Do I want to be a teacher??

Good Question!!

Rewards in Teaching

0Intrinsic 0Existing within ourselves0Satisfying for personal, emotional or intellectual

reasons0Want to help young people learn & develop,

smiling students0Contributing to society & making a world a better

place 0Personally challenging & stimulating 0Insight, knowledge into other0Occupational status

Rewards in Teaching

0Extrinsic Rewards0 Outside forces0 Summer vacations & job security0 Work schedule 0 Positive places to work

0Surrounded by people like you (optimistic about the future)

Challenges in Teaching

0#1 – Finding a job0 Funding 0 Position, student demographics, location

0Elementary teacher – up 9%0High school – lower than elementary

0Working Conditions 0 Responsible for 20-30 students & their safety0 Different classes0 Limited time to plan0 Limited bathroom breaks0 Adult conversations

Complexities of Classrooms

0Simultaneous0 Tasks & events occur at the same time

0Unpredictable 0 Events take unexpected turns 0 Best created lesson plan – does NOT guarantee a great lesson

0Public0 Everything is observable! 0 Ignore it, discuss it, correct it – it is out there!!

0Immediate0 Events – frequently & quickly 0 800-1500 decisions – daily

0Multidimensional 0 Soo many things going on

Multiple Roles of Teaching 0 Creating Productive Learning Environments

0 Safe & inviting, focuses on learning and provides opportunities for social and personal growth

0 Values, expectations, learning experiences0 Working with Parents

0 Parents must be involved to maximize learning0 Home environment – POWERFUL influence 0 Parent involvement – student more positive attitudes, create fewer

management problems!!! (more like to go to college, complete homework, graduate)0 Need to understand home environment

0 Teachers are more positive & have higher expectations for parents 0 Collaborating with Colleagues

0 Now you are a team0 Many principals view collaboration as one of the most essential

characteristics of an effective teacher

Teaching

0 Teacher efficacy – teachers’ belief in their ability to promote learning and make a difference in students’ lives, regardless of background or home conditions

0 Good kindergarten teachers vs. bad ones 0 Students were more likely to own a home, earn more over

a life time & have a sizable retirement savings!0 Teacher salary

0 Face it – not many go into for the money (b/c there is little there

0 If teachers made more money, survey showed the percentage of high performing graduates would go into teaching

The Teaching Profession

0Are teachers professional??

0How do you know?

What does being a PROFESSIONAL mean?

0A specialized body of knowledge0Autonomy0Emphasis on decision making & reflection 0Ethical standards for conduct

A specialized body of knowledge

0Professional use a specialized body of knowledge in serving their clients0 Knowledge of content

0Knowing your content 0 Pedagogical content knowledge

0Allow others to understand the content knowledge0 General pedagogical knowledge

0Ability to maintain an orderly & learning-focused classroom, guide student learning using skilled questioning

0 Knowledge of learners & learning 0Differences0Plan lessons accordingly

Autonomy0With knowledge come autonomy, the capacity to

control one’s own professional life.0Make decisions0Some suggest that teaching is not a profession due to

the lack of decision making 0States/districts decide:

0 What teachers teach (curriculum)0 How is student understanding measured (assessments)0 What students should know or be able to do after

completing an area of study (standards)You do have some control on how you teach it, how you decide to assess your students

Emphasis on Decision Making & Reflection

0You will have to rely yourself (assess your own decisions)

0Reflection – the act of thinking about and analyzing your actions

0Reflective teachers – thoughtful & critical about their teaching (what worked well last time, what didn’t, what interested the students, etc.)

0Essential – improves our teaching & helps us develop professionally

Professional Ethics

0Read example page 21

Professional Ethics

0Ethics – sets of moral standards for acceptable professional behavior

0Will help you to know how to act0National Education Association (NEA) code of ethics –

addressed the issue of how teachers should interact with students

Are teachers professionals??

0Not everyone will agree that they are0 Lack of rigorous training 0 Lack of autonomy

Diversity

0Your classroom will have students from diverse background0 In 2011, the majority of students in CA public schools

were Hispanic0 Percentages of white students will decrease

0Students’ socioeconomic status – combination of parents’ income, level of education and jobs0 Differ0 Strongly affect their learning

Diversity

0Learner who are mature, others slow at developing0 Self confident vs hesitant, shy vs loud, obnoxious

0Learning problems

0All can affect students’ success in your class 0 Your response – will influence how much they learn,

how they feel about school & your own teaching 0 Many beginning teachers feel ill-prepared

Teaching in Rural Schools

0 1900 – 60% of the population lived in rural areas, today 16%

0 Schools much smaller than urban & suburban schools0 2007 – 327 one-teacher, one-room schools still remained

0 Students:0 Tend to be less culturally diverse (changing & varies state

to state)0 26% are members of minority groups0 Poverty – BIG issue especially in the South and South West

0More than 40% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch

Teaching in Rural Schools

0Advantages0 Strong sense of

community0 Schools – social center

for the community0 Communication with

parents – often easier0 Innovation and change

easier to accomplish

0Disadvantages:0 Often aren’t able to offer

all of the services found in larger school districts

Teaching in Suburban Schools

0 Majority of the population lives here0 Growing tax base = more money for the schools

0 Smaller class size & greater access to resources0 More diverse than rural areas

0 Well-educated professionals working in high-tech industries0 Average household income – higher than urban & rural0 Most of the highest achieving schools

0 Many family select their neighborhoods based on the reputations of the schools

0 Teaching here – HIGHLY desirable – finding a job = challenging

Teaching in Urban School

0Our Nation’s 100 largest school districts represent less than 1% of all districts but are responsible for educating 16% of our students.

0Employ more than a sixth of the nation’s teachers0Students:

0 80% are members of cultural minorities 0 More than 65% eligible for free/reduced lunch0 1 of 5 enrolled in programs for students who do not

speak English as a native language

Challenges to teaching in Urban Schools

0 More challenging 0 Low academic standards, scarce resources, lack of

parental support & poverty – Major obstacles to successful teaching

0 Teachers are often underprepared for the challenges they face

0 Negative stereotypes = very dangerous – no matter the circumstance

Look at table 1.3

0Page 28 – sums up the three different areas