Chapter 14: Succeeding in Your Teacher Education Program--and Beyond

There are two types of concerns when it comes to becoming a teacher for me. The first really has little to do with my ability and is out of my control however I can not help but worry about it. I fear that I will get a position in a school that will be forced to make teacher cuts in the following year or two and I will be out of a job. I know that it is not truly a reflection of the teacher, but having to reapply to another district after losing a position I think would reek of poor teaching skills. While most schools are probably aware that good teachers can lose their jobs, it seems more realistic that the hiring committee would have a predetermined opinion that the candidate was a poor teacher. My other concern is that I will be ineffective for some students. I am fairly confident that I can develop lessons and activities that will get allow all students to learn the material. However I fear that there will come a time when a child asks me a clarifying question and I will not be able to make the math "click" for them.

The area of concern I would fall into would be the Unconcerned and the Impact areas. I will focus on the Impact area because the Unconcerned worry really is out of my control so time would be wasted giving it too much weight. There was no Self or Task concerns in my thought. I am confident in my ability to talk to a class and teach them math. I am also ready to prepare lessons and activities. Being prepared will be the easy part of teaching, the hard part will come in when "the last two students", as named in the book, need help clarifying. Everyone sees math differently that it might be like trying to win an argument when you do not know what the other person is thinking. The stage of my concern is number four. I fear most that I will not be able to reach a student and let them see how the material is pertinent to their personal sphere.

Chapter 13: Improving Teachers and Schools, and School Reform

The most important and obvious addition to my resume will be a college degree. At long last will my professional resume be at a level that will open many more opportunities. I also wish to do my student teaching in a program that is known to be strong in math, so having that location on my resume can be a credit to my training. I feel those two aspects of the college experience are the only ones that will add credibility to my resume.
The additional certification that has grabbed my attention is the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification. Creating a portfolio of work that demonstrates to the trained eye that you are an effective teacher carries a lot of weight. I am not convinced that getting the certificate will mean that I am a better teacher. The major reason I would strive to achieve that certification would to survive. With all the economic turmoil that schools are being subjected to right now there is a constant worry for young teachers that they may lose their job. I feel that being Nationally certified would weigh heavily in my favor if the choice between my job and another teacher's job ever came up.

Chapter 7: Thinking about Teaching and Learning

The following list is composed of ideas that I would like to include in my philosophy of education from the material in chapter 7 of The Joy of Teaching, written by Gollnick, Hall, and Quinn (2008):

• The Socratic Method (p. 264) seems like a good idea to get children involved in the material. Asking multiple questions to build to an answer instead of just asking a question to get one answer is a method I think would work well. Questions and answers are a good way of assessing if the students are understanding the material.
• The first assumption of Hilda Taba I completely agree with. It says that "Thinking can be taught" (p. 267). I feel like students should be encouraged to think and be given tools and opportunities to further advance their abilities to think and construct ideas.
• An idea that will work well in math is the Confucius method. This is where the material is given in three ways, reflection, imitation, and experience (p.275). In math that would be introducing the new concept, doing some examples together as a class, and then letting the students experience the material on their own and see how they work through it.

References:
Gollnick, D., Hall, G., & Quinn, L. (2008). The Joy of Teaching: Making a Difference in Student Learning. Pearson Education Inc., 258-291.