Post #8

Blog Post 8

This post is meant to be an extension on our last blog, which was mainly about building bridges and the kind of qualities and characteristics we want to have as teachers. After the readings we had this week and the discussion we had on them, I realized a lot of other techniques and components I would need to add in to my lesson planning and list of personal qualities. Some of these include forming allies with your students' parents, forming strong relationships with the teachers you work with, and to build a good community in the classroom.

Developing an ally in your student's parent is an important thing that is often forgotten. A lot of people think of teaching as a one-to-one relationship with just the educator and the student, but the parents should be included. If something goes wrong in the classroom or the student is struggling in something and you have to approach the parents, you would feel a lot more comfortable doing so if there was already a relationship formed. Also, if there are things that are going on in the home that are affecting the child's learning, having that relationship would enable you to freely speak about what can be done in the situation.

Having relationships with the teachers who work in the same area as you do is a good thing for many reasons. It is inevitable that you will have bad days and just need someone to talk to, so having someone so close who understands what you are going through is a big plus. Another reason having relationships with fellow teachers is that they can help you if you are struggling in things, such as lesson planning or how to deal with behavioral issues. If the teacher has been educating for a lot longer than you have, it is even better because they have so much more experience under their belt. They have a lot of advice to give and can help make your teaching experience even better, for yourself and your students.

Having a tight-knit community in the classroom may be the most important thing a teacher can do. Making the students feel comfortable is a necessity in having a successful group. If they're not comfortable being around each other and as a class, it can take away from their desire to answer questions, get involved, and learn. To be a community, the teacher has to know each student as an individual. With knowing that information, you have to decide what is the best way to address the class as a whole big group. Doing things that they can relate to and bringing them all together helps develop relationships among the students and makes them happier to be in that specific class.