Best Educator And The Student example essay topic

Catholic Education and Schooling Profile of a Catholic Educator By Duncan Morris for Dr S heather &Mrs Men 1) The most important fundamental aspect for a child to learn is value and respect him or herself 2) Educate children to be full participants in society 3) Educators need to provide an open platform for students, so that they feel open to share the happenings of their life with their teacher. 4) Educators need to ensure all their students are given fair not equal opportunities to succeed. 5) Collaboration is essential between Educators and parents. 6) The frame work for assessment should be the students progress. 7) Facilitation is the key to solid learning 8) Establishing an appropriate environment for learning is vital. 9) An educator can never stop learning 10) Educators MUST look after them selves 11) Practice of Faith is invaluable 1) The most important fundamental aspect for a child to learn is value and respect him or herself Development of self esteem is fundamental in educating students Student need to learn to value and respect themselves.

"Self esteem ranks among the most important aspects of self development, since evaluations of our competencies effect emotional experiences, future behaviour, and long-term psychological adjustment". (Berk, 1996, p. 357). I strongly believe that the success of a child in achieving his or her potential depends on self respect and self esteem. Low self esteem can produce negative feelings and deepen a lack of self respect creating a negative learning environment. This in turn can lead to a negative response to challenges. In thee extreme this can result in depression, violence, verbal abusive or other undesirable behaviour.

It is therefore extremely important that students come to a firm knowledge of who they are in Christ. It is up to the educator to teach children that they are created in God image and are each a masterpiece. It is also important that students come to realise their uniqueness and that this is good. Barry and King (1997 p. 28) comment on "the environment (physical surroundings and interpersonal relationships) is very important to creating the conditions for development and learning". Berk, (1996) writes that poor self-esteem in middle childhood is associated with poor school performance and antisocial behaviour.

As a teacher I believe I can contribute to the psychological well-being of my students that will directly affect their development and their contributions and interactions within society. 2) Educate children to be full participants in society A vital role of educators today is to enable each student to be part of our society as productive individuals. Academic skills are part of the equation in helping students to be successful people. However equally important is a hidden agenda in the classroom of developing analytical skills, and skills that create ideas, decision making, opinions and openness to alternatives, and respect for others. These functional life skills are developed throughout students' lives academically and socially, and the educators role is to introduce or develop these skills so the children can lead successful and independent lives as adults. 3) Educators need to provide an open platform for students, so that they feel open to share the happenings of their life with their teacher.

Educators need to strive to form relationships with students where students feel they can trust and rely on their teacher for support. All students should feel confident to discuss problems in any aspect of their lives. An educator is in the perfect position to enable this trust and openness to take place. 'Let the students in your class know that you are always accessible as a sympathetic listener and that you will always respect their confidentiality. We must offer parents and students the assurance that the information they disclose to us will not be bandied around the staffroom... student's academic lives never exist in a vacuum. They are affected on a daily basis by their emotional and psychological well being.

We cannot further a student's academic future if we neglect the rest of the child" (Mackay 1995, p. 45). As we matured as adults we acquired the skills necessary to deal with problems and to give each of them the appropriate level of attention. As teachers we are in the perfect position to notice if a student is having difficulties; by a drop in academic performance or behaviour difficulties or social abilities. As educators we must ensure a positive environment for each student to maximise learning and to be for each student a helping hand through lives many challenges. As teachers we must help students find solutions and alternatives to their problems by providing someone to listen to their challenges and validating their feeling and offering assistance or support. These supportive measures will assist students to deal with problems now and later in life and will allow the emotional space need to continue their academic work.

Every child that steps foot in a school deserves the best opportunity to be the best person they can be. The creed says each child deserves fairness not equality. The reason that I have used both words it that I believe there is a big difference between the two and I believe that some educators normally use the word equal. Equal education / opportunities refers to the same for each child, however that is not what I am saying. Fair refers to fair treatment for each child. In other words each student getting the education opportunities that they need.

For instance, not all students need one-to-one help with reading however some students need more one-to-one help with reading than others and that is what I am referring to here. The educator needs to give each student what he or she needs not just equal treatment but rather treatment according to their needs. (Jill Burges 2003 lecture notes week 3) Students are individuals and should be treated accordingly. It is beneficial if the teacher and parents are able to collaborate so as to offer consistency in the home and school settings. Schools need to do a better job of increasing parent involvement. They can do so by fostering personal relationships between parents and teachers, by showing parents how to support their child's education at home, and by developing assignments that give parents in basic planning and governance to ensure that they are investing in school goals".

(Berk 1996, p. 566). By involving parents in their children's education teachers can make consistency in education and behaviour management as well as developing mutual respect between themselves and the parents. Furthermore students will then witness their parents sending a positive message about the importance of education in their lives. In today's classes there is little point in setting entire class educational goals because this would simply alienate students who had varying abilities. A primary task of an educator is to develop self esteem of each individual, therefore instead of assessing student against each other (an 'normal' child) each student should be set an individual education plan. This way individual short and long term goals are established and the child is made aware of these so a pattern of internal motivation (intrinsic) is established as opposed to an entirely extrinsic motivation - fear of failing in front of the class.

