Using my process journal to connect my own experiences to both common beliefs seven and ten have helped me to analyze the way that I, in the future, would like to run my classroom as a teacher. Common belief seven states that “I believe that I should reward students who try hard, even if they are not doing well in school; building their self-esteem is important.” In my journal, I reflected on how I personally agree with this common belief to an extent. I believe that positive reinforcement is the best way to enact positive change within a student’s work ethic and evokes a hard working mindset. As teachers, it is our responsibility to teach students in the most encouraging ways possible without giving them false expectations or false hope in themselves. An example of this would be while teaching a child to read, telling them they are doing it perfectly when they, in reality, could use some work. A way to correct this in ways that would align well with common belief seven would be to make sure to highlight the things they do well, but correct the things that need work in a kind and understanding way. Although I am really looking forward to my fieldwork experience, I am still awaiting a certificate of clearance to begin that part of my teaching experience. In my own schooling and encounters with teachers I have fixated on certain ways of teaching that I will carry on into my teaching career. My favorite teachers have always been the ones who believe the best in their students. In second grade, I had a teacher named Ms. Reideman. She was the type of teacher who would be involved in her students' lives outside of the classroom (in an appropriate way) by getting to know us as young people rather than just teaching by the book. She would teach us math by playing engaging games and using positive reinforcement when we would succeed. When we did not do as well as she had hoped, she would reteach a lesson and not blame us, but rather correct her own way of teaching the topic at hand. She would encourage us when we felt down on ourselves and was so realistic in the way she taught. This topic and the connection to the teachers I have had in the past has taught me, even this early on, who I am as a teacher. As a teacher, I will fulfill my responsibility to teach for the student, not for the masses. I acknowledge that each student is different and each student learns differently, so accommodating those needs is crucial in making school a healthy and happy environment for each one of my students.
Being a teacher is about being understanding and compassionate no matter what the circumstance is. From the Universal Design for Learning Principles, I want to remember that every person is different. People who live with disabilities experience life differently, just as people without disabilities experience life differently. Everybody has a unique life and lives unique experiences. As a teacher, it is important to embrace those differences rather than trying to make those students feel alone and isolated. Within schools, I have noticed accommodations being implemented for students with different disabilities with different severities. I, for example, have dyslexia, short term memory issues, adhd, and visual distortion. Although I was not diagnosed with these issues until my freshman year of high school, once I was, my school was very helpful in finding the correct accommodations that suited my needs best. We had an LRC office at our school (a learning resource center), which catered to students with learning disabilities, no matter what they may be. Before beginning my accommodation plan, I really did not enjoy going to school. I would be frustrated all the time, have headaches from trying to understand my reading, and I thought I was stupid. I had lost all hope in myself and began to give up. When I got tested and diagnosed, I realized that I was not stupid, I just needed to modify exactly how I learn so that it may become more effective. Accommodations I have personally seen implemented in schools are memory notecards to use during tests, enlarged fonts in books, audio books, quiet spaces to enhance focus, and many many more. I have noticed, in my own experiences, that assistive technology and accommodations promotes independence within students living with disabilities. Teachers I have observed have used different ways to keep students engaged. Ones I have personally appreciated learning from have been through games such as KaHoot, quizlets, using rhymes to activate prior knowledge, etc. Thinking back to ways I have learned has been a very interesting task and has taught me a lot about who I am as a teacher and who I want to be as a teacher in the future.