Reflection pages

“Teaching and teacher education”

            This article focuses on how new teachers adapt to changing environments or curve balls thrown at them, versus how well seasoned teachers react and adapt to those situations. It states that occupational therapists, physiotherapists, and social workers received lots of help from their older peers and co workers who had more experience, while young freshly graduated teachers did not receive that help. I find that interesting because I see it as “if im willing to care for and teach these students then I want them to get the best education from all of their teachers.” So why wouldn’t I help my younger colleagues? In this article it states “No other profession takes newly certified graduates and places them in the same situation as seasoned veterans, and gives them no organized support”, and that hit me hard. Because its true! I cant think of any job that I’ve ever had that will hire someone with no experience to be much higher than the low man on the totem pole. So why do teachers have to go through that? They go in as a first year teacher and have just as much of a workload if not more than veterans and they have to get it done, and likely for less money! It just doesn’t make any sense. All of these other jobs and career paths require job experience and lots of training and starting low, but not teaching! The turnover rates for teachers are around 50% in the first five years, I WONDER WHY? They have so much pressure and work load with little to no support and are expected to preform with all of these standards and guidelines. It just doesn’t make any sense. This article made me think about teaching on a whole different level.

FROM PRESERVICE TO INSERVICE TEACHING: a study of technology integration

            This article discusses how teachers are supposed to be able to apply the technology that’s changing to the technology they learn through out their degree program. Some of the reasons that teachers are unable to fully understand and be competent in technology are, insufficient training, inadequate resources, limited awareness, content coverage and preparation time. A lot of these I feel are things that we as panhandle students will struggle with. We don’t have a lot of access to the new technology that is coming out to aid teachers and students in classrooms. I mean think about it, even the equipment we do have rarely works the way it is supposed to. I do think that the professors do everything they can with what they have and that’s all we as future educators can ask for. I just think sometimes students from larger universities will have the upper hand just for the lack of resources here. As future educators we are taught how to do things in a general aspect, but these articles are trying to make us see the bigger picture, we cant always just go off of what we have been taught. We as teachers have to be able to adapt and change based on the technology and even the guidelines we have to follow. Because the world is ever changing and there is nothing we can do to stop it. I know personally I think about having to adapt to different cultures or different schools when I think about a lesson plan. I realize that I will have to be able to change and compromise based on my environment and there is nothing I can do about it, especially starting out.