Following this pattern the assessment needs to accentuate success as opposed to punishment for - or highlight - poor performance and goals re-assessed and established. 7) Facilitation is the key to solid learning Education is a process of layering: learning, re-learning, refining and re-learning. This applies both academically, socially and emotionally. Students need to be encouraged to figure things out for themselves rather than relying on others to offer answers.

In a world overloaded with information students need to learn to synthesis e, analyse, discard, assimilate information and make decisions based on this process. As well socially we are taught there are consequences for our actions that we must accept. A person who is continually hand fed will not develop the critical skills required for academic success or social success. In addition self- confidence relies on an individual's feeling of successful independence. As educators we must teach our students how to build a scaffold to successfully make decisions.

The classroom offers a safe environment for this process to develop where the educator approaches each individual with care and focuses on positive outcomes. 8) Establishing an appropriate environment for learning is vital. Each student needs a positive learning environment if they are to be expected to learn. If a student is afraid, nervous, embarrassed, anxious, sad or ill they are unable to give full attention to their learning. Students need a comfortable, safe and happy environment so they can fully concentrate on learning. The teacher must develop means to keep inter-personal relationships between students positive, being available to talk when a student requires it and creating the balance between work and fun.

The physical environment is important in helping to facilitate this balance. By decorating the students' environment with their work you give ownership of the space to the students and immediately create a positive work space by showing off their good work. A quiet space within the classroom also provides a space for time out not for punishment but to allow for a safe space for the student. As a teacher our ideas are limited by our experiences of 20 or more people who will be sharing the space. The classroom should echo the educators understanding that he / she are interested in their students' learning experiences. 9) An educator can never stop learning "the perfect teacher does not exist, but we can all become better teachers.

Continual improvement of our teaching skills is the essence of professionalism in out field" (Good and Brophy, 1991 p. 522) Every year there are developments in the teaching field; issues to be dealt with in the classroom; new theories on behaviour management strategies and child development, a loss or gaining of facilities and equipment. These affect the way we deal with our students and the structure and sometimes the content of our classes. As our aim is to provide our students with the best opportunities to fulfil their potential as social beings we need to keep aware of these developments. It is irresponsible to believe that what we learn at university will be sufficient to allow us to teach for the rest of our lives or even for the next couple of years. Successful teaching is a reciprocal arrangement between teacher and student; the teacher must be prepared to be the best educator and the student must be prepared to be the best student by listening, assimilating information and putting that information to use.

10) Educators MUST look after them selves Burn out is high among teacher especially among teachers in their first few years. Educators must learn how to relax, whether it be a coffee once a week with a friend or a hobby that can take their mind off teaching for a little while. Regular exercise is also important. Exercise keeps the mind fresh and the body healthily. A good novel or movie is also a good way to unwind. A further note is to leave behind in the classroom what happened in the classroom and not to take it home with you.

Norman Peal speaks many words of wisdom about leaving the issues of work at work. One technique he shares is having a day calendar and at the end of the work day to rip that day off the calendar and throw it in the bin and pray: Lord, you gave me this day. I didn't ask for it, but you I was glad to have it. I did the best I could with it and you helped me, and I thankyou. I made some mistakes. That was when I didn't follow your advice, and I am sorry about that.

Forgive me. But I had some victories and some successes, too, and I am grateful for your guidance. But now, lord, mistakes or successes, victories or defects, the day is over and I'm through with it, so I'm giving it back to you. Amen. (Peale 1997 p. 167) 11) Practice of Faith is invaluable I firmly believe that faith is not only essential but also helpful in teaching especially teaching in a Catholic or Christian school. To me faith is personal.

My faith is what makes me who I am. It gives me passion to live life and to help others. It makes me a better person. Faith to me is a personal relationship with God. One that involves seeking God daily and in all I do. God is my strength and that God directs me in life in the everyday little things to big life decisions.

I trust God. So when challenges come my way I know God is helping me through them and provides me with all I need to over come them. So what does this have to do with teaching well? I think that God is invaluable and that if one is to teach in an Christian environment about Christianity they should not only have knowledge but also believe and practice the Christian Faith.

Bibliography

Barry, K. & King, L (1997), Beginning Teaching and Beyond, Social Science Press, NSW, Australia.
Berk, L.E. (1996), Infants, Children and adolescents, 2nd edition, Harper Collins, NY, USA Foreman, P.
2001), Integration and Inclusion in Action 2nd ed.
Harcourt, Sydney. Good, T, & Brophy, J. (1991), Looking in Classrooms, 5th ed, Harper Collins, NY, USA.
Mackay, K. (1995), Down But Not Out - Depression in Children.
Classroom, No 6, 1995, pp 43-45 Peale, N.
1997) The Power of Positive Thinking.
CEDAR, England Burges, Jill. (2003) Lecture notes week 3 in Unit Teaching Children with Special Needs.