Author: blfinley

What a perfect article for a new teacher.   I appreciate very much the advice in this article.   Every point in here is spot on.   1. Loving kids is not enough.   It certainly isn’t.   And sadly, you truly can’t save them all.   2. You will definitely wear many hats as a teacher.   You can fill the role of a counsellor, you may have students you provide food or school supplies to, and etc.   Your duties don’t stop in the classroom.

3.Keep all the bad pictures and everything else.   It will be a cherished thing later in life.   I actually punched a hole in my school ID from last year and hung it on our Christmas tree. I am proud of myself from surviving last year and will keep that forever.

4.We all can attest to the fact that there is not a perfect lesson out there.   It doesn’t exist.   Especially when you are getting evaluated.   That is the time that literally EVERYTHING will go wrong.

5. Putting kids before content is an easy one.   We have to gauge our students.   If you are losing them or they are falling behind you have to sometimes backtrack and refocus.

6.   This one sometimes seems like the hardest one!   It can be discouraging and no doubt teaching is hard work.   The rewards far out weigh the workload.   Buckle down and keep trudging ahead.

https://www.aeseducation.com/blog/8-wildly-successful-classroom-management-strategies-for-2018

Personalized learning would be quite the change in our classrooms….or would it?   I didn’t know much about personalized learning until I read the article and a couple others on the topic. According to the article it is “an alternative to one-size-fits-all instruction; it’s student-centered learning.” (Online glossary of educational reform).

Although change is often feared we do work in a progressive career.   Education is ever changing and we learn new things and adapt old methods all the time.   We have so many ways in practice to reach every student and ensure all students meet goals and obtain diplomas.

Something like personalized learning involves everyone.   It would involve the student, the teachers, the parents, the administrators, and the classroom.

This is a new thing and there isn’t much evidence on the results but I think if we could make this work there is much promise involved.   Each child has the right to an education and since all students learn differently we have to have ways to reach them at their levels.

If you take a look at the article I posted below there are some practical examples of ways to make this work.

https://www.edelements.com/blog/six-examples-of-what-personalized-learning-looks-like

The Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is one of those current   “hot topics” in media and political talks.   When originally introduced the intent was to protect undocumented immigrants from deportation if certain criteria was met. These are the points of the criteria;

1. You were under 31 years old as of June 15, 2012;
2. You first came to the United States before your 16th birthday;
3. You have lived continuously in the United States from June 15, 2007 until the present;
4. You were physically present in the United States on June 15, 2012 and at the time you apply;
5. You came to the United States without documents before June 15, 2012, or your lawful status expired as of June 15, 2012;
6. You are currently studying, or you graduated from high school or earned a certificate of completion of high school or GED, or have been honorably discharged from the Coast Guard or military (technical and trade school completion also qualifies); and
7. You have NOT been convicted of a felony, certain significant misdemeanors (including a single DUI), or three or more misdemeanors of any kind.

The purpose of DACA was not only for protection but to allow time for the people covered under the ACT to have time to obtain citizenship. I have heard many debates related to this point.   I realize there are many people in this country that do not know they may need to apply for citizenship. There are also many people, like the parents of some of our students,   that did know they needed to apply for citizenship and simply didn’t try to complete the process.   By stating this, I am not saying I support DACA. I am simply questioning why obtaining citizenship was not a process they completed.

I do not think people that live and work and call the USA home should be deported.   Especially if it means separating families! The impact this is having on people’s lives it extreme.   We have students in our classrooms that are candidates for deportation.   There are people throughout this country that live and work beside us that are candidates for deportation.   Have we really looked ahead at the big picture and how this will affect our own way of life if this continues?

https://www.theperspective.com/perspectives/politics/daca-program-good-bad-america/