As an Adolescent English Education student at SUNY Cortland, everyone is required to demonstrate professionalism both within the classrooms, and in our personal lives. We must demonstrate good moral character, which means our behavior must be noteworthy and our ethics/ morals must be unquestionably respectful. Throughout my student teaching experience, it is crucial to demonstrate and practice the need for positive relationships, mutual respect, and professional dress, and disposition. Furthermore, in my educational philosophypaper, written last semester, I express a desire to instill freedom of choice in my future curriculum, as well as the need for respect, and safe learning environments for all students and teachers alike.
In any given classroom, it is imperative to create positive relationships with the students, thus allowing them to build healthy and safe relationships with one another. By fostering a trusting environment, which entails mutual respect, positivity, encouragement, students will acquire a desire for engagement with education and strive to become positive, motivated, and hard working individuals. If our youth are not surrounded by environments that promote respectful atmospheres, where educators display an attitude of caring, the outcomes will be similar. As educators, it is imperative to model positive values, highly respected morals, and mutual respect in order to receive the same from our students. If a teacher displays that they cares for, and values their students, they will be likely to receive the same in return. Young students are extremely prone to picking up on cues, especially the way a teacher carries him, or herself, and also how they act towards their students. Therefore, it is dire to establish, create, and maintain a positive, and caring learning environment because it will help to foster a maximum engagement potentinal.
In order to sustain positive moral influences upon out students, educators must make the most of their relationships with students, both individually and as a whole classes. By modeling the respectable behavior we want our students to practice, we must first consistently demonstrate positivity, nurture, confidence, competence, and motivation to them. We should make these features a daily routine in our classrooms, constantly striving to entice our students to acquire these highly attributed qualities themselves. In addition, by providing a high level of respect and responsibility, both in the classroom, and in the hallways, and lunch rooms, as well as outside of the school doors, teachers can effectively model ethics, morals, and reasoning by bring the "learning" to life, and giving it meaning to students. Furthermore, once students graduate, and go out in the 'real world,' they need to have pre-exposure to positive, and productive behavior, attitudes, and morals; therefore, they can be successful in their adult lives, regardless of what path they choose. I must remember to treat others as I want to be treated in return: With respect, compassion, and understanding.
During my first student teaching segment at Locust Valley Middle School, I taught several lessons on random acts of kindness during our short story segment. I used Thank You, M'am by Langston Hughes, and an NPR radio recording entitled, A Victim Treats His Mugger Right. The NPR radio transcript described how a Brooklyn man was mugged, at knife point; however, instead of retaliating with the same violent morals, he showed compassion, and nurture. He, in turn, offered the young teen mugger his jacket, and kindly handed over his wallet. In conclusion, he ends up convincing the young teen to join him for dinner, gets his wallet back, and also receives the greatest gift of all: The young teen boy gives him his knife. I was able to establish how "good moral behavior" goes a long, long way in life, and no matter who the person is, you treat them with respect and kindness. Many of the seventh, and eight graders had serious emotional problems, as well as learning disabilities, since it was a Special Ed, English class combined. I loved working with these children, and hoped to instill the importance of kindness, good moral behavior, and compassion in their daily lives. The radio recording stimulated a perfect chance to undergo in depth, critical thinking, thus assessing, evaluating, and assessing "intellectual values in the subject matter." Lastly, this activity also demonstrated how I showed respect to my students by designing curricula that was truly relevant to their personal lives.