Student Needs Part II

So I debated if I wanted to add more to this chapter as I was reading and I went back and reread over the information I had and decided that there were a few more things that I wanted to say.
Think back to when you knew you wanted to be a teacher. Why did you want to become a teacher? What things motivated you to want to teach? If you are a teacher now, have those things changed because you're in your own classroom? Are you realizing that it's a lot tougher to do than you thought? If you're not a teacher yet, how do you think differentiation or having actual students will change you? Will you treat every student the same and spoon feed them the answers so that they know exactly what's on the test because it's too hard to try different strategies to help them truly learn the content? Are you too afraid that you'll fail in the midst of your trying that you'll just give up and go the easy route? Are we afraid of failing? Yes, because we know that if we fail, we really fail. Guess what though that thought process is going to get you in a lot of trouble. This was a perfect quote and I'm sure will be a great quote to help me when I feel like giving up.

If you really believe in what you're doing, work hard, take nothing personally and if something blocks one route, find another. Never give up! -Lauria Notaro

Now you don't know me, but I'm going to tell you my thoughts on students needs and answer some of the questions above. It will connect to differentiation because it's a part of who we are, even if we don't realize it yet. I always wanted to be a teacher. I had wonderful teachers that taught me how important my education was and what wonderful things I could do with it. I was always encouraged to do my best, but in every class I can remember teachers were treating me like I was their favorite. We moved a lot when I was growing up so that meant moving in the middle of the school years sometimes, which meant a new teacher, friends, classroom, and school. This is tough on any student, but a reality of life. I don't remember a single time where I hated the new school that I went to because my teachers knew how to help me feel like part of the class right away. They might not have known that they were differentiating for me at first because of the requirements on the assignments for the quarter that I was in or the education levels that I was currently at, but emotionally those teachers understood my need to feel accepted and loved going into an environment that was new and scary. I've always had teachers like this and I loved them dearly. During this time I knew that I wanted to be just like those teachers. I wanted to help students feel loved and welcome into my classroom. I wanted them to want to love learning just as much as I did and I wanted them to know how important they are when they are in my classroom.



In Tomlinson's book it states that even though we try to meet all of our students needs, they are hardly ever all met because of how hard it really is to teach to the individual needs of every student. We also have to account for the backgrounds and cultures that our students come from. Each setting we are in whether we are a child or an adult varies on how we respond and what needs can be met. Children may react a lot differently at school with us as a teacher then they do at home. There also may be issues going on at home where some of the students basics needs are not being met. I want to be the kind of teacher that makes my students feel special. I want them to know that I believe in them so much, even if no one else does, that I know they can do some pretty amazing things. I want my students to know that just because their home life isn't perfect doesn't mean that school can't be a safe environment for them where they can come to get most of their needs met. I wish I could say that I'll meet all of their needs and have the most happy, perfect students in the world, but the reality of that is that no matter how hard I try, I won't be able to fix everyone's needs. I will however help where I can and allow my students to be themselves and live up to that potential that I know they are capable of. I will be the kind of teacher who helps each student grow a full level no matter where they start out in my class. I will be the kind of teacher who tries what I can to help my students and I'll probably fail a time or two or possibly even ten. I will not give up on my students no matter what the circumstances are. I want them to know I'm backing them and supporting them in their goal to reach to new levels and heights. Be the teacher that inspires your students and meets their needs because you'll discover that you've grown as well! Don't ever give up because it will be hard and there will be days that you want to say forget it, but that's when you're so close to making it work because you want it so bad.