Teacher in America

Final Paper My C either To put to death More than ever, I conceive that my place is in the classroom. I view today neckd two and a half years of t severallying method and chip in had a lot of emotions and questions running through me. Some measures they convey me question whether I should be in the classroom or not. I mean, how sens I be a teacher and pack single these negative i mountains and vox populis active how our discipline system employments. I sentiment I was al unrivaled in feeling this way. However, from the educations, reflections and discussions during the course of this class, I have now realized I am not alone in feeling this way.In fact, most teachers have the corresponding apprehensions that I sh be. One major affaire I have noticed since becoming a teacher is how my views on program line have changed. Before I became a teacher I assumed matters about teaching that argon not at solely correct. I thought that when I became a teacher, it would be really easy. by and by all, my teachers (and mother) made it seem fairly easy. I was in all wrong. I thought I would be able to stand up in that location, teach and either single bookman would understand what I would be teaching. I thought all the students would do their swear out, behave and listen to me.Boy was I mistaken. There ar so many different learning styles that I have to give for, different activities I have to practise up with in auberge to spark the students interests, and behaviors I never dreamed I would have to deal with. I am only into my third year of teaching I have been teaching for only terzetto years, and each year I have had to make changes to accommodate the types of students I have. Some teachers assume the students testament be the same e rattling year and do not make changes at all. The learning process for each individual student is different.For some, it comes easier, for others it can be might be a little more difficult. Teachers who tra il classroom plans based solely on beliefs and expectations born of their own disembodied spirit experiences ar bidly to be ineffective (Hinchey Pg. 23). Most of us became teachers because somewhere in our past we had a really good experience with groom and our teachers. Just because what we experienced was good does not necessarily mean that the same exact thing would work with our students today. I experience that I grow myself looking back to when I was the same age as my students.I am often trying to do things with my students that my teachers did with me. Not surprisingly, a lot of them be not working as I thought they would. Before my firstly day of teaching, I had certain expectations for my students. Starting off with the same expectations that my teachers had for me is not feasible where I teach. Most public aim teachers come from importantly different cultures than their students (Hinchey pg. 27). I jazz I have had to completely chasten my way of thinking in th e classroom because my educational experience is the complete opposite of what I teach.When I was a student, my friends and I had complete control from adults in our lives. Today, my students hardly have any adults around them orthogonal of condition guiding them in the right direction. When I was in high school, on that point was no question about receiving your high school diploma and going away to college. In my community, a high school diploma alone was not good enough, you needed to get that college degree. In the district I work in, the atmosphere is different. In Waukegan, the great unwashed act like earning the high school diploma is golden.One big assumption of mine that has changed in my short three years of teaching is thinking all students are the same outside of school. When I was growing up, it seemed that my life and my friends lives where all the same. Consequently, I grew up assuming that everyone lives where a mirrored image of mine. Teaching unfastened my ey es up to see how wrong I was. I have some students who come from a loving home with two working parents, and then I also have some students who are homeless because both parents are in prison.As teachers, we are told to treat every student the same, just now that is completely impossible. Every student has his or her own story and each of those stories needs to be treated differently. I have also questioned my own judgment on what it means to be well educated. Being well education should not only carry on to what is l clear inside of a school building, unless also what is learned outside of the school walls. I have a lot of students who are educated about topics that are not covered be a school curriculum, so should I train that knowledge to be worthless because they did not learn it in a classroom?Is your education measured on what you are taught or what you immortalize? If it is based on what you mobilise, then most of American can steady down into the category of being u neducated. The headland forgets what it does not use. In fact, it is impossible to remember everything you have been taught. There is not enough space in the brain to retain all those facts. Lastly, Students from short(p) communities often have their own very strong evidence that schooling is not likely to make a significant difference in their own lives (Hinchey pg. 24). I hear students public lecture like this chance(a) in my classroom.I constantly hear how is this going to chip in to my life, its not like I am going to college anyway. These students think there is no hope for them. As a teacher, how am I supposed(p) to change the minds of 15 and 16 years olds when this is what they have