WebLog I

Solidarity, courage and heart: what teacher educators can learn from a new generation of teachers by Sonia Nieto

There were many points Nieto made in this article that I felt were important for future teachers, such as myself, to hear. She first left me eager to read her book “Why We Teach” because I feel that hearing accounts from experienced teachers are the closest we can get to actually being in the classroom and I hope to find some of those stories from the contributing teachers in her book to be inspiring and comforting as I approach time as a student teacher. Second, I liked the teacher qualities that she mentioned in the article. My favorites were the first two qualities, a sense of mission and solidarity with and empathy for their students. I think it is important that you have a true passion for teaching. You need to be in this profession for the right reasons, to help students succeed in and outside the classroom. It is not a job that can be done apathetically. It is also important to create a trusting, respectful relationship with your students. She gave the example of teacher Seth Peterson who spoke of how he and his students had such a trusted relationship that they hated missing class and they knew that he would stick up for them.

My goals for this class are to gain a better understanding on how I can ensure that my teaching and instruction are respectful to students of every race, culture, language, class and background. I want to make my class room a place where students are free to be themselves and know that they are all going to be treated as equals.