WEEK 5 CHAPTERS 3&4

1a. I Feel like "living what you believe" (fulfiling the Promise, page 26) can be both difficult and easy for teachers for many different reasons. A difficult aspect for a teacher is that if they expect their students to be remarkable, respectfull, responsive, and engaged, then the teacher, as well, needs to mirror these attributes through her daily life and teaching methods. Sometimes, as human beings, we expect more from others than we expect from ourselves. For many of us (elementary educators) it can be the opposite and we expect more from ourselves. I feel that to live what you believe, there needs to be a balance between the two where the expectations and the performance on both ends mirror each other and never contradict each other! The easy aspect of this idea would be for the teacher to have a positive outlook on her students, herself, and the possibilities that those things together can create (this could be difficult for some). If I, as a teacher, can remember my purpose in the classroom and the reason I love it and I chose it, my classroom will mirror my enthusiasm. I will live what I believe because I will remember why I am there and why I am priviledged to teach the special individuals I chose to surround myself with.

1b. Differentiation can and should direct living what I believe because it will play a key role in my expectations as a teacher for myself and my students. The chapter dicusses the cog on how the teacher responds. Each student is different and in order to establish the correct expectations for myself and each student, I must differentiate for their needs. Therefore, living what I believe will be directed by differentiation.

1c. When Tomlinson suggests that a teacher, early and often, should say to students, “Let’s figure this out together. Let’s make this our class,” she is emphasizing the importance of shared responsibility in the classroom. Tomlinson states that, "Positive environment, clear communicationm, mutually agreed-on guidelines, clear routines, and plentiful support for success are huge factors in helping each student feel pride and ownership in the classroom" (pg 53). Students must feel that they are a member of the community in the classroom and that they must work together and depend on each other to make the classroom run smoothly and effectively. If all students "feel invested in what happens in a classroom, the odds are inestimably higher that outcomes will be better than if one feels invested and 29 wait for that one person to make things work" (53). Some examples of this: Use evaluation checklists, involve students in scheduling decisions, engage students in assessing their own progress, and help sutdents learn to set their own academic goals (54-55).