Blog Post #9

Mr. Joe McClung: At the Teachers Desk

The first post I read by Mr. Joe McClung's was What I’ve Learned This Year 2008-09. In this post he talks about what he has learned after his first year of teaching. Mr. McClung lists seven things that he learned in his first year of teaching. First he says he learned "How To Read The Crowd." He says that when he first started teaching he was worried what his superiors thought and his delivery. He realized what really mattered was not his delivery of the content but the students comprehension of the material. Next he says we need to be "Flexible". Mr. McClung states how it is okay if mistakes are made. He says we shouldn’t stress if you make a mistake, we just need to work through the problem. The third thing he learned was "Communicate." Mr. McClung says "Communicating is the best way to resolve any issue in the workplace." The fourth thing he learned was "Be Reasonable." Teachers don't need to have high expectations for their students, they to encourage them. The fifth lesson was "Don't Be Afraid Of Technology." Technology is here to stay; there is no doubt about that. He says we should not be afraid to use it. The sixth lesson was "Listen To Your Students." He says we need to listen to our students and take interest in what they are doing. The last thing Mr. McClung says he learned was to "Never Stop Learning." He says we need to never stop being open and to not be afraid to learning new things.


Mr. McClung’s second post I read was entitled What I’ve Learned This Year 2010-11. Here he talks about his third year of teaching. He says how this year was the first year he has taught at a school for more than one year. He talks about the changes he went through in this year. He lists five lessons he learned. The first lesson is "Know Who Your Boss Is." Mr. McClung says, " Instead of focusing on how you are serving the administration, focus on your students and how you are serving them." His second lesson was "Don't Expect Others To Be As Excited About Change As You Are." Here, Mr. McClung talks about how not to expect students to be as excited about changes like you are. He says this shouldn’t get us down, we need to keep teaching. The third lesson is "Don't Be Afraid Of Being An Outsider." I think this lesson is a great one .Everyone should be true to who they are as teachers and we don't need to be influenced to follows actions. The fourth lesson he talks about is "Don't Touch The Keyboard." In this lesson he says how we should not do the work for the students if they are having troubles. We need to simply guide them. The last lesson he learned is "Don't Get Comfortable." He means that you shouldn't get to comfortable with your work; you need to be open to trying new things every year.

After reading about Mr. McClung's first and third years as a teacher, it makes me feel more comfortable about becoming a teacher. I enjoyed reading about the lessons he learned and I feel they will be helpful to me when I start teaching.