Summative Field Blog

While looking back on all my blogs and the experiences that I have had at the schools we have visited, one thing has become apparent to me and that is the relationship with the student and teacher and how the administration has such an impact on teaching.  First hand I have been able to see the role of the teacher not only as a teacher, but as a mentor from grade school all the way until high school.  In elementary school the teacher is looked at as another adult figure that provides comfort and care, but also discipline as well.  In middle school we see the development grow more as the teacher becomes a coach as well or a group leader and then the personal relationships begin to develop slowly as we grow into ourselves.  Once we hit high school that is when we develop strong bonds with teachers because of how much time we spend with them.  This is where whether we are in an after school program ranging from sports to academic teams, we spend nearly two thirds of our weeks throughout the school year with these people and begin to develop a trust with them that does not just happen overnight.  As time passes, some bonds grow stronger and stronger, this not only helps with a relationship stand point but also on the educational level as well.  The student is able to trust what the teacher tells them is correct and therefore the student will listen to what he or she has to say in class which we hope results in better grades and results.
  The administration also plays a role in that they subject the teacher to a certain way of teaching and teaching things that are state tests.  In reality, how likely is it that these assessments are going to prove anything for the student in the long run.  I feel as if schools try to hide children form the real world for so long that it effects their potential in actuality.  Being able to experience what is happening at a young age is good for a person.  It makes them start making their own decisions at a young age.  While going through one of the clinical's, one of the authors said it best in that we only know the text, meaning we only know what the text says because everything besides that is not correct information according to schools today.  When it comes down to it, I believe that teachers should have the ability to be able to say what they please to a certain extent on a subject, whether or not it involves what they are teaching or not.  Certainly, it would only go so far to just get the students to question what is right or wrong and have then make up their own solutions to problems instead of always being told what to do in situations.

Philosophy Paper Proposal

  For my paper I will be looking at how teachers need to be good mentors for our students, not only from a educational aspect, but from a peer stand point as well.  Students today look up to teachers more than most people think.  The philosophy behind it is knowing that teachers spend most of their lives being around kids thinking that whatever they tell them, goes in one ear and out the other.  When in reality administrators, parents, and even the teachers do not know that there are those select students who really engage with what the teacher is saying actually has an impact on that child's life.  Everyone in school had that teacher that we all looked up to, but for what reason?  That is it, is that there are endless reason why we looked up to a teacher because of the way they taught, if they were a coach, possibly even helped you with an out of school problem.
  Teachers too how become unaware with how much of an impact they have on a child's life as well.  Even if it is something as simple as  asocial media site, if a students sees one thing that they could misinterpret, it could totally fracture the image they had of that person.  This is why there must be a limit to what and who teachers let view their social media sites, if they even have one. Especially in todays world where anyone can view anything on the internet, once it is on the web it will always be there.
  For me the need for teachers to still be the role models that the younger generation looks up to is because teachers, for the most part, are who children should look up to.  Many young teens idealize star athletes but with all the money and fame comes heart break and to much power to handle for some.  Some athletes we see today get into drugs or alcoholic problems because they just do not know how to deal with the fame and fortune they have possessed.  Even though today there are more cases of teachers who have ups and downs whether with alcohol or even some have affairs with underage students, these are rare cases tat should not be taken out on all parties of the teaching profession.  Teachers to me are the one people who are able to get into a child's head when parents and no one else can.  They have something about them that lets a student trust them more than anyone else and we as teachers must remember this and not give them a reason to doubt us either.