3 Great Quotes...

"Failure is not an option" is a quote I have heard all my life. I was taught that you don't fail in anything. I was told that it didn't matter if you tried your best, there was no failure in life. I have felt like I have failed something but because I can move forward from those things, I realize that I didn't fail. I exceeded with flaws that could be fixed and erased in the future.
"The persistent teacher not only points out that learning has no finish line for students, but lives according to that principle as well... 'We're all on a journey,' the persistent teacher believes, 'none of us is ever through striving.'" This shows me that no matter what I do, I need to be changing my teaching as new teaching styles and such come about. As I continue on after I get my degree, I need to make sure that my journey doesn't end there. I need to always be pushing forward and finding the way to teach all my students the ways that they need to be taught. No matter how far you go, you are always on a journey and it never ends.
"We don't just keep them busy. We're giving them an opportunity." This reminds me that I need to make sure that I don't restrain my teaching skills or restrain my students from excelling past their limits. I want to give my students an incredible amount of opportunities to excel themselves. I want the best for them and that is to never limit them.

The Incredible Sylvia Allan

That day with Sylvia was absolutely incredible! I was so inspired by the stories that she told us and they inspired me to be the best that I could be and be the kind of teacher she was.

I am so glad that she explained in detail what is supposed to be going on in a morning meeting. I know we have done some in class but I wanted to know what precisely was supposed to be going on and some other ideas to do inside the meeting. The things that helped me were the ideas that she said actually worked in her classroom.

I am so glad that she showed me that morning meetings help build a community and a family inside the classroom. I feel that it is so important for the students to feel comfortable in the classroom so that when something happens they know that the teacher will care about them no matter what and will do just about anything to help them if they can. I know that I would have truly been privileged if I had had a teacher who cared like Sylvia. I want to be the teacher she was and I know that her stories will stay with me forever. Teachers can change lives and inspire others. I hope to do that for someone someday!

The Role of Students Needs

I think the phrase "emotions trump learning" is where the student's emotions are stopping them from learning. If they can't feel safe in my classroom then their fearful emotions are going to block out their learning in the classroom. I know from my experience that if I didn't feel comfortable, I didn't end up paying much attention in the classroom. My emotions usually got the best of me. I can see where students' emotions will always trump learning anything. If we as teachers don't see the student's needs, we can't help them accomplish or achieve all that they want to. We need to attend to all students needs emotionally as much as we can and help them to come out on top!

Wildflowers...

1b. On page 10 of this reading assignment, Tomlinson says, “… we teach responsively when we understand the need to teach the human beings before us as well as to teach the content with which we are charged. … [It] is important to begin with the conviction that we are no longer teaching if what we teach is more important than who we teach or how we teach.” What does this mean to you?

I have always thought of the students I will teach. I was asked once to write a paper in a prerequisite class and in that paper I talked about who I was going to teach in my classroom. I had talked about how I needed to teach the material right but most of all I needed to remember who I am teaching. I will never know the impact that I will have on my students and I will never know at their young age if they are going get through college, become a politician or a famous celebrity or even make some historic difference to our world. I need to make sure I show all my students that they are equally important and that they can accomplish all that they want.

Each child is different. If we were all the same, then the world be so boring. I look forward to seeing what each student brings to my classroom. Each child can teach everyone something new and everyone can learn from everyone. I can't wait to see what each child brings to me as wildflower. I know that everyone can teach something new because I had a diverse classroom all while growing up and I learned so much about other cultures and disabilities and such that I can't wait to have my students learn just as much if not more from all the wildflowers in my classroom.