Blog Assignment #9

Joe McClung

Joe McClung has blog posts summing up what he felt are the more important things he has learned in his first three years of teaching. In his first blog, "What I've Learned This Year (2008-09)", Mr. McClung points out qualities and skills that are not only valuable to teachers, but to any person of any profession. Learning how to read a crowd, to be flexible, to communicate, to be reasonable, to not be afraid of technology, to listen to students, and to continue to learn are the key points of this blog. These are skills that we would want anyone to have, rather it be our president or our garbageman. Know how to read and react to those that you serve, be willing to accept that things will not always go as planned, be capable and willing to engage others, be fair and forgiving, don't be unwilling to incorporate technology into the work process, listen to those you serve, and continue to get at better at your profession is what Mr. McClung is ultimately saying. I would like to think that teachers re-evaluate themselves after each year, and check their success in each of these areas. In my mind, if all teachers posed each point as a question to themselves after every school year, and answered yes, the problems we are facing would fade very fast.
Mr. McClung's third blog post, What I Learned This Year (2010-2011), his topic points were know your boss, don't expect others to be as excited about change as you are, don't be afraid to be an outsider, don't touch the keyboard, and don't get comfortable. Some of those are self-explanatory. When he writes about knowing your boss, he is referring to the students. I can't argue with his description, but I have a different perspective of students. They are essentially customers. They teacher, and the institution of education, is being asked and paid to serve them with knowledge, theory, skills, and many other services. With this perspective you can maintain the individual aspect of the students. They are never your governing body, unless you choose for them to be. Don't be afraid to be an outsider. Here Mr. McClung is speaking to situations where one or a few teachers may have a different teaching style, or approach, or level of affection for the students. He states that it is important for educators to remain true to themselves no matter what opinions your peers and co-workers may have of you. To not touch the keyboard, in his blog, is to not do the work for the students. I am glad he pointed this out. I have met students like this and I had classmates that were just the same. These students are not incapable, but they would rather have someone else to or let someone else do the work for them to avoid struggling or putting forth the effort. So hopefully I can store this advice for my future students.