The Walking Embodiment Of Stress In School

While reading Journal 1 of The Alternative and reflecting on the assignment giving, memories of teachers flooded through my mind. I am unabashed to admit that I believed some teachers to be poor at their job, and have more than once thought that perhaps this wasn’t the correct career path for them. One such teacher was my 7th and 8th grade science teacher, who believed public shaming to be the preferable way of teaching adolescents. When a student would answer a question wrong in class he couldn’t help but laugh as well as bring it up throughout the lesson, refusing to let the student move past their mistake. He chose to

At the end of the day, this new teacher sits down at her desk – for what seems like the first time that day and begins to reflect back on the

On October 27, I, along with Jenna Mrofchak and Andy Norton, shadowed multiple teachers at the Chagrin Falls Middle School. During the day, I shadowed Mrs. Mrofchak, a life science teacher, Mrs. Bauer, a world history teacher, Mrs. Dennison, a health teacher, and Mr. Richmond, a english teacher. Throughout Mrs. Mrofchak’s first period class, I was able to interact with the eighth grade students by answering any questions about the high school or my freshmen year. Afterwards, the class began to take notes and continue in a day to day class schedule. As a result, I was able to watch the class's reaction to the different explanations the teacher gave. Additionally, I was able to gain knowledge about how to control a classroom

Andrew “Andy” J. Stoneridge is a 3rd grade student attending Michael Valley Elementary School in Pasadena, Maryland. His homeroom teacher’s name is Ms. Julie King and in her room, are approximately 28 students. Ms. King is a general education teacher teaching the subjects reading, writing, and social studies. Andy’s other core teacher, Mr. Baker, teaches Andy math, science, and health. Mr. Baker is also a general education teacher. In each of these rooms, there are two teacher’s aides and one classroom tutor.

The five-minute warning bell goes off. I rush to my first class of my junior year, eager to see my classmates, who I was going to spend the rest of the 9 months with. I find myself stumbling into a classroom plastered with decorations of Denzel Washington with a Dr. Seuss book in his hand, a t and college flags galore. My AP English 11 class suddenly seemed so appealing to me. As a beautiful, curly haired short lady stood in front of me and said “Welcome to AP English 11,” I knew that I had found a treasure so much greater than just a pretty classroom. Little did I know, that short lady was going to inspire me throughout my challenge filled second-to-last year of high school.

This year I had the prestigious honor of being in Ms. Brown’s class, and let me tell you, it was anything but normal. Ms. Brown’s cheerfulness (and maybe a bit of messiness) really helped me realize that teachers actually have lives. They’re not just some robots who are only activated to teach, and then turned off when the class leaves, as much as we might think they are.

Her eyes scanned the page as if she was learning to read for the first time. The more she looked, the less she understood. How could was she unable to understand something this simple? It was so simple, yet the answers still did not show themselves.The idea of failure was foreign to her, as was confusion. Whenever the teacher set a paper on the desk in front of her, she would complete it with ease. It was what everyone expected of her, and she always lived up to that expectation. That was the norm, until today. For just a moment, panic set in. How could she damage her reputation by asking a question? What would her parents think of her if they knew she wasn’t perfect? As her heart slowed down, she secretly pulled out her notes, making sure

During first period I observed Dana Bealing’s AP Calculus class. At the beginning of class Dana handed out the materials for the day. This included a project handout, a notes worksheet for the day’s lesson, and an example worksheet. During this time Dana connected with students by asking them how they dealt with the snow. She asked the students if they had any wild blizzard stories from the weekend. Dana announced to the students that there were going to be changes to the assignments due to the snow. She also took this time to tell the students that they needed to complete the final exam revisions if they had not already done so. These papers were handed to the students as they were walking in the classroom. The next activity included a

The patterns we had created on the sidewalk are now nearly nonexistent as we create new ones in the opposite direction. Opening the door we enter the school and look at the clock. Third period started 10 minutes ago and we missed the bell. Entering the office we scratch our names on the check in sheet as we get passes from Ms. Pace. It is easy on her as we all are going to the same class. Heading up to our lockers Kyle receives many comments about his Cafe Rio bag and as we walk into class. Tolman looks at us with wonder glazing his eyes, but we just sit down and watch the Hobbit trilogy with the rest of the class. Kyle opens his bag and we continue our class. The lunch period has ended along with our story. Our bellies our full and our hearts are content. The bell rang before we could get back and we got another tardy. These are the prices that we pay for going out to lunch. A price well worth

Books varying from small to large are precisely organized on bookshelves that line the room while various tables and couches are scattered throughout the expansive room. One student is franticly pounding on his keyboard while the girl next to him is contemplating her thoughts, paging through her textbook while listening to her earbuds, eyeing up the Keurig in the corner of the room. Leaned back into this back aching hardwood chair, I observe the two students nearby me; they each have a different expression on their face. One is pleasured by the smell of the coffee that spilled out of the Keurig into her cup, while the other student is fixed on typing his essay, a sweat drop trickling down his face. Gazing at each student my mood changed, I

As an educator and knowing educators on all spectrums of the field, the curiosity of when Melanated people are going to start becoming more accountable for OUR children is in full effect. The teacher who was completely way out of line in Baltimore is only a pin in a haystack as to what some teachers really think or say when they go home. Wenger (1998) wrote, “The focus on the social aspect of learning is not a displacement of the person. On the contrary, it is an emphasis on the person as a social participant, as a meaning-making entity for whom the social world is a resource for constituting an identity” (p. 2).

Although society may think otherwise, saving students is not the role of teachers, no matter how many good movies there are out there. The media gives the impression that something is wrong with students when they enter the classroom and that is is the teacher's job to fix them of their issues. Because of this impression, today’s teachers are faced with the challenge of overcoming this great myth that has been engraved in society’s mind. Teachers are meant to be a support system for their students, not a saving grace. They are given the expectation to be a superstar in the classroom because media portrays them to be just that; a hero.

It is the first day of a new school year. A teacher is in her room preparing for the day ahead just like every teacher across the nation. But something is different about this one. This teacher is positively radiant. She’s beaming from ear to ear at the thought of new moldable minds sitting in her colorful room. Her hair is wrapped is a twisting silver spiral and her jeans are bedazzled and trendy. She’s well composed right down to her patterned cowboy boots. Something else is unique about this teacher though, and it’s not just her fashion. This woman is strong. This woman is determined and ready to take on any challenge. Soon every person in Fairview High School would know her name, Valerie Willmore.

Teaching, according to the Teacher’s Training Agency, “…is a job for those who like and respect young people” (2005). Andrew clearly from his responses, suffered during his schooling, and perhaps felt disrespected as a result of being labelled. His position as an educator a number of years later, enable him to look quite critically upon his educators, almost, one could argue with an expert eye.

When I think about teachers that I have had in the past, several different ones come to my mind. Each of these educators stands out in my mind for a variety of diverse reasons. Whether it is their sense of humor, their tactfulness, their love of the subject matter, their fanatical and sporadic behavior, or their yearning to be childish themselves, I can still remember at least one quality of every teacher I have ever encountered. Every one of these teachers conveyed subject material to their students just as they were educated and employed to do. However, I trust that every professional in the world has an abundance of opportunity for improvement; teachers could discover and improve themselves merely by having