Article Response 1

Rachel Lorenzo

8/29/11

LAE 4530.001

Tara Payor & Nina Graham

Article Reflection 1:

“From Surviving to Thriving”

            Choosing this article because of my apprehension about my success as a teacher, I found myself agreeing to its entirety and drawing upon some of its tips. The article challenges future teachers to challenge themselves and their coworkers. While teachers are taught to be open-minded and expressive before they head into their field, they find themselves stuck in rudimentary foundations that do not allow them to expand to what they should be doing according to the philosophies they have developed.

            What I will try to bear in mind to take away from this article is to make friends with at least one co-worker from the beginning. Rarely does a pre-service teacher consider that the profession is a lonely one, after all one is surrounded by students. As the article states, however, it is possible to be stuck in one’s own world and interact with another teacher on an average day unless the effort is made. Caring coworkers can act as support systems, guides, and great resources. It should also be taken into consideration that it is best to make friends rather than enemies. Should a teacher isolate oneself from the rest, it is possible that they will view the other as strange or anti-social. The dangers of gossip also exist; though a teacher to should refrain from gossiping as much as possible, one should also avoid being the center of gossip. As the article says, “A teacher with allies remains fresh, committed, and hopeful.” These are qualities that will be necessary for a teacher’s success in the career as well as in living a more fulfilled life.

            Part of maintain these qualities and of what the article advises is to challenge one’s administrators and coworkers when felt necessary. Teachers are not meant to be the passive, order-taking robots some seem to have become. School systems and laws have been shaping and forming themselves since the start. A government official with no teaching experience cannot be the only one to put changes into affect. No one knows what is needed more in the classrooms than the teachers who spend eight hours of a day teaching in them. Teachers should be trusted as the professionals that they are, but no trust can be gained from remaining quiet.

            This article has helped to reinforce the subconscious awareness that as a teacher, students and parents are not the only people we will be interacting with. We want to be seen as professionals so we must prove ourselves as such.