Are you committed? Matthew (Matt) Key, Georgia

I recently read an article that discussed 5 things that teachers need to be reminded of when working with students.  The title of the article was, “The Five Professional Commitments You Need To Make As A Teacher”, by Matthew Lynch.  After reading the article, I support what Lynch was saying.  The underlying message in the article was that we should act, think, and present ourselves as professionals.  Here are the five commitments I support...

1. We should be committed to being a lifelong learner.  Teachers need to always look for new and innovative ways to reach their students.  Once you find these new modalities; the only way to improve is to try and try again.  This will help us learn what works best with each new opportunity.  This also shows you commitment to learning as well.

2. Be responsible with the curriculum. This has to be my favorite of the five.  Having autonomy to teach what you think is the most relevant, helps from getting bogged down with material that may not reach your students the best.

3. Learn about the diversity of your students.  The best way to reach your students is to learn about them.  Teachers need to familiarize themselves with what makes each student unique.  By learning their culture helps bridge the gap and truly reach those in your care.

4. Meet the students where they are.  This is all about differentiating your instructional methods.  We need to give students many opportunities, so they can learn how the learn best.

5. Collaborate with your colleagues.  Collaborating with other teachers helps you learn from your colleagues.  This is taking an active role in the improvement of educational practices. 

Education is constantly evolving and teachers need to be doing the same thing!

Matthew (Matt) Key, Georgia

Thoughts on student motivation...Matthew (Matt) Key, Georgia

As a new school year approaches, teachers often find themselves thinking about ways to motivate their students.  One of the best questions that comes to mind during this time is…”Will they want to do the assignment?”

Teachers think of ways to create innovative ways to grade that will encourage hard work trying to keep the students motivated.  As you move further and further into the profession; you quickly realize that getting the students to become more an of active participant in the learning process ignites that flame internally and they begin to seek out ways to learn more.

When I would ask myself these questions there were certain items that would come to mind on how I will get and keep the students motivated. 

The first would be…”Is my classroom environment supportive?”  If the students gain the understanding that the teacher is supportive of their efforts, they tend to work harder toward to learning objectives because they know that the teacher wants to see them succeed for their own benefit, not just a grade.

The second would be…”Am I expecting too much from the students?” If my expectations are too high, then the students will develop the mindset of “learned helplessness”. This means that they figure out it is too hard and they will not even try because they learned that they are helpless in completing the tasks.

The last question…”Will the students even like the assignment?”  When students do not like an assignment their interest level is low; which in turn, causes low motivation.

By reflecting on these questions yearly, it causes me to have a student first mentality.  Keeping the students at the forefront of my mind and they things that I can do to keep them motivated always proved successful!

Matthew (Matt) Key, Georgia

Does community in a classroom matter??? Matthew (Matt) Key, Georgia

The best way for learning to take place in the classroom is to establish relationships.  Creating rules is important early on in the process, but teachers quickly learn that relationships matter much more.  To do this, teachers need to lead by example.  This is done by sharing a bit about ourselves and allow times for them to share with teachers and students.

Once rules are shared, teachers should move to sharing information about themselves.  This can be basic information that tells about your years as a student at their same age (if you can remember back that far!)  If you think the students could handle it, you could be a little vulnerable and share some of the things that you love and value to struggles as a students and how you dealt with trials.

Why share yourself in this way?  When teachers show that they are “human” and it creates an amount of respect among the students in the class.  Teachers are always asking students to share things about themselves in papers and poems, so why shouldn’t teachers do the same for the students?

There are some good activities to do that can help this progress easier in the class:

1.      Student surveys

2.      Round robin response of something that they are looking forward to in the week.

3.     Ask questions to students for them to respond and see who shares the same thoughts.

4.     Have them bring something to class that is meaningful.

Establishing great relationships matter. Teachers are well aware that rules and policies need to be given, but having community in the classroom can only bring the successful year that everyone is looking for!

Matthew (Matt) Key, Georgia