Assignment #4-Clinical Experience Teacher Trait
Clinical Experience Assignment #4
“As teachers, our job is to ensure that all boys and girls…have the support they need to be successful science students who feel respected and challenged in their science courses. So what does it mean to have a classroom in which students feel respected and challenged? A classroom environment that models respect is one in which both teachers and students can feel accepted and all students are invited to learn.” NSTA President Anne Tweed
Respect is a difficult thing to explain and quantify. It can be seen and felt. An environment of respect in the classroom is something that every good teacher wants. Some define respect in terms of power or authority, or a behavior intended mainly to please or avoid punishment. Others define it on the other side, such as very high honor, esteem and even admiration. The respect I want to define is somewhere in between and I feel like I have seen this in Mr. Borton’s classrooms.
When I attended a faculty meeting one day the principal was talking about how the school was being remodeled and the teachers would have to experience the gruel of a move with still many unanswered questions. After some time Mr. Borton spoke up and said to the effect “If any people can do this, this staff can!” I was amazed when in unison the staff cheered loudly. Others made remarks, stated opinions, cracked jokes and even jeered at the principal but no one seemed to command the respect of the staff better than Mr. Borton did. Something about him and the way he respects people can be seen and felt and the support of the staff during this meeting was an outward expression of that.
In the classroom Mr. Borton has always held high regard for his students. Indeed, he has respected them. When students approach him about a problem he can sense if they are being genuine and he respects that. It is not uncommon for him to let students get something they forgot in their locker or to forgive them of a minor trespass. When he does this the students gain a greater respect for him. On the other hand though, he does not let the students walk on him or prevent other students from a learning experience. He is selective in controlling problem situations but by experience knows when to put his foot down and when to let it go. This is what I hope to learn.
When I was in high school I remember that Mr. Wilson was my biology teacher. I remember coming to his Zoology class on first hour of first trimester of 11th grade. He explained his expectations and rules and then he did something that I will never forget. He told us that he understood that people sometimes got sick or needed to blow their nose or go to the bathroom for some reason and he told us that if we needed to we could leave his class and go if we had a problem and come back when we were done and he wouldn’t say anything as long as we didn’t abuse his trust. Wow! Never before had a teacher told me that! For what reason did he trust me to not abuse this? A few weeks into the semester I had an illness and the mornings were especially brutal. Every day during first hour I had to repeatedly blow my nose. I must have left his classroom a hundred times to blow my nose and then come back in again. He never said a word and I never wanted to betray his trust. This is something I will never forget. It is a lofty goal to respect your students like Mr. Wilson respected us.
During first hour of my clinical experience with Mr. Borton one day I noticed that one of the boys would not stand up and say the pledge of allegiance. Later on I talked to Mr. Borton and he said that he used to be upset by students like this who had beliefs so different than his, but that as time went on he realized that often those students who believed most differently than he did on certain issues were his best students. As time grew so did his respect for all of his students. It is my goal that likewise my respect for my students can grow over time.
I have enjoyed working with Mr. Borton during this clinical experience. I have appreciated the respect he has always shown to me (like he does with all of his colleagues); his flexibility and his humble honesty. I have appreciated asking him questions about things and knowing that I will get an honest and practical answer. A goal I have for my classroom is to foster respect as I have seen during my clinical experience and at other times in my life. By doing this I can ‘invite’ my students to learn and feel that more learning is taking place than there would be without that respect.
“As teachers, our job is to ensure that all boys and girls…have the support they need to be successful science students who feel respected and challenged in their science courses. So what does it mean to have a classroom in which students feel respected and challenged? A classroom environment that models respect is one in which both teachers and students can feel accepted and all students are invited to learn.” NSTA President Anne Tweed
Respect is a difficult thing to explain and quantify. It can be seen and felt. An environment of respect in the classroom is something that every good teacher wants. Some define respect in terms of power or authority, or a behavior intended mainly to please or avoid punishment. Others define it on the other side, such as very high honor, esteem and even admiration. The respect I want to define is somewhere in between and I feel like I have seen this in Mr. Borton’s classrooms.
When I attended a faculty meeting one day the principal was talking about how the school was being remodeled and the teachers would have to experience the gruel of a move with still many unanswered questions. After some time Mr. Borton spoke up and said to the effect “If any people can do this, this staff can!” I was amazed when in unison the staff cheered loudly. Others made remarks, stated opinions, cracked jokes and even jeered at the principal but no one seemed to command the respect of the staff better than Mr. Borton did. Something about him and the way he respects people can be seen and felt and the support of the staff during this meeting was an outward expression of that.
In the classroom Mr. Borton has always held high regard for his students. Indeed, he has respected them. When students approach him about a problem he can sense if they are being genuine and he respects that. It is not uncommon for him to let students get something they forgot in their locker or to forgive them of a minor trespass. When he does this the students gain a greater respect for him. On the other hand though, he does not let the students walk on him or prevent other students from a learning experience. He is selective in controlling problem situations but by experience knows when to put his foot down and when to let it go. This is what I hope to learn.
When I was in high school I remember that Mr. Wilson was my biology teacher. I remember coming to his Zoology class on first hour of first trimester of 11th grade. He explained his expectations and rules and then he did something that I will never forget. He told us that he understood that people sometimes got sick or needed to blow their nose or go to the bathroom for some reason and he told us that if we needed to we could leave his class and go if we had a problem and come back when we were done and he wouldn’t say anything as long as we didn’t abuse his trust. Wow! Never before had a teacher told me that! For what reason did he trust me to not abuse this? A few weeks into the semester I had an illness and the mornings were especially brutal. Every day during first hour I had to repeatedly blow my nose. I must have left his classroom a hundred times to blow my nose and then come back in again. He never said a word and I never wanted to betray his trust. This is something I will never forget. It is a lofty goal to respect your students like Mr. Wilson respected us.
During first hour of my clinical experience with Mr. Borton one day I noticed that one of the boys would not stand up and say the pledge of allegiance. Later on I talked to Mr. Borton and he said that he used to be upset by students like this who had beliefs so different than his, but that as time went on he realized that often those students who believed most differently than he did on certain issues were his best students. As time grew so did his respect for all of his students. It is my goal that likewise my respect for my students can grow over time.
I have enjoyed working with Mr. Borton during this clinical experience. I have appreciated the respect he has always shown to me (like he does with all of his colleagues); his flexibility and his humble honesty. I have appreciated asking him questions about things and knowing that I will get an honest and practical answer. A goal I have for my classroom is to foster respect as I have seen during my clinical experience and at other times in my life. By doing this I can ‘invite’ my students to learn and feel that more learning is taking place than there would be without that respect.
posted by James Madsen | 2:01 PM
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