Blog Post # 9

What I Learned This Year (2009-10)

In this blog post, Mr. Joe McClung provides the reader with information about his second full year of teaching and all of the challenges he faced. Although, Joe had taught for a full year, there were still some differences he encountered that made teaching this year a whole new ball game. Mr. McClung had to teach history and social studies with very minimal materials this year after he was accustomed to teaching science and being provided with everything he needed. Can you say adaptation? Well, adapting is something Mr. McClung had to do and had to do quickly if he wanted to remain successful in his career.

This was a year of many firsts for Mr. McClung. It was his first time teaching 3 different subjects in the same year, first time teaching social studies and history, and his first time working in a large school district. Did I mention it was his first time teaching in a Jr. High setting? Can you say teenager? Well, Mr. McClung can now say the word and understand the difference between 6th graders and 8th graders. I am a parent of an eighth grader and can clearly see the difference from 6th grade to 8th grade and that is just one child. Imagine going from a classroom of kids (literally kids) to teenagers who think they know it all. Just learning how to deal with the different mindset is challenging but when you throw in new subjects like history and social studies, you create an entirely new dynamic that most would just say they can't deal with and "throw in the towel". Add on top of that the animosity you receive from an administrative staff and you have pure chaos. Well, Mr. McClung was able to be triumphant despite all of the challenges he went through and can hopefully say he came out victorious.

Mr. McClung decided to be an innovator. He didn't want to become the "ghost of history teachers past" so he decided to allow the students to have a brain and use it to the best of their abilities. He didn't want the students to rely on him for answers; he wanted to students to use critical thinking and find the solutions on their own or just provide an "educated opinion". He knew that everyone saw events, history, and current actions in their own way so who was he to say that they were wrong. Let the students have a voice. You never know what sound might come out.

Mr. McClung gave three powerful advice statements.
1. Find your school mom
2. Check your ego at the door
3. Don't be a control freak
The reason I say that these are powerful advice statements is because as teachers some want to portray themselves as all mighty and all knowing but the truth of the matter is that we are learning just like the students. Just because we know the subject matter doesn't mean that we have looked at it from every possible point of view. Finding a school mom was basically finding someone that could help you if needed (it didn't have to be a mom or a woman, just someone that wanted the same thing you did, success!). Checking your ego at the door meant that you needed to be open to what the students had to say. Yes, they may be wrong but give them a chance to explain their point of view and explain why they are incorrect or accept their opinion as their point of view. Finally, don't be a control freak meant, give some freedom. As long as the students are learning and will be successful on the exam, give them the opportunity to be themselves as long as they are not hindering others.


Finally, Mr. McClung said "Don't lose sight of what is important" and "It's what you learn after you know it all that matters" and I believe these go together because they both touch on the student as the teacher and the teacher as the student. What I mean by this is that if you are continuing to learn and grow as a teacher you understand more and more, regardless of what you go through, that the students are the most important and you learn when they learn. Also, if you think you know it all, you have a lot to learn because there are so many varying opinions contrary to your beliefs and if you are not open to receive these opinions, you are missing out and your world is very dim. Let the light come out of the students and shine so our world can be brightened.

What I Learned This Year (2010-11)

In Mr. McClung's third year of teaching he learned more about this profession than he probably wanted to. Now, he can see that this is as some would say just a "job" (although I disagree that it is) just like any other and you will have some that are extremely enthusiastic about their career (like him) and others that just want to be done with the day, week, month, and sometimes year. He states "I feel like the teaching landscape is full of individuals that once had a fire and excitement for the profession but somewhere along the way they joined the darkside." Unfortunately, in this scenario and it does exist all over the world, the students are ultimately the ones that suffer because to these teachers it is just a job and they often times don't care if the students learn or not.


Mr. McClung also learned who the boss was. Many teachers think that it is the administrators because they are the individuals that sign your paycheck but the children are the reason teachers exist. They are the boss and without their success we have no success. Mr. McClung said "Our decision making process should always be student centered and not centered around pleasing adults." He states this because the other adults in the school system should be looking to see what the students have learned and how they behave and not other teachers. It is all about the student (boss) and making sure they are successful. If our students’ education is first and foremost, everything else will fall into place and teachers have no other choice but to be successful. He also stated that we should not be afraid to be an outsider because being an outsider that is excited about the students learning is what a teacher should be. Mr. McClung eats with his students, jokes with his students, and spends time with them to try and know them better. What better way to gauge a student’s knowledge than spending time with them and learning how they think? If we know how our students think and learn we can test them in a way that is much more effective than the standardized test and perhaps help them become better testers. He is doing this and by doing this has a better handle on the students than the strict teacher that doesn't even know all of his/her students' last name.

Finally, Mr. McClung states that we should not touch the keyboard and not get comfortable. If we "touch the keyboard" or in other words do the work for the students we are not helping them become independent self learners. They are watching us do their work and believe that we will continue to do their work for the rest of their lives. Also, if we get comfortable, the work will become mundane and we will continue to do the ins and outs and forget about the students.

Joe McClung has learned a lot in his first 3 years of teaching and some of it has dealt with the students but a lot has dealt with him as an individual. He has begun to understand the role that a teacher must play and how that role will impact our future and the future of the students. It is not Ok to stay stagnant and have mediocre success. A teacher performing at the highest level has the best interest of every student at the forefront of his/her mind and strives to make sure every student is successful. He will be successful in the long run if he continues to learn, grow, and keep the students first.