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Amanda Bunker 25 Oct. 2009 I have had many teachers who have influenced me in a positive way. I thought that after high school I would be moving forward and be putting high school behind me. It didnt take me very long to figure out how wrong I was in my assumption. I am moving forward, there is no doubt about that. However, there are parts of my high school experience that I dont ever want to put behind me. They made me the student, and the woman I am today. They will also play an important role in making me the educator I will become. There are many values, beliefs, and routines that create a great image of a teacher. A few examples are providing an opportunity to write, finding an appropriate balance of focus on the kids, the curriculum, and literature and writing, and flexibility. Up until my senior year of high school, I really had no idea what I wanted to go to college for. I didnt excel at one particular thing, and I hadnt found that passion you are supposed to have when you know you are in the right field of work. I knew the time was ticking and I had to make a decision of what college to attend and what to major in. I had always been a decent writer. During my senior year, a writing workshop class was offered as opposed to twelfth grade English. I came to the decision that I was much better at creative writing than I was at a structured English class. This class opened my eyes to all the possibilities that there are with writing. It was my best year in English. I think it is good to have options such as these so that kids whose best subject isnt English can shine through their creativity. The utmost main goal I have for students who come through my classes is to have the feeling that they benefited in some way or another. I will feel as though I have done my job if at least one student gains something from my class. When I read Steven Hunts article, Eliminating the attitude barrier of us and

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them I felt much empowered afterwards. A teacher can only go so far, but a student also has to take a few steps forward. I hope to help at least one student in the way that Steven Hunt helped Andrew find himself. It will be a very rewarding experience. If a teacher concentrates so hard on making sure every student who comes through his/her classes benefits in some way or another they will become so overwhelmed with that, the teaching will be less effective. Steven Hunt states, the trick is to look beneath the surface and connect to the person (Hunt 38). Becoming an approachable teacher such as Steven Hunt, is something that is learned. In order for the students to feel comfortable with their teacher, the teacher will have to be comfortable with themselves in their teaching environment. It is my hope that the students will learn proper writing conventions and be able to apply them to their creative writing of choice. I think one of the best benefits a teacher receives is having a student who expects to learn nothing going into the class, come out with an entirely different attitude. Chapter 4 of Bridging English offers up a really great quote about setting the tone for your classroom, [y]our aim should be to create a more energized tone, one that expresses the enthusiasm of discovery and sharing, one that encourages talking and listening out of active interest and engagement. I think the best learning experiences are when the teachers make it fun. What student would choose learning in a school over a fun game? But what if a teacher could make a lesson plan so that students can think its a game while learning at the same time? A few of the instances I remember from my own personal experience are playing Jeopardy, Story Circles, and hands on projects. Kids will learn faster and retain information for longer if they arent thinking so hard about it. This ties in closely to times when teachers asked students to do a free write or a stream of consciousness. The natural creativity will emerge through activities such as these. I took a liking to Kim Brian Lovejoys classroom practices in the article, Practical

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Pedagogy for Composition. Lovejoy states, I have begun to integrate classroom activities and assignments that give students exposure to different varieties of English and that create opportunities for students to explore their language (Lovejoy 9). Her philosophy shows specific examples on how to spice up the English classroom by using literature that relates to her students such as, text messages, emails, and notes between students. This would be a much more engaging English class than sticking close to the text book. I want my teaching to focus not only on what is required by the New York State Standards but also bring in whatever the students may have questions about. My efforts would not be focused on just one aspect of teaching. It is essential that all aspects, the kids, curriculum, writing, and literature should be balanced appropriately. A strong teacher would be able to make a lesson plan centered on a piece of literature that follows the curriculum which also generates a class discussion. Lovejoy emphasizes that it is important to create an environment in which students feel comfortable sharing their ideas and observations about language (Lovejoy 9). For some reason if a student were having trouble in my class, I would do everything in my power to accommodate the student, as long as I knew that the student was not taking advantage of my generosity. I think I may unknowingly direct some of my focus more to my kids than to the curriculum, literature, or writing because nothing is set in stone in the classroom. Flexibility is a good quality to have. For the most part, as long as the required material gets covered, it is alright to deviate from a lesson plan to make it more of a personal conversation and engage your students more. Trying to keep a loose balance of all aspects within the classroom seems like the best option to me. There are many qualities which make a good teacher. I think a teacher should be compassionate, patient, organized, open-minded, fair, and nonjudgmental among other things. I

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think it is possible for a person to learn to be all these things. However, I think that some of these qualities come with experience. Being in a classroom is different from everyday life. The teacher has to be flexible and always be on their toes. I feel as though I am capable of fulfilling the role of teacher in the future. Yet, I do know I have a long way to go. There are areas which I definitely know I need to work on, which is why I am in college. I hope to learn more during my education classes about holding my own as a teacher. Working with students is a big change from working with young adults and adults everyday at the collegiate level. Until I start student teaching I wont really get a feel for interacting with younger kids. But I have done a decent job when working with kids and being a mediator thus far so I dont foresee any severe issues in my future, nothing that I cant handle. One of the most challenging obstacles a teacher will encounter is promoting diversity. Todays society has been stressing how important it is to promote diversity. One of the first things to understand when it comes to doing just that is to know to treat all students equally. If an African American student approached me and was having a family emergency and would be absent from class for a while and would be behind in work, I would not treat that student any different than I would a Caucasian student. I would work something out with student that would be comfortable with them. That is also a great example of having to be flexible as a teacher. Things like this will happen, and it is a good idea to know how to handle the situation when it arises. I was thinking to myself what I could do as an activity with my class to show acceptance of diversity. I remembered a book from my childhood that I knew would be perfect. I read it to my mom, who is also a teacher. Although she teaches third grade, she agreed the book would be perfect at any level, regardless if it is a picture book. It is the message the book sends that is

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important. Also it engages the students and it also meets the NCTE Standards number nine, [s]tudents develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in language use, patterns, and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups, geographical regions, and social roles. It also meets the NYS Standards for Grade 9 Listening 2.4 Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literary response and expression by recognizing historical and contemporary social and cultural conditions in presentation of literary texts. Just some of the quotes from the book are as follows: You cant be Peter PanHe isnt blackYou can be anything you want, Grace, if you put your mind to it (Binch, and Hoffman 14-6). Therefore I think that even though the book I am referring to is reading level 1, Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman and Caroline Binch is a perfect way to get the message of diversity across.

Works Cited Binch, Caroline, and Mary Hoffman. Amazing Grace. New York: Scholastic, 1991. 1-24. Print.

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Hunt, Steven.Eliminating the attitude barrier of us and them in The Art of Learning to Teach Preservice Teacher Narratives. Ed. Beattie Mary. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 2001. 34-40. Print. Lovejoy, Kim Brian. Practical Pedagogy for Composition in Language Diversity in the Classroom From Intention to Practice. Smitherman, Geneva and Victor Villaneuva (Eds.) Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2003. 89-108. Print O'Beirne Milner, Joseph, and Lucy Floyd Morcock Milner. Bridging English. 4th. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2008. Print.