Blog Post #9

What I've Learned This Year (2008-2009)
By: Joe McClung

In Joe McClung's first blog, he talks about the what he learned after his first year of teaching. McClung states seven things that he learned his first year of teaching. He starts off talking about what he learned first, which is "How To Read The Crowd".  He states how when he first started he was worried what his superiors thought and about his delivery. In the end he realized what really mattered was not his delivery of content but students comprehension. He next learned to be "Flexible". McClung states how it is ok if mistakes are are made when creating a lesson. Don't stress if you make a mistake, just work through the problem. The third thing he learned was "Communicate." Joe McClung says "Communicating is the best way to resolve any issue in the workplace." The fourth thing he learned was "Be Reasonable." Teachers don't need to hold high expectations for their students, they just need to keep encouraging them. The fifth lesson was "Don't Be Afraid Of Technology." Technology is here to stay and don't be afraid using it. The sixth lesson was "Listen To Your Students." He says to listen to your students and take interest in their lives. The last thing McClung says he learned was "Never Stop Learning." He says to never stop being open to learning new things. I really enjoyed his blog post and plan on following his words of advice when I start teaching.


What I Learned This Year (2010-2011)
By: Joe McClung

I chose Joe McClung's blog about his third year as a teacher to write about next. In this blog, McClung talks about third year of teaching. He states how this year was the first year he taught a school for more than a year. He talks about the changes we went through in the year. He lists five lessons he learned. The first lesson is "Know Who Your Boss Is." McClung states, " Instead of focusing on how you are serving the administraion, focus on your students and how you are serving them." His second lesson learned is "Don't Expect Others To Be As Excited About Change As You Are." In this lesson, McClung talks about how to not expect your students to be as excited about the changes as you are. Don't let that influence you and keep teaching. The third lesson is "Don't Be Afraid Of  Being An Outsider." This lesson is an excellent one .Be true to who are as a teacher and don't be influenced to follow others. the fourth lesson learned is "Don't Touch The Keyboard." In this lesson he basically is saying how to not do the work for a student if they are having trouble. Help guide them but don't do all the work for them. The last lesson he learnd is "Don't Get Comfortable." What he means by this is that you shouldn't get to comfortble with your work. You have to be open to trying different things each year and not stick to the same thing every year. After reading about Mr. McClung's third year as a teacher, it makes me excited to become a teacher. I love ready about the lessons he learned and can't wait learn my own lessons when I become a teacher.