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FINAL BLOG POST - OUR "DAILY TRIPLE" (DUE 12/1).
This week I would like you to use your imagination. You have just won the lottery and will leave your teaching post immediately to travel around the world. As you leave your keys you meet your replacement. You are asked to give this new teacher just ONE piece of advice. What would that be, and why? Enjoy your world expedition!

Blog Post - Week 7
This past week in my own teaching I felt a little disconnected which prompts my question to you, "What was the moment (or moments) when I felt most disconnected or disengaged as a teacher - the moment(s) I said to myself, I'm just going through the motions here?"

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 6
For the past couple of weeks you have experienced asynchronous online learning (doing modules by yourself). Previously this semester you have experienced synchronous online learning (all together in the Collaborate room). Which do you think is more effective and why do you think that? Which do you like better, and why?

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 5
This week we have what we call "open mic." You can write a post about anything related to your teaching that you would like responses from your classmates.

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 4
Here is this week's question: "What was the event that most took me surprise this week - and event that shook me up, caught me off guard, gave me a jolt, or made me unexpectedly happy?"

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 3
Please write a post about the following question, "In thinking about my past week teaching what is one thing I would do differently, and why?"

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 2
Please write a post about the following question, " In thinking about my teaching activities this past week, of what do I feel most proud? Why?"

Fall Semester 2016 Blog Post - Week 1
Describe something you used in your program in the first weeks of school that you learned in the summer NTI program. How did it work? Did it get you off to a stronger start than last year?

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

The most important thing...

I have learned so much about my students this past year that sometimes I am overwhelmed by it all. I guess the most important thing I have learned is that although times have changed since I was in high school, the basics have not changed. When I was in high school, the main things in my life were friends, activities, the phone, music and my family. Although the walkman has turned into the ipod, the home phone has morphed into iphones and sidekicks, the basics are still the same.
Another thing I have learned is that although I often think of my classes as a whole group, each student is very individual in their own way. They are each dealing with much more pressure, both from their peers and from school, than I ever had to deal with as a student in high school. I have a few students who have no family, and some who have as many as 8 brothers and sisters in their home. There is the 'popular crowd' and the 'not so popular crowd' and those that are in between. I still see a bit of the "Breakfast Club" in the high school environment.
The last thing I will mention that I have learned is that my mother was right-I can't believe I just said that-HA!HA! She told me before I ever started teaching that if I treat the students like I would want my own children to be treated, that for the most part, I would do just fine. I have tried to really remember to do this by treating the students with respect, calling them down when they needed it (without calling them out), and trying to build relationships with them as I taught. This has really worked well for me in my classroom. I have some really great kids, no matter what group they are in or where they come from or where they are going. I have learned so much from them that I have a much richer and fuller life, both at work and at home. I have learned alot about today's culture and about why my children behave the way they do sometimes (like crazy people.) They are kids in grown ups bodies most of the time, and I hope when they take away at least some of the life skills I have tried to teach and model to them in the classroom-skills like respect, grace, humor and caring.

2 comments:

RS said...

Shellee,

School has definitely changed with each generation. It certainly must be more difficult being a teen during these times. As you mentioned it is important to treat these students as your own because for a breif time they are ours. I believe as you do that we must apply some of those basic rules of life. Thank you for sharing these insights.

Ron

ConnieB said...

I love how you put your finger on the difference but also the similarities from our high school days. The interests, the angst, the clicks. This is my second year and those similarities actually become more and more clear to me. Teenagers aren't some mysterious create. We need to remember what it was like for us and we will better understand them. I have also tried to treat them as I would my own children. I give them respect, see them for who they are, the individual that they are. That helps alot. Thanks for a great post.