Blog Post #9

I really enjoyed reading the blog post What I've Learned This Year (09). Mr. Joe McClung explained in his post that he learned seven major things in his first year teaching.
1.) How to Read the Crowd-You have to be able to listen to the students in order to teach them.
2.) Be Flexible-When I read this part I realized that I am going to have to be very flexible with my students. And try not to lose my temper when things are going just right.
3.) Communicate-We should always communicate with our students it always works better that way.
4.) Be Reasonable-We should always encourage students never put them down.
5.) Don't be Afraid of Technology-Because technology is always there to help you.
6.) Listen to Your Students-It is always important to listen to your students because if you have the respect of your students then they have respect for you.
7.) Never Stop Learning-As the students are learning every day we also need to broaden our minds to more learning. Cause there are always more to learn and more to teach the kids.
I learned so much about being a "young and experienced teacher" from reading his post. During my first year of teaching I plan to follow Mr. McClung's words of advice to make me a better teacher.

Mr. McClung's second post What I Learned This Year (10) was about his second year of teaching in a new state and a new subject. He explained that he was defiantly out of his comfort zone but that teachers should adapt to their surroundings. He had to teach a whole new subject and curriculum and he had to adapt to his new school and subject. McClung decided that he had to find a way to make social studies interesting to the students. Because he really didn't know much about it so he did some research and figured out some different and exciting ways to teach it.  He goes on to explain that when someone first becomes a teacher they should find a "school momma" which is someone that has been there longer and could help you through the tough times. Joe McClung states that he learned to leave his ego at the door and that other teachers should too. Also, he explains to teachers not to lose sight of what really matters. That the longer you teach the more you learn yourself. The more new ideas you learn to teach the kids. He explains that every year will get easier because you will start learning new things and teaching new things.
Joe McClung's last post was What I learned This Year (11). This year has been the first year that he has taught at the same school for more than one year and it has brought more change into his life. He explains that he is a coach of the cross-country team and he is also the computer applications teacher. Once again, McClung goes through the things/lessons that he has learned throughout the year.
1.) Know Who Your Boss Is-We should always leave are personal live at home and be professional at school and make sure you keep the students first.
2.) Don't Expect Others to be as Excited About Change as You Are-Here he is trying to tell you that you need to be strong in your faith of education. And try not to let anyone talk you down or bring you down to where you think there could never be any changes because there can always be changes.
3.) Don't be Afraid to be an Outsider-He explains that you shouldn't worry about being an outsider. It is good to have a relationship with your students where they can trust you, rely on you, and depend on you. Every teacher should have a relationship with their students so that they can depend on them.
4.) Don't Touch the Keyboard- This telling us if we do the work for the students then they are not learning the skills and will then never master them.
5.) Don't get Comfortable-Never get comfortable in one place and don't start a routine. Because when you start a routine you end up doing the same thing every day at the same time every day. But the way that he said was you should join new clubs so that you don’t have a lot of spare time on your hands. If you don't have spare time then you don't have time to do the same thing over and over again.                                                                                                                                                          
 I can honestly say that I enjoyed reading Joe McClung's blog posts. Like McClung, I plan to have an open mind and learn every single year that I am a teacher. I am excited to see the challenges that I face and the changes that will happen throughout my years as a teacher.