Abstract: In Rick Wormeli's Meet Me In the Middle, the first chapter discusses the topic of communication with your students, most importantly, attitudes. First, the stereotypical thoughts of some teachers are "TGIF" or "The best three things about teaching, June, July and August." Our attitude towards teaching is one of the biggest things we need to remember when we walk into that classroom. If we walk in positive and upbeat then our students are going to perfer to learn from us, compared to someone that walks in complaining or rude. It is also a big deal, because at this time in their lives they are looking at someone to be a role model for them. They need someone that will lead them in the right direction, and if we have an attitude that discourages them from looking up to us then how will they ever learn from us? The author also mentions that what we put into teaching is what we will get out of teaching. If you go in with a poor attitude then you aren't going to get a whole lot out of your teaching experience. We also learn from this chapter that we need to remember the idea of perceptions, and that not everyone's are the same. One time you may crack a joke at a student, not thinking a big deal of it, but it could be one of the most hurtful comments in the student's eyes. Perception could also be based on the student- teacher relationship, because a student may take one comment from a teacher a totally different way than they would the same comment from a different teacher.
Reflection:
"The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires," - William Author Ward
This was a quote that caught a lot of us as an awesome quote. This quote demonstrates what kind of teacher you are depending on your attitude towards teaching. If you go in there lazy and just reading from the book with no enthusiasim in what you are teaching, then you will be the mediocre teacher that tells. If you go into the classroom with great activties and a passion for what you are teaching and who you are teaching then you could be that superior teacher.
Another thing that caught much of the classes eye was the idea of touching your students. This was a ify topic because we have been told over and over again, limit physical contact with students. In the book, Wormeli discusses this idea, because that way, students can see that you are real, that you are human being too. If you touch their shoulder or their hand then they can see that you are person to. Now in some instances with students, they may not want you in their "bubble" or they maybe not want you to touch them at all.
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14 comments:
The “attitude” link has a great article on different aspects a teacher should have to be a good effective teacher. The “touching” link leads to the CEC website which has several additional links one for special education and what is happening. It also has some great information on licensing for new teachers. The article that is on the linked page is useful in that it gives “THE LAW’ what is happening now in how the touching aspect in teaching is being sorted out. Great web site!!
I really like the attitide link. There is a lot of useful information included in this link. I think the way the article is set up makes it really easy to navigate. I also like the other link as well. I only wish they had given a more definitive answer!
:)
Nice job with the blog and superb job with the attitudes link. I like how it breaks down the five major attitudes for teachers and how they affect students. I also liked the research about the five attitudes. The other link was good as well, talking about touching in the classroom. It is a good reference for a teacher who would like to know some of the laws and whether or not a pat on the back could be taken by a student as over the line.
I thought that the attitude link was a good source on how to maintain a positive demeanor as a teacher. The five traits was especially interesting. I really thought the CEC link was informative as it is a topic that I have often wondered about. I also liked that the CEC site has other very interesting and good links that could be useful in a variety of situations.
I really like how you summed up our reflections of the chapter; I think you captured the vibe our class gives off.
The CEC link is a great resource, and a pertinent addition to your abstract.ds
I think the article about touching your students has very good guidelines. You always have to think about the age, sex, and maturity level of your students. It does make a good point about special education students. They require more contact then other students. Good job!
I think the touching your student link is good, but I feel as though it doesn't really tell us anything we already don't know. We live in a world that is bound and determined to sue somebody. People make a living off of sueing people. I guess it all comes back to your personal philosophy and what you think is right and wrong and make your decisions based on that. But, if you really value your job you may want to consider the hands off policy.
The attitude link is amazing. It goes back and supports all of the things that we have been learning along the way. But, by participating in all of the things they suggest you show the students that you care and are invested in them and then they want to be there and will give you more in return. Good link.
Just skimming through the "attitudes" article, the five attitudes heading stood out to me more then any of the others. I liked the five they listed and think it is a good thing to review every time you enter a classroom. The teachers attitude really does have a major impact on the students learning and the atmosphere of the classroom, so I was glad to see that there was an article on it.
Also just skimming through "hug or not to hug," I found it fascinating that they had the same "shoulder" rule as Dr. Grace. I plan on going back and reading the whole article as that is something I should defiantly be aware of.
I like the attitude link because it talks about effective and ineffective attitudes. I think that the ineffective attitudes are almost more helpful because it shows what doesn't work. I also liked the touching link because it is a very hard subject to figure out. Laws are good to know what are the rules involving the touching. I think that it is always best to follow the laws when they are in place instead of going on a case by case basis.
by: Angela L.
The concept of coming into a classroom setting with the right attitude is key for intellectual development, and creating the safe environment that we have been discussing. Looking at both the hyperlinks on the blog I find that they were very informative towards the key aspects of right way to do certain things. For this example touching your students is a challenging task. good work
As a member of CEC, I really liked the article. It'd be nice if all states defined what was appropriate touch for students, but I think the Pennsylvania law is very cold, and I think a pat on the shoulder sometimes wouldn't be enough to raise student's spirits.
The attitude link looks really informative and helpful. I especially like how it addresses appropriate and inappropriate attitudes to give the reader a more complete perspective on just how important having a positive attitude is for student learning. The Hug or Not Hug article is interesting, but it seems to only reiterate what we have discussed in class. The attitude link is certainly a keeper.
The "touching your students" link seems like a very useful link. Not just the actual part about touching, but the whole site itself seems very useful. There are links to accreditation and current special education topics that I think would be worth while to read. There is a link at the bottom on the page called Subject Area. It gives you strategies for teaching your subject area to children and youth with disabilities and/or gifts and talents. Although this is not extremely relevant to this middle grades class, we will all have disabled students in our future classes.
I liked the "touching" link. I believe touching students (i.e. giving high-fives, pats on the back, etc.) can be very effective. I think we should be teaching our students/children about good touches and bad touches. The debate will continue to go on...
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