Myself, as a Teacher

     As a teacher I currently teach seven courses and non of them are the same. I currently teach at a small Christian School where each period I am teaching something new. Currently I am teaching Ancient History to sixth grade, Medieval History to seventh grade, US History to eighth grade, sixth grade math, Pre-Algebra 1A to seventh grade, Algebra to the advanced eighth grade students, and Old Testament to eighth grade. Never once is one period the same, which leaves me little time to become bored, but also little time to do much else besides prepare for my classes. Even in such a small school where one teacher teaches seven different things, we are still faced with many diverse students and learners. And reaching each other these learners is in fact probably the most important thing I do as a teacher. It is not always easy to make sure that each learning type is reached in each lesson, but one must try their best to do so. I am going to focus on my approach to history and possibly Bible the most, since that is what I one day hope to focus in on and teach exclusively. When presenting a piece of history to the class I try to do it in a number of ways so that each student may be reached. I usually make a visual presentation for the class where I present information, maps, videos, etc. as teach the concept, this is for the visual and audio learners. While doing this I have questions prepared to engage the students in conversation for those students who learn more from discussing than seeing.  Once I have completed the presentation of this piece of history, the students are directed to their graphic organizers where they have very pointed questions to answer pertaining to what they have just learned. This graphic organizer helps them analyze the information they have been given and put it into words, it also will be used for a study guide. To answer the questions in the graphic organizer the students engage the use of their textbook, where those who learn better from reading get the chance to sit there and absorb the information that way. One small thing I look forward to implementing this upcoming year is during the graphic organizer time, allowing the students to find the place in the classroom where they are most comfortable to work. This may indeed be the desk, but it could also be sitting on the floor, standing, sitting cross-legged at the desk, lying on the floor, and so on. I feel finding a space that is comfortable o work in helps the students engage in their work more so then being told they must sit completely still at a desk.

     I am a very outgoing person who really cares about what is going on in the lives of my students. That means that for some of my students I become more than just a teacher, I become a mentor, someone that they know they can be honest with and who will stand by them in life. It also means that when their is a disciplinary problem I do not want to just punish and move one, I want to talk about it and figure out what is going on in their heart that made them behave as they did. While for some this works great, for others I am recognizing it does not. I mean they are middle school students, they do not always want to talk things out. But for me as a teacher, I want to teach to their hearts as much as I teach to their minds.

     According to the learning styles test I took to see how I preferred to learn, it turns out I am quite balanced. I slightly lean more to the visual, sensing, sequential, and active side of learning. I think being balanced in my way of learning helps me teach and my students to be successful because I see it from the different ways. However, even being balanced, I have a certain leaning and I need to make sure that in my lesson plans, I do not just lean towards my preference. I do find this hard to do in my teaching sometimes, especially in math. There is one way I like a problem done, it is the way that makes the most sense to me. But I have students who do it a completely different way that makes perfect sense to them. They are not wrong in their way, neither am I wrong in my way, but I find myself having to make an effort to see it their way. I need to look at all my plans and see which learners I have in my class and which way I am leaning to more often. If I am only focused on the way that makes the most sense to me, then I am doing a disservice to my students. I am going to challenge myself this year to become more aware of my students learning styles, perhaps give them a test like I took, and make sure that there is a balance in my lessons for all learners.

Well, that's just a little about me as a teacher and how I try, and sometimes fail, to reach my diverse class and learning styles.