Becoming a Professional Educator | Origin: EC101
This is a general discussion forum for the following learning topic:
Your First Year as a CTE Teacher (Part 1) --> Becoming a Professional Educator
Post what you've learned about this topic and how you intend to apply it. Feel free to post questions and comments too.
Understanding that students and parents need clear boundaries and that your held to a higher standard due to the position of trust with the public you have accepted.
Creating the boundaries over the rules help the students feel the space is a positive and they have say in how the classroom is ran.
I learned that to be a CTE teacher you must model your self to the students.
This module taught me that being a professional educator requires continuous learning, ethical behavior, and a commitment to student success. I will apply these principles by maintaining high standards, staying current in my field, and helping students connect their education to future career opportunities.
To create boundaries and stick to them.
It is Important to create boundaries to keep your classroom running safe and professionally.
It can be a struggle living in a small town to set boundaries when I may have known the student for a while before he was my student so I can see the importance of social media and being careful what is posted.
The attire section was eye-opening, but also challenging. I teach CTE classes but I also teach messy art classes. I usually wear clothing that is functional, and sometimes has a bit of paint on it. Usually my CTE classes are all on one day, so I can dress more professionally on those days. But one semester of the year I have both CTE and a messy art class. I'll have to be better at dressing professionally and at the same time, wearing my apron during the messy class.
The section on social media was enlightening as well. Luckily, I deleted all of my social media so I don't have to worry about it.
Comment on Kaitlyn Englert's post: thumbs up!
I believe I need to run a tighter ship. Its important to set rules and follow them as students tend to not want to do work. I have struggled with this this year and getting in the habit that not all students understand that education isn't free and maybe we need to take advantage of the opportunities that are being given.
I taught at the college level and I can honestly say that teaching in a high school CTE setting is so different. There are many differences between the two. Boundaries in a high school setting are necessary for students. They allow you to help the student understand that the class isn't free for all and they learn what is and isn't acceptable. If you set the boundaries and rules immediately at the beginning, then the student knows what to expect. I pride myself on running a tight ship and the respect I'm given from my students makes me feel proud of them as well as myself. The acronyms were tough at first, but as time goes by they are getting easier.
Learning about this topic was great become I can be someone to help grow a student career. Also learn about how everyone has a lot of eyes on you and to me it’s the some as pastor or a cop.
Due to the nature of teaching a woodworking class, I set very strict boundaries and enforce every word of what I expect with consequences. My students learn quickly to respect that and are generally very successful because I set clear expectations. We also have more fun that almost any other class in the school.
Tom Perkins
Comment on Beverly Broyles's post: Yes, I agree. Academia is full of acronyms and this is a helpful tool.
I appreciated the subject of acronyms. I am in my 5th year as CTE teacher and finally feel like I have a handle on all the acronyms that I did not know about when I first started. It would have been good to take this course when I first started so I'd be aware but then again, there was a lot going on in the beginning and there's only so much time in the day.
It is very important to create boundaries and rules and stick to them. Always remember that students are not your peers and should not be treated as such.
Create a professional environment where students respect others and feel respected.
I've learned that the field of education is both VERY rewarding and, concurrently, almost gut-wrenching and seemingly thankless. It can become quite difficult (quite quickly) to navigate the inner-"realm" as one strives to do the very best that he or she can.
This is compounded by the reality of where I live and work: Alaska. Up here, just as we have educators that seem to get hired because they "have a pulse," we also have some VERY bad building (and Central Office) administrators. In Alaska, the CTE "world" is almost without limits--IF one can grapple with administrators that know almost nothing about what we do...or why.
What have you learned from this module and how do you intend to apply it?
I've learned it's important to separate home and school involvements. Professionalism in the workplace as a teacher means to have clear boundaries an never post or send anything that will be inappropriate.
