Reflection Paper

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- Reflection Paper - Fall 1998 - Spring 1999 In looking back upon this year of continuing education and further teaching experience, I am learning how both are processes which evolve with time. I will take with me the realization that as I grow older my views will change. Perhaps the biggest change within myself this year was finding out what was important to me, and then transferring this into my everyday life, especially into my teaching and coaching. Being involved in the cohort process was something I found to be beneficial in that it exposed me to a wide variety of topics which targeted many aspects of education. Some of these topics were very useful and others seemed to be miles away from putting to use. As I look back, I am glad to have experienced them all, as it has made me a better educator. The cohort model allowed me to meet many educators within many different fields. I enjoyed being able to listen to other members discuss their viewpoints on topics as the year went along. It is from these discussions that one realizes how we are all involved in a common goal, to become the best educators we can be. As I stated earlier, I believe the biggest change within me this year was finding out what was important to me. This year, in my teaching and coaching, I tried to portray the impact of attitude, and how it effects your daily life. The cohort class helped me become more aware of this aspect. Early in the year, Ben Wolfe came in and spoke to our group. In his presentation he spoke about various topics. At the end of his discussion he placed the following saying up on an overhead: "I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it." This statement is one that I was familiar with because it is part of a longer quote which I had posted in my office, but had not put a lot of thought into. The quote comes from a man named Charles Swindoll and reads like this: "The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is, we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes." I went back to school the day after Mr. Wolfe spoke, and looked at this quote on my office wall. For whatever reason, it stuck in my mind the entire day. As each subsequent day went by I referred to the quote more often, eventually sharing it with my students and baseball team, and posting it in the school's athletic coaching office. I made it a focus to have my students become more aware of the choices they made, and likewise to become more aware of how they reacted to situations. This focus, more than any other educational concept ever has, gave me a great feeling of satisfaction about my year of teaching and coaching. It allowed me to run my classes more efficiently, and in my opinion led to mutual respect between myself and my students. This theory further made sense when I read the fourth chapter in William Glasser9s book, "The Quality School." Here he discussed how coercion can destroy anything you may have previously accomplished. Giving students a say in their educational process will enhance student relations amongst their peers and with their teachers. They will not want to rebel against authority figures, which is a natural tendency. By involving students in the educational process, you will develop positive attitudes toward learning. From this point, the focus can be less on discipline and more on learning. Here, I again agree and tried to implement when appropriate. Another topic which was discussed throughout the year was communication. How do you communicate with your peers? How do you communicate with your students? I tried to look a little further into what people were saying to me this year. Where as in past years I had a tendency to let things slide in one ear and out the other. I found it rewarding to be able to listen to what students were saying and to relay thoughts or advice as I saw fit. I discovered things about some of my students that I wouldn't have in past years simply by listening. Often we get so caught up in trying to get things done that we don9t set time aside to listen to what someone is telling us. This is one thing I tried to improve upon this year. Being exposed to various technological advances during the course of the year also helped me out a great deal in the classroom. I used a computer more this year than in years past and definitely will even more in the future. It was nice to have so many resources available to explore the computer world and gain further knowledge about it. Next year everything we do, record-wise, will be on a computer. It helped to broaden my lesson plans and to give my students options for assignments which I hadn't been able to give in the past. Lastly, I became more aware of as the older you get, the faster time seems to go by. This year passed so quickly. I learned that I need to become more organized to be able to manage being a full time teacher, head coach, father, and husband, all while going to school. My dedication to each of the previously mentioned roles was tested at some point and time throughout the year. I consider this year to be my most successful yet, and am very much looking forward to the next! But not first before enjoying the three summer months which we so luckily have off! Brian Rud Cohort 3

-- Anonymous, June 17, 1999

Answers

Brian: This is a good start at reflection, but it lacks some of the depth that I have seen in other such documents. How has all of the outside reading impacted you? What added understandings have you garnered? These are the key questions I have. Have you submitted a hard copy summary yet? Please e-mail your reply. Thanks! John P.S. Hope the summer is off to a good start for you!

-- Anonymous, July 06, 1999

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