Perhaps the biggest accomplishments in my career at North Panola Junior High has been arriving to school at least 20 minutes early every single day, while all but perhaps 5 or 6 of us arrive either late or right on time. While everything else about the job is extremely challenging, this quality has always been a no-brainer for me. Punctuality is something that is so easy to accomplish, and I made it happen even after I moved from Batesville to Oxford with a 53 minute commute. Even if everything in the day goes wrong, I love being able to spend a few minutes every morning in peace and quiet, making certain that every little detail within my control is perfect before the students arrive.
Another positive professional quality could be communication with parents. In the rare event that a parent has reached out to contact me, I have been prompt to reply to them and give them the best answer I possibly can. I have thankfully never had a horrible encounter with a parent, which is definitely a good thing.
One positive thing about my first year of teaching is that during the third and fourth nine weeks, I began to show the students their averages in my class more often and held them accountable for personal improvement. I had some students make dramatic comebacks because of this, and was able to help individual student because of this. I have repeated this process to the extent that I am able this year, although I do not currently have as much freedom or flexibility with grades and assignments due to administrational issues.
In terms of leadership with my students, there are some ways that I can see improvement from last year. During my first year, I know for a fact that my students never respected me as a leader or even as an adult. This year, though, I actually have one class that has consistently been very good and receptive throughout the year. I have been able to build fairly good rapport with them, as many of the students are academically competitive and make the effort to be attentive to me. I can engage this class differently than I can with others because of this, and really feel as though we have all made some progress this year.
Another positive professional quality could be communication with parents. In the rare event that a parent has reached out to contact me, I have been prompt to reply to them and give them the best answer I possibly can. I have thankfully never had a horrible encounter with a parent, which is definitely a good thing.
One positive thing about my first year of teaching is that during the third and fourth nine weeks, I began to show the students their averages in my class more often and held them accountable for personal improvement. I had some students make dramatic comebacks because of this, and was able to help individual student because of this. I have repeated this process to the extent that I am able this year, although I do not currently have as much freedom or flexibility with grades and assignments due to administrational issues.
In terms of leadership with my students, there are some ways that I can see improvement from last year. During my first year, I know for a fact that my students never respected me as a leader or even as an adult. This year, though, I actually have one class that has consistently been very good and receptive throughout the year. I have been able to build fairly good rapport with them, as many of the students are academically competitive and make the effort to be attentive to me. I can engage this class differently than I can with others because of this, and really feel as though we have all made some progress this year.