This chapter contains useful information for all of us at different points in our lives. At some point we all need to look for a job or a new job. The author provides very useful information that can be applied to any job.
In Lesson 6 from his article, he discusses the importance of having analysis skills. I think this is a valuable skill for people in all jobs, but I, as a teacher, assess everyday. It is not always formally, and it is not always assessment of my students. I am constantly assessing how I taught my lesson, if I need to re-teach some of it, and then of course I am assessing whether or not my students understood the lesson. This is usually informal, but it is important to constantly assess yourself in order to improve and avoid staying stagnant.
In Lesson 8, the author stresses how critical communication and listening skills are. Again, these are skills necessary in many careers. As a teacher, I need to be able to clearly communicate with parents, students, other teachers, administration, etc. and I need to be able to communicate verbally as well as through writing. I also need to make sure that I am listening to the concerns or questions of my students and their parents; I need to listen to advice from other teachers or administrators; and I need to listen to my students and what is happening in their lives.
Lesson 11 is an area I need to improve on. This lesson says that it is important to become involved in professional organizations. This is an area I have struggled with. As a college student, I was a member of the SMEA but I did not get as involved as I wish I had. Since college, I have not joined any professional organizations. During the school year, I immerse myself so much in my work, that I don’t take time for things like this. I guess I still struggle with this because I am not sure what organization to join.
Finally, the last lesson that I know is important is the lesson on keeping up on literature about my areas of interest. When I was interviewing the last time around, one question that I encountered was, “what are you reading right now and how will it help you in your career?” At that time, I didn’t have an answer for them. Here is another area I struggle with because again, I don’t allow myself time to read literature that relates to my interests. I need to find a good journal that I enjoy that will help keep me up to date on new techniques and ideas for education. I can say that this class has helped me to read a bit more and to get more up to date on technology (free even) available out there to use right now in my classroom.
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