Blog Post #9

Mr. McClung

I really don't know what to say about the posts from Mr. McClung except for WOW! A lot of the topics he posted about really caught my attention mainly because they were things that relate to me. He said numerous things that made me think, "YES!" because I've been in the same situation he was speaking of, and I know exactly what he meant because of it. I found myself picking out so many of his points to talk about that I considered that I may have picked too many. However, when I went back over his posts to decide on a couple to write about, I found myself getting upset because I couldn't decide which ones were "good enough" to put in this post. So, I apologize for the rant I am about to go on, but there are simply too many great points that he made that I can't pick just two!

The first post I read of Mr. McClung's was Version 4 Post (2011-2012). His first point reflects on the anxiety he suddenly felt about how his peers view him as a fellow teacher. Do they approve of the way he handles things? How do they view him as a teacher? He writes about how he found himself extremely worried about his peers views on him- something he has never worried about before. He then goes on to explain how he has only ever really worried about how his students and superiors view him. He states, "The truth is I have gotten to where I am in my career by following one rule, and that is are the kids having fun? Worrying about perception of adults has never done anything positive for me, but making sure that my kids are taken care of and enjoying class has done wonders for me." I love this statement. I won't lie, over the past few months I have worried about how other teachers will view me when I'm not only in their room student teaching, but when I'm in control of a class of my own. When I go shadow teachers at a school, I can't help but think about the years of experience they have and how I will have none. Will I do things right? Will they view me as just an unprepared newbie who has no idea what she is doing? Suddenly, I found myself really nervous about this, and I even second guessed whether I really wanted to go into education. I caught myself comparing myself to these teachers and thought, "I don't know if I can do this." While reading Mr. McClung's post, however, it hit me. I'm not teaching my fellow teachers- I'm teaching my students. My fellow teachers aren't the ones I'm trying to ignite a passion for learning in- it's my students. Also, I want to be the teacher every parent wants their child to have. I want my classroom to be the classroom that all the parents request their child be in. That's not going to happen by worrying about what my peers think of me. That's going to happen by how I interact with my students. So, in all this post really helped me to shed that worry.



In his post about the 2008-2009 year, Mr. McClung speaks of how we have to be reasonable with our students. We can't get down when they don't live up to our expectations because, after all, they are just children. We can't scold them for them for not coming through for us. We have to pick them up, dust them off, and encourage them so more. This lesson proved true for me this week. I teach a 2 year old preschool class. The main thing I try to teach them are their ABCs (how to recognize, write, and sound out the letter) and their 123s (how to write,count to the number, and recognize the number). In the past few weeks, I noticed I have been getting very aggravated with my kids because when I ask them what a letter is, they just shout out the first letter that comes to mind, which for some reason is always either G or T. I really developed the mind frame of, "they aren't really getting it so I'm just going to let them do their worksheet and not harp on it anymore." For about three weeks my frustration grew with each class. However, they really stuck it to me Thursday. This week we went over the letter W. Like always, I held up a picture of the letter W and asked what letter it is. Like always they said T and G. Thursday I decided to take them out in the hall, and at my church on the preschool hall, we have big pictures with writings on the halls that talks about creation. I lined them up in front of one of these pictures and asked them to find a W. And they did! In fact, they found all the W's on every picture on the hall! I was shocked, really. So, to add to Mr. McClung's advice, don't scold your students for not getting something because maybe, just maybe, they are comprehending more than they let on.

And Mr. McClung did not stop there!

In Mr. McClung's 2009-2010 reflection, he gives the advice to find a school mom. Find someone who has been there a few years and can show you the ropes and vouch for you. This is AWESOME advice. I teach numerous classes at my church, and I have a church mom (Belinda). I go to her with every new idea I have, and she helps me make that idea a reality. She is in charge of the preschool department, so having her on my side really makes every plan I have way easier to fulfill. Also, she brings to light things in my plans that I haven't thought of. She is the one I always go to for guidance, and a great relationship has been built between us. Through her trusting me, all the other church staff trusts me. Mr. McClung isn't just talking to hear himself talk when he says get a school mom. It really is one of the most beneficial tools not only a new teacher can have but any new employee in general.

Don't expect others to be as excited about change as you are. This is a lesson that I have been having to deal with myself lately. At my church on Wednesday nights, we have two classes for preschool aged children. One is Mission Friends where they learn about missionaries. The other is Little Praisers where they sing songs. Quite frankly, the classes are boring. All the kids do is come in and do a craft and sing. It's the same thing over and over again each week. However, when I talk about changing the curriculum to something more energetic and enjoyable, I get noses stuck up at me because we have to go by the book or we will die. We've been going by this book's curriculum for 25 years and we can't change it now! Just like Mr. McClung says in his 2010-2011 refection, there will always be those people who say, "This will not work." I'm much like Mr. McClung. I'm very open to new things especially when the old way of doing things is no longer working. I love how Mr. McClung says to not "allow others to stifle your own excitement and joy that you experience in teaching or any other facet of life for that matter." I've developed new ideas for Mission Friends and Little Praisers and have had them rejected by the teachers. It sucked. I was really excited and just figured they would be too. Yet even though they aren't, I refuse to let them ruin my excitement for my new ideas. Change is a necessity, and when the time comes that those people realize that, I will be standing there jumping up and down with my new ideas and encouraging them to come up with some!

So, that's my rant. I think I will have to have venting sessions like this more often. Blogging about yearly reflections is definitely on my list of things to do when I become a teacher! Not only is it a good way to be able to look back on your years of teaching, but it really can help future teachers. I feel like I will more than likely start my yearly reflections this year with my preschool class! I mean, why wait?