Week 4 reading response

Share 3 (three) exact quotes that are meaningful to you (from across these two chapters), and explain why they matter to you.

*We feel we have the capacity as teachers to both express and extend a vision of the way the world should be. When reading that quote really stood out to me. The words that hit me the most was “a vision of the way the world should be.” Everyone has a vision of their own, as to how the world should look and how the people should act in it. As teachers we truly can express our views of what that should look like to our students. We are the ones that help to shape about 30 students each year into the best students they can be. We help to shape them into better people and help to make them become a very independent person. We either leave a lasting imprint on our students for the positive or the negative. We need to prepare our students for the future and not just for the present time of passing tests. “We sense as novices that we are destined to be much more than dispensers of information, sergeants of behavior, and captains of the test prep…classrooms are places designed to forge democracy, dignity, and diversity.”

*The teacher’s demeanor, words, and actions need to communicate the following:
• I respect who you are as well as who you can become
• I want to know you
• You are unique and valuable
• I believe in you
• I have time for you
• I learn when I listen to you
• This place is yours too
• We need you here
What powerful little phrases those are. With those few words they mean the world to the students. It is so easy for our students to think that they are not needed, important, and that no one listens to what they ever have to say. For us as teachers we can easily get distracted and so busy in our teaching world that the students feel like they are neglected and that those above phrases are not being show to them. It is very important as teachers that we make sure that all the time our students know how we feel about them. We need to not only show it in our words but also in our actions. I think that each day it is important to really stress those phrases in words and actions to all the students in our class. Even to those students who are struggling and misbehavior a lot. Those are the students who really need to hear those words the most.

*”Fair is ensuring all learners get what they need to succeed.” Growing up as kids we all think that fair means that everyone gets the same amount of candy or that all students get the same amount of homework. To me this really hits home because my mom has always tried to make things fair between all the children. However, to make things fair it does not mean that she gives the same things and attention to all her children. The same goes for us as teachers. We need to not think of the word “fair” to mean give the same to all students. Fair means that we need to be aware of what our learners need to succeed. Some students might need more help and things to help them succeed while other students of ours do not need much help to succeed. This will always be a challenge for teachers because students in the class will vocalize if they do not think something is fair. It is important that we let the students know that fair does not always mean getting the same amount of something as the others.