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Why do I want to be a teacher?
I want to become a teacher because I love to help others. I like working with kids because they make me happy and I want to be able to help them achieve their goals. During my high school year I had some really nice teachers who wanted me to achieve my goals and because of them I want to do the same to other students. Experiencing working as a tutor also helped me decided that I wanted to be a teacher. I had so much fun and enjoyed working with the students as well helping out the teachers.
Who am I?
My name is Andrea Cruz, I am the first one from my family to attend a four year university. I am a nice, fun, and caring person. I love to meet new people. I also enjoy helping other and being involved in my community. I transfer from Columbia Basin College to Eastern Washington University. I enjoy playing volleyball and hanging out with my family and friends.
Essay 2- Ethical Dilemma
Chapter 8, Dilemma- “ To Tell or Not to Tell” A first year teacher had a conversation with a student where she tells the novice teacher that another teacher has asked her in order to bring up her grade she would have to go to tutoring sessions with him. She confessed that he touches her and she doesn’t feel comfortable being the only one in the room with him. She also mentions to not tell anyone because she doesn’t want to fail the class. If I were in that position I would definitely go to the counselor and the principle. It is the teacher’s responsibility to protect every student and make sure they are safe. According to Morrison teachers have special responsibilities because of their positions as professional educators. Teachers and schools are in loco parentis, the theory that the sate, in school context, act “ in the place of parents” in relationship to the care and education of children. Teachers act in many ways as parents because they have to supervise and guide the students. Teachers are role moles and they should show appropriate manner and discipline. The students are in school for most of the day and parents trust the teachers to educate them and protect them from any harm. Also according to Morrison teachers are required by federal law to report all suspected cases of child abuse. I will keep in mind to never be alone with a student to avoid sexual harassment. I will also act appropriately all the times and if at any point a student comes up to me for advice in dealing with a difficult situation I would go to the counselor or principal for help. With the situation of the novice teacher I wouldn’t want to be charge of negligence and end my career for being such careless of my student’s safety. According to http://cecp.air.org/interact/authoronline/february99/3.htm teachers have a duty to anticipate foreseeable dangers and take necessary precautions to protect students in their care. Because educators’ work with children they are in positions where situations that may lead to liability lawsuits are more likely to occur. When teaching I will keep all the risks in mind. "The Elements of Negligence." The Elements of Negligence. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2012. <http://cecp.air.org/interact/authoronline/february99/3.htm
Educational philosophy
My objective as a teacher is that I want my students to have communication competence. As a Spanish teacher, I want them to learn meaningful contexts as well apply them to real-life situations. I don’t want to teach them just grammar and not be able to communicate with others. I want my students to be in a learning environment and as well have them engage. Some methods I consider useful are having students work in groups because I believe that they could also learn from their peers. I will consider having interactive lectures, form learning/reading circles, and create fun activities for them to do while learning Spanish. When it comes to assessing my students, I would use different assessment styles. I don’t want my students to just take test after test because I don’t want to cause anxiety and there might be students who don’t do well on exams, but know the material well. I will create projects, presentations, essays, oral assessment, and etc. to test their knowledge on the subject. I want to be an effective as well a fun teacher. I want my students to remember me as the Spanish teacher who taught them well while having fun.
Self-assessment
The class was challenging to me because I never had a class once a week for 3 hours. It was difficult because I felt that I got off task and had to learn on my own when I wasn't in class. I didn’t felt that once a week was enough for me to learn because I was used to going to school for four days straight in every of my classes. It was a good learning experience because I gain to be more independent .I had the choice to whether learn or not. From what was presented in class I learn a lot. I learned about the benefits of being a teacher, as well the disadvantages. When teaching I will keep in mind about the accountability a teacher has, the rights, and how to be an effective teacher. This class taught me to be more aware and the responsibility a teacher has. I still want to teach because I love working with kids. It might be a tough and stressful journey as a novice teacher, but I know I will be able to make it through.
Reflective Essay1
I want to become a teacher because I love helping people. I want to contribute to my community and being a teacher will help me reach out to students as well to parents. When I was in high school I had some really nice teachers that care for me and wanted me to succeed because of them I want to do the same thing for other students. My parents are also my motivation. I am the first one in my family to pursue a degree and I want them to feel proud of me. I want to be a role model for young people and let them know that anything is possible with the right help and desire. When I was working as a GEAR UP tutor in Ellen Ochoa Middle School in Pasco I had so much fun working with the teachers and students. It made me realize that I do want to become a teacher and help student’s achieved their goals. According to most educators they agree that good teaching is based on four things such as bringing an appropriate core of knowledge into the classroom, promoting student achievement through use of proficiencies and skills, believing in yourself as a teacher, and being accountable for what you and your students achieve. As a teacher you will need to know what to teach because students need to be competent in the subject area taught. Also teachers should know how to teach because we live in a diverse society therefore teachers must be skilled to teach to a variety of students as well as motivating and guiding them. Teachers should also keep up with technology because when using authentic materials we don’t want to distract our students and interrupt during a teaching task. Knowing your students is very important because it would help us teachers to see how students learn and process information. A good teacher reflects on their lesson plans to see if the students reached the objective. Teachers also reflect on student’s evaluation to see if they need to improve their teaching strategies. A good teacher is a life long learner always accruing new knowledge and trying new teaching styles. Everyone wants to be a good teacher but it takes practices to become an effective teacher. Effective teachers use their proficiencies to promote student learning. An effective teacher has high expectations for learners and believes that all students are capable of learning. They successfully communicate those expectations to all students and if students do not learn something the first times effective teachers teach it again or find another way to teach it. Some teachers provide a mix of academic tasks designed to allow students to comprehend key ideas and connect and apply those ideas, not simply memorize. For example, as a Spanish teacher I will keep this in mind because I don’t want my students to learn a list of vocabulary that they wouldn’t apply it to a real-life situation. I will have a mixture of task and activities where they will learn the target language as well to apply it to a real-life conversation. Providing classroom leadership and organization helps students be in a supportive learning environment. According to researchers they said that effective teachers tend to show charisma, compassion, and a send of fairness. Having a positive attitude will engage students to learn and be comfortable around each other. Pacing curriculum and instruction for individual learners is essential because teachers don’t want to overwhelm students will new information. Covering the material in small steps will help student’s process the information given. Effective teachers focus on students’ needs and interests. They engage students in projects and problem-solving activities, and provide cooperative learning opportunities for students to work with other students. I believe that teachers being more student center provide the learner to be more engage and willing to learn new materials. In order for me to become an effective teacher I think I will need to improve on coming up with different learning strategies. When teaching I know there will be a variety of students with different background, so when teaching I will keep in mind to come up with activities that would get everyone enthusiastic and eager to learn. As a new teacher it would be hard to keep a pace during a lesson plan so it would be best if I had a back up plan just in case something goes wrong. Becoming a teacher is providing student-center teaching so I will need to learn how to manage teacher-center teaching and student-center teaching when teaching at a classroom. Hopefully along the way I will learn how to combine both teacher and student center teaching. Cited work: Morrison, George S. Teaching in America. Fifth ed.: Pearson, 2008. Print
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