On Becoming a Reflective Teacher

 

Grant and Zeichner’s article “On Becoming a Reflective Teacher” resonated quite strongly with me and there are a few points that really intrigued me. I was struck by the article mentioning the amount a choice a teacher faces. From the choice of style, institutional values and views, to which content to stress as being important, to how we teach to specific groups of children and even our very mindset as to how we go about teaching. I was unaware of the level of influence that a teacher has on a child goes beyond just the classroom and has a huge impact on the student in the future. In the school I worked at previously, the administration stressed that how a teacher conducts him/herself as a person both inside and outside a classroom is equally as important as the actual act of teaching itself; that as a teacher, we are held at a higher standard than the regular person. This completely resonated with me after reading this article where the point was raised that because of relationship between school and society, the consequences of school lay beyond just the classroom and we must be responsible for ourselves and our students understanding the consequences of our teaching.  The article mentions that as a teacher candidate and the as a future teacher, that I must be critical of the information and training provided to me by the institution and at my practicum as there are often inherent biases, viewpoints and knowledge that are all distinct from one another and that I must make my own decisions on what is important to me and how I will approach teaching as a whole. Being reflective in this point will allow me become a better educator and help to further the field of education.