2 years of college later...

My last blog entry was from 2010 when I had the intention to pursue a career in teaching. Much has changed since then. I have changed my major to accounting and am a quarter away from graduation here at Ohio University. I think finding this blog from two years ago is neat because it allows me to see my change as a person and a student. While I do still believe I want to be a teacher in many ways, I think taking a business route as long as I am here is a more mature and professional decision to make.

Blog 3

I think schools need to focus just as much on social aspects in school as academic aspects. Schools need to organize events and festivities that help children bond and create friendships that will let them grow as a student and an individual. Even small things like celebrating holidays, appropriately, can bring students a long way. Schools need to be viewed as a social institution for several reasons. When students interact with one another they will learn to problem solve not only as individuals but as friends do. Student to student interaction needs to be stressed because this will help kids prepare for the "real world". In school, they will make some of their best friends, but on the other side of the spectrum they can create enemies just as easily. I believe this process is essential to their learning. Students and teachers alike need to willingly involve group activities to promote social growth. Parents also need to be accepting of this process and allow them to grow, even if they don't always have an open mind towards this process in schools.
Personally, I did not fully appreciate the social realm of schooling that I was involved with for so long. I did not even realize it was going on, but looking back, all the activities and gatherings we had really helped me become who I am.
I believe the most powerful and successful characteristics a classroom can have is accepting every student regardless of any background, open-mindfully listening to all ideas, and setting goals for students. These three things alone can really carry a classroom far and I think need to be practiced all over the country. Without picking favorites or creating closed minds, teaching can go a very long way.
I think a personal strength I bring to teaching is my willingness to help everyone and give everyone a chance to succeed. I believe all students have to be given an equal opportunity to learn and excel and I think I am ready to let that happen. I think all teachers bring a very unique characteristic to their own classroom, but I believe this is mine. I think this quality can allow students to feel accepted and reach a sense of accomplishment when a task is performed correctly. I will promote good behavior and let every student know that they are just as meaningful as the next one.

Blog 2

When I finally decided I wanted to be a teacher, I knew the decision of deciding WHAT to teach was going to be difficult. I already knew I wanted to teach in the middle childhood range, now just the subject had to be next. My decision finally came down to becoming a math teacher. As a student, I always enjoyed math and found it a very universal topic that students need to use on a daily basis. I also used my past as motivation to make the decision. I didn't have the best math teachers in the past and I wanted to change that for myself and become the math teacher the children could like. I also feel like a have a good foundation of knowledge towards math to build on and exceed my goals.
As far as math goes, I think the students need to focus on what is at hand, but also be involved in the learning process. I don't think I'll be able to just hand then work and let them go at it because down the road, they need to develop a fundamentally sound base of how to solve problems with a comprehensive style.
I think it is important for the students to learn and master all basic concepts of math before moving on to challenging areas. Like I said before, I would like the students to not only be able to do the work, but understand it. A subject like fractions will take getting used to and I believe a build up to that would be very beneficial. My purpose for teaching students is to motivate and aide them every step of the way. I think I can offer a very good helping hand to students in need.

Blog 1

I see myself as a teacher in many ways. I always had a genuine care for children and this translated into me wanting to help them learn. When I look back and think about certain people who had great influences on me, many of them are teachers I grew up with and that is the same position I want to be in. I want my students to look back eventually and think of me as an influence because then I would feel like I really made a difference. I always like the moment when I teach something to someone and it just "clicks" with them. When I think of teaching young people I like to think it goes beyond classroom learning. I believe having the ability to teach life lessons as well as math lessons is equally important. Teachers need to be able to help students outside the classroom as well as inside. I believe this because when I look at things I've learned I retained certain lesson plans and chapters for only a little time, but the lessons taught to me outside the classroom seem to stick forever. I want to bring this philosophy to my teaching as well. Teaching should go above and beyond the classroom. This idea as a teacher comes natural to me, but I feel like in the atmosphere of many different people and personalities it can get difficult to accomplish. I will work hard to push intellectual and moral values in teaching, though.
A historical educator I think of is named Horace Mann. I remember reading he was credited to creating several principles still used today in school. The one I remember most was his reform to place students in schools where they accept children of all types, regardless of background. I always thought it was very interesting and is still widely accepted today. Another subject he pushed on creating new schools was that he wanted the public to be accepting and involved in the education process so the flow of the community was more lively.
I strongly believe teachers experiences translate into their teaching or lesson plan. I believe this because many people become teachers to give help that they found so useful when they were young. I also think that anyone who comes from a struggle or a hard time in their life can reach success and once they do, it allows them to spread a unique lesson to individuals that not everyone can relay.