Blog Post 9

Mr. Joe McClung

In this weeks Blog Post assignment the students of EDM310 were asked to read Mr. Joe McClung's blog At the Teachers Desk. Mr. McClung graduated in 2009 with a degree in elementary education, and since graduating he has been teaching for three years. With the completion of each school year Mr. McClung writes a blog post which summarizes his experiences for that past year. The students of EDM310 were required to read, summarize, and explain their reactions to the blog posts that Mr. McClung published. I have decided to comment on Mr. McClung's first and last summary posts, and by doing so I hope to see the changes that Mr. McClung has experienced during the past three years.

May 27, 2009 What I've Learned This Year (2008-09)

Mr. McClung's first summary post was titled What I've Learned This Year. Mr. McClung stated that this was his first year of teaching, and after one year of teaching experience he claimed to have learned TONS of information! Mr. McClung learned that being an educator is not about how the educator delivers the lesson, but rather the students comprehension of the lesson. I am in total support, and I have made remarks about this topic in blog posts, that the main aspect of education is the students comprehension of the material. It is the teachers job to HELP the student comprehend the material, but it is not the teachers job to spoon feed the student. Mr. McClung put it best when he said, "They become so concerned with the delivery of the content that they are missing the most important aspect of teaching, and that is checking for student comprehension".

The idea of being flexable was an important lesson that Mr. McClung claimed to have learned. Mr. McClung stated that, "we have to remember that we are performing in front of a crowd that struggles remembering what they brought for lunch that day". Through previous experience I have learned that lessons rarely go as planed, and I can completely sympathize with Mr. McClung in this aspect. He also made mintion of the importance of communication. In order for any student to learn they must have communication with their teacher. Lecture can be beneficial and can serve an important purpose when it is used in balance with other approaches, but lecture will be of no value if there is no communication between the student and teacher.

Mr. McClung hit me square between the eyes when he made mention of being reasonable with students. I often set high expectations for any student that I teach, and this is due to my passion for people to master the things that I teach them. I'm sure that experince will cure this flaw in my teaching approach, but Mr. McClung definatly helped me realize the high expectations that I place on the people I teach. I had to smile when Mr. McClung mentioned the use of technology which has been the theme of EDM310 all semester, and technology has been the emphasis of many blog posts that I have published. I did enjoy how he presented the notion of incorporating technology. There are many people that fear technology without fully giving it a chance. The theory of technology being fully included in school has been debated regularly, but schools should not exclude technology for the sole purpose of excluding technology. I love the way that Mr. McClung put it when he said, "We cannot expect to master computer skills the first time we attempt them, so jump in head first....the water feels fine :)".

Listening to the students is an important aspect of teaching, and it was an aspect that Mr. McClung brought out quite well. If educators agree that the students comprehention of the matterial is the most important aspect of education, then educators must always be willing to listen to what students have to say. If a student is passionate about learning and understanding the matterial, then they will ask questions and want to meet with their teacher. I find the best teachers to be the individuals who do not view themselves as superior to the student, but rather submit themselves to the students as their supporters and mentors. I mean lets be real, if you care for the student then I would image you would be willing to help the student in any way possible. The last thing that Mr. McClung mentioned was the fact that educators should never stop learning. To many people are set in their ways and refuse to change for anyone. This is the main problem that people incounter when trying to incorporate technology in the school system. Educators should be WILLING to try what ever tactic might help a student understand the curiculum. The greatest thing about being willing is that if it doesn't work you don't have to continue using that tactic. I can agree with and fully understand the things that Mr. McClung stated in his first summary post.

June 23, 2011 What I Learned This Year (2010-11)

Mr. McClung's Homeroom Class

Mr. McClung seemed to have ended his third year of teaching just as passionate as he had his first. In What I Learned This Year (2010-11) he explain that the past year was not the same old experience that he had previously gone through. Mr. McClung made mention of the new experiences he had during his third year of teaching. This was his first time to complete two consecutive years at a school, and this was his first experience as head coach at a school. Mr. McClung's first major point in this post was centered upon recognizing the student as the most important person that educators come in contact with everyday. Mr. McClung mentioned the amount of people pleasing that teachers do on a regular basis, and he warned educators not to lose their passion for the kids. He went on to write about how peoples attitudes can so negativity influence your own passion for success. Mr. McClung put it best by stating, "I guess the moral of this lesson is that you cannot allow others to stifle your own excitement and joy that you experience in teaching or any other facet of life for that matter". I have always found discouraging people to be near when I come up with a new tactic, and I have discovered that if I buy into their negative influence then nothing will ever be accomplished.

Mr. McClung went on to write about how we should not be ashamed to be an outsider. This idea falls inline with Mr. McClung's perivious point about not letting the negative addutudes of others influence our own passions. Every time that I have tried to be positive about change I always seem to be standing alone. Mr. McClung mentioned in his first summary post that people are not always passionate about change, and if an individual embraces change they will defiantly feel like the outsider. Yet again Mr. McClung's experience was directed toward me when he made the statement "don't touch the keyboard". The concept of not touching the keyboard refers to teachers who help their students by doing the work for them. All to often teachers have helped me by doing certain tasks for me which ultimatly created an attitude of laziness in my work. Teachers who teach by touching their students keyboard always encourages students to ask more questions and cease thinking for themselves. All to often I have taken the reins from a peer that I have tried to help which ultimatly displayed my skill and did not result in their learning. In my opinion there is no difference between doing the work for students and just lecturing to students all day.

Don't Get Comfortable is the last point that Mr. McClung made in his summary post. He was refering to the his own desire to coast through the students daily work, and not passionatly seek to go above and beyond in order to better benefit the student. To become comfortable is not a benefitial way to achieve a task. The best things in life will take time and effort to achieve, and anything less than active learning will not benefit a child.

I did enjoy reading Mr. McClung's summary posts, and I benefited greatly from reading these two posts. Please feel free to comment on my comentary of Mr. McClung's exceptional work.