One & Two

Chapter One: What it Means to be a Teacher

For teachers, choosing to teach as a profession is a decision made deep within the individual. As teachers, there are qualities that need to be acquired and knowledge to be gained in the process of growing into an effective teacher in the modern day classroom. There are many needs that have to be met in the classroom.

Teachers are the primary decision makers when it comes to deciding how the curriculum is structured and designed. However, making decisions daily should evolve into something that is second nature to you. With making decisions comes planning. Its an on-going process of thinking and making decisions before, during, and after providing classroom instruction.

Another important aspect is building positive learning environments in the classroom. Of course, that starts with the classroom climate. Routines and practices need to be enforced daily. Your approach to classroom management must be firm and consistent. Strategies must be fostered in assessing student performance. Classroom instruction should be high in quality. Also, interactions between students and teacher are essential.


Chapter Two: Teaching as a Profession

Teaching is definitely a profession that is structured with many dimensions. There are five integrated dimensions in the teaching profession: content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge and skills, professional and pedagogical knowledge and skills, student learning, and professional dispositions.

What interested me the most was the characteristics of today's teaching force. It was not surprising to discover that 75 percent of the modern day teachers are female with a surprising majority being white or Anglo-European American. This really stood out for me because I am definitely a minority in the teaching profession: Male. Asian. Gay. The truth, however, is that there still exists a great diversity of teachers, which is a positive point because multicultural classrooms are greatly increasing. With that said, the need for teachers is greater than ever.

So, teach.