Blog Post 9

Mr. McClung's blog post do an excellent job of answering some important questions future teachers may have. His first post gives many useful tips for first year teachers. One great point he made was to listen to students and try to take interest in their lives. Many teachers do seem to lose sight of this and generally focus far more on their lesson than each student's reaction to it. Another great point he made was to be flexible. Sometimes lessons need to be altered to better make a point; a great teacher can react to students needs and find creative ways to meet them.

I thought this was a great blog post. I would prefer to read more of these types of posts because they give realistic expectations for young teachers, and they also provide useful tips on how to react to problems that arise in the classroom. Hearing these types of things from a first year teacher was very beneficial

Mr. McClung's third blog post was much different than his first one. It is very obvious that he has undergone a great deal of growth as an educator over the past few years. He focused much less on his mistakes than his successes in this post. His most important piece of advice was to not be afraid to stand out of the crowd as a teacher. Many teachers strive to be accepted by their peers nearly as much as students do, and it is impossible for students to learn that it is okay to make their own path if teachers are afraid to do so.

These posts are some of the best material we have read in EDM 310. I enjoy seeing the pitfalls of being a young educator and how to overcome them. I hope to follow Mr. McClung's advice and never become complacent as a teacher. I always want to push myself and do what I think is right much like Mr. McClung.