Sunday, November 11, 2012

C4T Summary #3

This is a picture of Mrs. Aviva Dunsiger, a teacher for grades 1 and 2 at Ancaster Meadow School.
The teacher I was assigned to was Mrs. Aviva Dunsiger. She is a teacher for grades 1 and 2 at Ancaster Meadow School. She use to teach Kindergarten. This will be her 11th year teaching!

In her recent post, "The Little (Big) Things", she talks about the little and big things she appreciates and sees in her students. She talks about the moments at the end of the year, the workload, the time she doesn't have for her students, and changes. She made an effort to really be there for her students this year. She also says that she is going to stop and enjoy the little things that reminded her of why she loves teaching. She listed some of the things that reminded her and a short video. At the end of the post, she asks, "For the teachers out there, what are the little things in life that make you love teaching? For the parents out there, what are the little things in life that make your children love school?".

In my comment, I reflected on the little and big things that reminded me of why I wanted to become a teacher. The little things are what reminds us why we love to teach! It also reminds us how we can help and change people’s lives. It’s definitely a great feeling when we can change people’s lives and be the one who will guide them through the learning process. The children I had for 2 years is the constant reminder for me in why I want to become a full-fledged teacher. They are eager to learn something new. When I look at some of the gifts and cards I received, it showed me how much I changed their life. It also showed me what kind of impact I made. They learned how to write better, draw, and etc. They also thank us for what we do for them. Her post helped me in some ways too. Sometimes you have to be there at the end of the year. The students will remind you in why you wanted to teach in the first place. It's a good thing. You are also letting your students know that you will still be there for them.

Since she did not make a new post, I went to comment on an older post. It is titled, "Giving Permission To Make Mistakes". In this post, she talks about how she changed her approach in teaching math and how it worked! She gave her students a difficult math problem, split them into groups, and had them figure out the different ways the problem can be solved. In her observations, many students were not afraid to make mistakes! They were so eager to learn! They were constantly thinking, working together, and you can hear the different approaches they took to come to a solution. In this post, she attached several videos of her students explaining their approach to her. Instead of backing away after making a mistake, they used that as a way of improving. If one way didn't work, they would try another! She was also very supportive with her students when they made mistakes. I think this is very important.

In my comment, I said that mistakes can be a good thing. We should not discourage them when they make mistakes but to support them. A lot of parents and teachers are afraid to telling their children their faults or mistakes because they think it may discourage them. It's not the mistake that discourages them but the behavior presented by the parents and teacher that makes it seem like mistakes are wrong! That is wrong! Not only will mistakes make you better learners but it will teach you how to handle problems better. It can be a life-learning experience. It's not just for school. I think the students learn more when they are engaged and having fun! Instead of being upset due to a mistake, take that as a way of improving yourself. Try and figure out other possible ways to solve the problem. When I worked with children when I was still in NYC, particularly Kindergarten and 1st grade, I was told not to let children know their mistakes because it might “discourage them”. I was also told in the NYC education system, teachers do should not put red X marks on students’ papers due to possible discouragement. I think that’s a little insane.

1 comment:

  1. Insane? Yes, I agree. We learn by making mistakes. If we don't know we are wrong we can get into (or cause) a lot of trouble. That is why almost 1/3 of EDM310 students can't do college level work. they think they can because they have never been told they are wrong and therefore have never learned what is necessary to be right.

    Well done.

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