been told their whole lives? This is a battle that those of us who teach in urban schools fight everyday. Yes, I believe it is important to educate our students on academics, but I believe it is more important teach our students how to set realistic goals for themselves. Goals they are ra ttling able to obtain.One major drawback of school is the way it is structured. School has a one size fit all curriculum, which doesnt work. There are so many different learning styles with students. Schools need to come up with a unique way to be able to aid each student in his or her own learning style. Schools also function like factories, which isnt a surprise because they were founded when the country moved more towards an industrialize economy. Students, just like factory workers, have learned the process of cladding up, walking in straight lines and staying quiet for long periods of time.Is this how schools should be? Schools have been functioning this way for decades. If we made changes, would it benefit or harm schools? If all it takes to succeed is hard work, then poor masses must be lazy. Everyday I tell my students that if they want to be successful in life they need to work hard. However, this does not mean that people are poor just because they never worked hard. In fact, poor people work harder than most rich people. Most poor people work some(prenominal) part time contrasts averaging 50-60 hours a week at a tokenish wage rate.They work more hours than a middle class person, but still make a lot less money. Next time you go out to eat, pay attention to who is working hard, for minimum wage, in the kitchen. Rather than believing economic success comes from hard work, and failure from laziness, students must ask what besides laziness might explain why so many families are living in poverty and why the output chasm between our wealthiest and poorest citizens. It is my stemma to get my students to believe that they can meet their goals, if they are willing to put the effort into it.However, because of the struggles seen at home, many of them cannot see their in store(predicate) in a positive way. My students liven in a poor community and that know a lot of people who have earned their high school diploma but cannot find a fair hire out close by to where they live. If they want a decent job they have to travel far. Sadly, many of them do not have a car and their only means of transportation is the city bus. As a result, it may take over an hour for them to get to work so many of them do not take the job. As someone who has had a car since I turned 16, I do not know what it is like to struggle without a car.Twenty miles does not seem far to me, but to someone who doesnt have his or her own means of transportation, it could be too much of a hassle than what the job is worth. I know understand why people do not take job offers that are a certain distance from their home. This trickles down to the teenagers. Its no revere they think it doesnt matter if they work hard, they wont find a decent job anyway. I never considered myself privileged just because I was vacuous. However, since reading Hinchey, I now realize how much easier my life is just because of my skin color.Before I started teaching I was mostly around C aucasian people people who are just like me. I was able to go shopping without being harassed. I was able to take any job I wanted without having people think I got the job only because of my skin color. Basically, I never had to worry about anything. Now that I work (and live) in a city where a majority of the community is either Hispanic or African American, my eyes have been opened to how people of color are mistreated. My students see and experience this in their everyday lives. I am struggling on how to teach my students how to overcome this.As of now, I have not figured out a way. One thing that my students have pointed out to me, as well as Hinchey, is that white people hold most of the power in our country. A majority of CEOs, politicians and stock-still every president, until President Obama, has been white. No wonder my students think they will unendingly come second to the white man, they have only known white people to be in charge. This class has been very beneficial in my teaching practices. As a new teacher I feel I am still naive about certain things that relate to school. I have incessantly tried to teach my students to the trump f their abilities. Sometimes I would be frustrated because they went grasping certain introductory concepts. I now view learning, teaching, school and society in a completely different way than I did before starting this class. I am now less frustrated with my students since learning more about their history and thoughts towards education. My whole thought on how schools are operated has also changed. The genuine ways that schools function is not conducive to help the students in urban schools in any way. It is actually harming them. As teachers, we need to take a stand and fight for what is best for our students.As an educator, I am teaching for each and every one of my students. I am educating them not only on academics, but life issues. They are 1 and everyone or everything else comes second to that. As teac hers, we have every and any obstacle to overcome that one could imagine. We actually do not have the world behind is pushing us forward we have it in front of us pushing us backwards. Right now, I would like to challenge myself that, no matter what vault I may come across in my practice, that I always fight for my students to put them first and always have whats best for them in mind.