Assignment #1

When I thought about this assignment I had no idea where I would begin. An idea came to me like an epiphany, why don’t I go to an elementary school. The teacher I observed was in the teaching field for six years and she said that she could not imagine doing anything else. She is a teacher for the 2nd grade and she exclaimed many times how much she loves it. Her name was Mrs. Murray and she said her students call her Mrs. M because she wants an open and easy relationship with her kids. She said that she first had the idea of becoming an educator because of the experience she had with her 2nd grade teacher. “My second grade teacher was so loving and nurturing; she was like another mother to the students.” I found myself thinking back to this class and how the professor said that now-a-days we are more than teachers. After second grade her goal in life was to become an educator. She then went to school to become a teacher and luckily she found a job where she did her internship. She later married her high school sweetheart and had a son a year later. She explained to me that becoming a mother aided her tremendously in becoming a teacher.
Her teaching philosophy was that of Aristotle, “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” I of course asked her to explain because I didn’t understand. She said that everyone in this life must strive to be as learned as possible in all areas and in all cultures. “If a person is educated in all areas of life they will be able to understand and teach all people and all cultures.” She said that she is able to tell that her students are learning by how easily over time they grasp what is being taught. She said that she has some students that grasp the material immediately and some who take a little but more time than others to understand. She said the reason for this is because the students learn in different ways. “When I am teaching math I first do problems on the board and explain what I am doing and why I am doing it this way. I then ask questions to see how much information the students are processing. I later have a few of the students who understand better when they do problems on the board come up and do problems on the board.” This again brought me back to class and made me remember when we talked about different learning styles. She said that technology is extremely important to integrate within the classroom. “I know these kids are young but they know computers. These computers you see have also been a big help with my children’s learning.” For an hour a day she has her kids read interactive books on the computer or math problems using the computer.
She explained to me how a lesson plan is important but you cannot have it written in stone. “I try to dedicated two hours to reading and writing but at times that can be difficult because my children need time to grasp what I am trying to teach or many times I have to try different methods to try to get my kids to understand.”
When I asked her about another job that she may have had that prepared her for teaching she said that her first job taught her many valuable experiences. Her first job was at a movie theater and at first I could not find the connection between the two but when she explained to me why the connection became more visible. She said that at the concession stand she dealt with a lot of different personalities. “Some of the people were very sweet and others were rude to the point where it was unbelievable. I finally learned after a few weeks of working there that all every customer wanted was to be treated with respect and wanted you to take a little interest in them. That always brought the best out of them.” She says she applies this methodology to her students and it always works. If you find about what they like you will find out about how they learn and you can draw the best out of them.
I feel that observing Mrs. M was extremely important in my journey as an educator. She told me that an educator must have patience and a genuine love of the profession. I believe this because in class we talked about how easily you can get burnt out. What struck me as most important is when she told me that in order to be an effective educator me must be lifelong students. I agree with this because we can always learn to better ourselves.