Blog Post # 9

Mr. McClung's World:



This week for EDM 310 I was lucky enough to be able to read "Mr. McClung's World" a teaching blog by Mr. Joe McClung. Mr. McClung started this blog after his first year of teaching and writes about his experience with it. He names these articles "What I've Learned This Year". Mr. McClung talks about the good and bad from what he had gained in each of those school years.

In one of his first blog posts he talks about his very first year of teaching. McClung talks about:

How to read the Crowd-
In this section McClung talks about the importance of keeping his mind student focused. Being a teacher just isn't about yourself. It's about your students. The children you're trying to help teach and grow to become promising adults. You shouldn't worry about if you're the best teacher to just outside your classroom, you need to worry about your students. A great quote from McClung is "In order to be effective you have to be able to let your audience drive your instruction."

Be Flexible-
As everyone knows you can plan ANYTHING down to a tee and think everything will be alright. Then just one tiny thing happens, and POOF there goes all of your articulated planning. As a teacher you need to be ready for that. You also have to learn how to go with it. Or as McClung put it be flexible. As a teacher you might make lesson plans expecting your students to understand and they might not. You'll have to slow down and work with them. And not get into a tizzy because this hiccup wasn't in the lesson plan.

Communicate-
Communication is key. In any kind of relationship you must have great communication. One one can read another persons mind and another person can't expect you to. So even as communication is important outside the workplace it is also important inside the workplace.

Be Reasonable-
As a teacher you want your students to be the best. You want them to grasp everything quickly and efficiently, sometimes that doesn't happen. As McClung talked about your students are just children and they're also just human. Everyone messes up. You have to learn to accept that in your students. Not all of them will be get what you're teaching right off the bat. Be patient.

Don't Be Afraid Of Technology-
As I have learned in EDM 310 the whole World is growing and moving into almost 100% technology for everything. There is no way anyone can protest technology any longer. Technology is here to help you and be your friend. Don't be afraid of it just because it's something you're not use to or isn't the norm.

Lastly... Never Stop Learning-
What McClung wants to get across with never stop learning is that "It’s never too late to change your way of thinking, learning, or style". As humans grow, we find more and more information. Don't just let what you learned in school and college make you stop accepting the new and valuable information this world has to offer.

My second blog post I read from Mr. McClung's is his volume 4 post of "What I Learned This Year"(2011-2012). In this post Mr. McClung talks about:

You Gotta Dance With Who You Came With-
In this part Mr.McClung talks about how he knew how he was as a teacher and how his students saw him. But he never really thought about how his coworkers saw him. He says that even though it is important to get along with your coworkers, you can't please everyone. As long as his students are learning and enjoying his class he's happy. He also states that he's not working for his coworkers. He's working for his students. The students are who matter.

Challenge Yourself-
In this section Mr. McClung talks about how easy it was for him to let the lesson plan teach itself and how easy it was to start losing creativity. Don't let yourself get stuck in to a point where teaching becomes boring. Challenge yourself with new obstacles in the classroom. Be the best teacher that your students need you to be.