Decorah Teachers Lecture

Yesterday in class, we were visited by three different teachers in the Decorah Public Schools. Remarkably, all three were fairly young teachers, and had all graduated from Luther. I think that this question and answer lecture was by far the most beneficial and applicable to us as not only education students, but most importantly as future teachers. We were able to ask them questions about how prepared they felt by the education program, things that they learned, aspects of the career that they did not expect, or wish they knew before. I took away some very interesting ideas from this experience.

One of the most vital pieces of advice that the three teachers had given was he idea of being a lifelong learner. They emphasized the aspect of always learning new things, ways of teaching, and new materials, and knowing that by doing this, you are not always going to change the world. In lifelong learning, and as a teacher, you will be making baby steps sometimes, and they are just as substantial as those giant leaps.

Another idea that they really pushed was the need for communication. They told about how you need to work well with all of your colleagues, even if you do not agree with them, or if you think that you won't ever need to work with them, in the future you probably will, and the students that you teach will have contact with them. They also said how it is important to eat and socialize in the teacher's lounge. it is important to have good relationships with other teachers and co-workers, and equally important to take time away from the stresses of teaching.

Another interesting thought that the three teachers toughed upon was their thoughts about No Child Left Behind. It seems like every lecture has to bring up this program, no matter what. The teachers told about how with NCLB a lot of time is taken for tests. They said that some things about NCLB were appropriate, like measuring students, but again, had some discrepancies. They were upset that children in kindergarten, first, and second grade now had to be taking standardized tests, and that time taken for testing was not necessarily "time well spent". In addition, they wondered weather these tests were an accurate demonstration of student's knowledge and learning.