Reading Reflection 1, September 4th

What makes an effective teacher?

After reading the documents and sections of the textbook it is clear that being an ag teacher is not going to be easy. As I was reading, however, a couple important words of wisdom resurfaced in my head: the hardest part of anything is actually getting started and that classroom management is our most important asset in our pedagogical tool belts.

It is inevitable that we as first year teachers will have to set the boundaries and guidelines for what we hope will be multiple year teaching experiences. In the Wong reading, one thing they stress is how you start your classroom on the first day. This is also one thing that the author talked about in "Teach Like A Pirate". Obviously none of us want to be doormats or dictators for our students, but the reading also says that few student teachers get the actual experience of "the first day of school". I think that us Penn Stater are fortunate to be able to set up our first day of school and practice it for our real life jobs some day. It also says that there is overwhelming evidence that the first two to three weeks of school are indicators for achievement. Hopefully this practice run at our cooperating schools will shed light on to that statistic.

Classroom management is obviously a tactic that we will be using every single day of work in this profession. When I think of this, the most important aspect to me is student rapport. This is something that Burgess in "Teach Like A Pirate" dedicated a whole chapter to. To me, I learned better from teachers who connected with me beyond a content basis. I hope to establish rapport with my students early and maintain it throughout the year.

Something I thought was interesting in the reading was what motivates learners beyond the need for food, drink, and sex. They talk about the desire to obtain security, affection, status, independence, and achievement. These principles probably hold true for most areas of education, but I feel like agricultural education has the power to touch each level. In math class you learn math, skills that can be useful for multiple job areas. In history you learn about historic events; you memorize dates and important or influential people from many countries. In agriculture, you learn facts and skills that are useful in contemporary society. Security can be attained by knowing where your food comes from and what food trends to stay away from. Independence can come from knowing that if the economy implodes and food prices sky rocket, you can still eat by growing your own crops or processing your own animals. Status can come from a career in agriculture, which offers the most out of any job in the country. Achievement can come from any of the above. I just feel like it is such a versatile field that everyone should have a vested interest in it.

The main take home point from the readings are that we as educators effect lives. We are adult figures that communicate with these students every single day, some times more than their own parents. We have the power to be positive change agents, and we need to make sure our classroom management reflects that from day 1.

Well ordered environment + Positive expectations = Effective classroom