Hello,
I hope this blog provides you with some helpful tips to try
to understand your students better. By
sharing my experiences with you, it is my hope that you will gain knowledge on
wanting to be in this profession we call, “education.” I knew I wanted to be a Spanish teacher my
junior year in high school. I had a
particular teacher that always commented that my writing was never good enough
for her standards. I always tried to
meet her expectations, but in her eyes, what I did was never enough. The interesting part of our relationship was
that I passed the AP Spanish Language (Advanced Placement) exam in high school,
and it taught me that it really does not matter what anyone says to you about
what you can or cannot do. What matters
is really what do you believe of yourself, and what you can accomplish. Knowing that I was going to have her my
senior year of high school for an AP Spanish Literature class did not make me
enthusiastic about the course. However,
I challenged myself and still took the class knowing that all I was going to
receive from this teacher was how I was a horrible writer. She actually motivated me to prove her wrong,
and by doing that, I passed that exam as well.
Inside of me I always asked myself why does my Spanish teacher treat me
like this? Why does she not like me? I
would never treat my students like this if I ever became a Spanish teacher.
Which for the past fifteen years I have been just that, a Spanish teacher. I
have taught all levels of high school Spanish classes, including the AP
classes. I am now in my sixth year as a Department Chair at my job.
My message here is that young adults already have enough
problems in their lives, and adding more is not the answer. Instead of demotivating our students we can
motivate them to make better decisions in their lives, and if they believe they
can accomplish something they are perusing then help them by supporting them
and showing them they can accomplish what they think. In my eyes these students
are one of a kind. I mean that in a
great way. Every grade level you teach
that teacher has to have a certain gift that students gravitate to him/her and
want to be around them. For 10th
grade, I believe teachers have to be stern but loving, listen and provide
choices for them to make, show them pros and cons constantly, and always teach
with love and honesty. Most importantly
always provide them with positive comments since they probably rarely hear them
sometimes. Students in this age group
respect and enjoy a teacher that shows passion in his/her classroom and
understands them not only in school but also as a whole person. Confidence in you as a teacher provides
students to have confidence in themselves.
Every year there is a different group of students that walk
into your classroom. We have the opportunity as their teachers to guide and
mentor them to be wonderful confident individuals. We as teachers can provide confidence
in our students, for them to learn different approaches in curriculum through
technology. As a student who is a visual learner can adapt to changes in the
class, by using e-books through an iPad. This can also help a student who needs
resources to listen to an audio text. E-books can aid in the use of
incorporating Gardner’s use of multiple intelligences. Where students can adapt
to change. Therefore if students are comfortable adapting to change that builds
confidence in themselves to adapt to any change they encounter in life. To access Gardner's site, click here
The following video I chose by Dr. Ivan Joseph is titled,
“The skill of self-confidence”. He mentions that self-confidence is a
skill. You have to be persistent. As individuals we need to stop listening to
all the negative thoughts we think about.
He mentions how everyone has periods in his or her life where you do not
believe in yourself. Something that can
help is to write a letter to yourself and all the things that you are proud
of. As educators, instead of
humiliating a student and focusing on what they are doing wrong; I agree with
Dr. Ivan Joseph, you should give more positive praise to your students and
their performance will change. Enjoy the video.
