (2008). Interviews with Exemplary Teachers: Allyson M. Poska. The History Teacher, 41(4), 543-549.
Weissbourg, R. (2009). The Quiet Trouble of Low-Income Children. The Education Digest, 74 (5), 4-8.

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