Implementation Report 1
Well, as you will hear in my video, implementation has not been a smooth process. I guess that whenever you implement something new, most times its implementation will not be a smooth process. Trying things and learning from our mistakes is how we grow though. I can't strive to be the best educator that I can be without changing for the age that I live in and the students that I deal with. Mind you, inner city kids and suburban kids are different in some ways, but overall they are still kids with their own sets of issues. Student engagement and motivation sounds so simple and yet it is so complicated. School shouldn't be like it used to be. Most of the jobs we used to train students for don't exist anymore. To be effective, we have to train them for jobs that haven't been created yet. We have to teach them to think outside the box because different and creative thinkers are what our society values now in some ways. I have started my implementation and I am learning a great deal. It is hard to constantly be reflective and to use student complaints and criticisms to find ways to address their needs rather than telling them to just do it or getting upset and shutting down. Some of the students that I was unable to reach had reasons behind the way that they behaved. If I had not taken the time to collaborate with my colleagues, I never would have discovered what some of my students are really dealing with. They have a whole set of baggage that was unheard of in my day. Seeing them as people dealing with adult problems that I still have to teach has helped me to better understand their interactions in class and the difficulties that they have with my curriculum. I have been able to develop a rapport with some of the students who cause the most havoc in other people's classes. So far, according to some of my students, I have succeeded in presenting my material in a way that makes learning my material doable for my students even if they have to do work. I think that is progress. I look forward to updating you on my progress next month. |
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