Teaching at its best!

"Good teachers are costly, but bad teachers cost more." -Bob Talbert

I believe when all teachers went into this profession, we didn't think about how much we were going to get paid. We went into the profession because we truly believe that we were going to make a difference with all our students. Sadly, their are many bad seeds in the teaching profession that are just there to collect a paycheck every two weeks without giving their all. In return, students pay the price of not being prepared for the future and that is costly!

In Chapter 13, Taberski uses reader response sheets in her teaching. When I was a classroom teacher for seven years I used this as one of my writing centers. My students just loved writing about what they read and drawing their favorite part of the book. In return, I loved reading what they had to write about!

Sky's the limit!

"Life is amazing and the teacher had better prepare himself to be a medium for that amazement." -Edward Blishen

There are so many wonderful things that a teacher can teach a student not only in the classroom, but about life as well. The opportunities that a teacher can open for a student is endless!

What stood out in Chapter 12 for me was the weekly reading logs that Taberski had her students fill out. Each student wrote about how they were successful in their reading for the week and for next what their goal was. That is positive teaching at its best!

Give students something to think about!

"I like a teacher who gives you something to take home to think about besides homework." -Edith Ann

Teachers who bring imagination and excitement to students are the true teachers for our students!

Taberski mentions in Chapter 11 that teachers need to find the right books for all their students to read. I started my library for my classroom early on before I began teaching. Then when I started my profession, my library grew abundantly. I got my students to order from Scholastic and got points to add on to my collection. Not to mention that attending the IRA monthly meetings gave me the opportunity to purchase more for my students and to use them in my thematic units. I am proud of my classroom library!

Touch the Hands of Tomorrow

"Teachers don't impact for a year, but for a lifetime." -Anonymous

A teacher's work is everlasting. All students remember the teacher that made the most difference in their lives.

The most interesting part of Chapter 10 was Taberski providing several key practices for doing one-one-one instruction with students. I like how she starts off her individual conferences with telling how the student is doing and she is very honest with her feedback. I could visualize her in the classroom as this dynamic teacher getting through to all her students. What a wonderful sight to see! A practice that I would love to take on if I do go back into the classroom one day!

A teacher's dream

The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called truth." -Dan Rather

All teachers should believe that their students will be successful in life. Teachers are there to mold and shape them even if the students like it or not!

What I got out of Chapter 9 was Taberski discussing her "dependable" spelling pattern word wall. When I was a second grade teacher for seven years, I had a word wall of my own in my classroom. These words were used as spelling words and my students would define and use these words in their daily journal entries. My student won the Second Annual Second Grade Spelling Bee. Her winning word was "anxiously". It was also a word in my word wall!

Keeping Up with ED 647

"Tell me and I forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I'll understand." Chinese Proverb

Involving students in any kind of lesson is always a valuable way to teach them!

Its been awhile sine I last blogged. I apologize. Life and all of its obstacles have gotten in my way. I am going to try and be dedicated in consistently blogging to you all for the remainder of the semester. I have been good in keeping up with my assignments but I haven't been good at visiting this blogg site. I enjoy reading our chapters and writing a reflection about the different startegies and skills that Taberski discusses. I am preparing for our upcoming Lesson Plans and Position paper that is due for our class. How about you all? See you all soon!

Teaching should be meaningful

"A teacher affects eternity, he can never tell where his influence stops." -Henry Brooks Adams

To put it simply, a teacher gives direction to all their students. It is the student's choice to take that inspiration and become the great person that he/she is intended to be.

I enjoyed reading Chapter 8 because Taberski wrote about her experiences about guided reading. During my student teaching, my master teacher used this strategy in her reading. She was in charge of two reading groups while I was in charge of one. It was great to learn how to find the different kinds of books to fit each child's need in the group that I was in charge of. Eventually, I was in charge of the whole class which was a challenge that I embraced.