Relationships

Provided by Jennlynn88 (Wikimedia Commons)

As a teacher, I think it will be very important to form a relationship with each of your students as well as their parents. When you know your students well enough, you know what is normal for them and what is not. When you know the parents, you know what their expectations are or if they even care. My youngest son has the same teacher his brother had last year; so while she is getting to know my youngest this year, she already knows what I expect because she met me last year. My kids generally stay on task with their studies and are usually really excited about school. I recently received an email about my son and his current progress in class, what I remember most about the email is that his teacher stated "I know you have very high expectations for your sons", this meant a lot to me because it shows me that his particular teacher in spite of all she has to take care of still has the time to remember how to handle each parent individually, as well as each child. I hope that when I become a teacher I'm able to be the same way, I think it shows the parents and students that you actually pay attention and you're not just going through the motions. Especially when the student's behavior changes or they start to struggle academically, having this relationship will make addressing the issue easier. You'll have a background on what works with approaching the child and his or her parents. Parent/Teacher/ Student Relationship

Encouragement

Wikimedia Commons

As time is drawing near I learn more and more about the different requirements that are needed for me to become a certified teacher. Sometimes just thinking of all the different tests that are required can be overwhelming especially when I calculate the time that I’ve currently had to study. Knowing that there is a change coming up for the rules of the test just adds even more pressure! It made me think about students that I may encounter in my class, who don’t have family that encourages them when everything gets to be too much. I have my parents, husband, children, and friends even at my age who encourage and uplift me because they’re just as excited about me completing my goal. As a future educator I wonder if I’ll be able to recognize those students and give them the extra encouragement that they will need.  As a teacher you’re probably already encouraging your students, but it’s on a generalized level and that might be enough for some students but not all. I didn’t encounter many people growing up that I could identify in that situation, but as an adult, a parent, a teacher, you become more aware of people in your surroundings. I hope that throughout my journey I’m able to be one those teachers who said few words that made great change a student’s life. Encourage Students

 

Sneeze, Cough, Blow Nose, Repeat

Provided by Gnome (Wikimedia Commons)

It's that time again, actually from the first week of school it always feels like it's that time, Flu season! How do teachers make it a whole school year without getting sick? I know some teachers can't, but it seems like the majority of them never get sick. This week both of my boys were out sick from school but I didn't get sick. I usually don't catch what they have because it's just the two of them and I tend to contain the problem before it spreads to everyone in the house. Two is easy to contain, what about 15-20 kids in a class that are taking turns each week being out sick, how do you survive that? I remember when I was in school the nurse could give us over the counter pain medication for a headache or Pepto for a stomachache, what happened to that? Having a note for prescribed medication was always a  must, but what happened to the school nurse’s supply of over the counters? Even something as simple as cough drop has to be signed in these days, what’s that about? In preparation of entering the never ending zone of germs, I hope that several cases of Lysol and tons of hand sanitizer will do the trick, it works at home, so hopefully it’ll carry me through!Cold & Flu