Teaching Hope (Challenges)

Entry 27 stuck out to me because it led with a student barging into a classroom late and really upset. She was crying by herself when the teacher approached her. To start, it’s always a little awkward when a student shows up late to class and is crying. The students all notice and the teacher has to find a way to nonchalantly address it. I like the way the woman handled it, by having her teaching aid watch the class while they talked privately. As it turns out, the girl was pregnant and didn’t think she had any available support to her. I chose this entry because I don’t find it unlikely that I might encounter something like this when I become a health teacher. The teacher was able to share a relatable story with the student and get her to talk with her mom about her situation. Where I am the health teacher, I would be able to do the same but I also might be an additional resource that can direct her towards planned parenthood or other resources.

Entry 41 was the second entry to stick out to me. I’m sure many people have experienced either a fight at school or the moment before a fight starts. I don’t like the idea of breaking up fights even though I have had to do it a few times myself. I remember everything about it. There’s the silence to start, followed by everyone’s eyes searching for where the action is going to be. It’s a tense moment to anyone who is around. The way the teacher intercepted the soon to be fight was nothing short of impressive. She found the girl and removed her from the situation but in a comforting way. After, when they were alone, they had a heart to heart where the teacher gave her something that she hadn’t had much of. She gave her support. I chose this entry because I felt tense while reading the first part as if I were actually there because I could remember what that moment was like when I was in high school. I’m glad the outcome ended with the student finding a new friend in the teacher and being able to share a personal moment with each other. 

Mixing and Managing Four Generations of Employees

            During my time student teaching, I had the opportunity to work alongside different generations at the school. From my experiences there, I definitely noticed the different attitudes, behaviors, expectations, habits, and motivational buttons for different teachers. The analogy this article offers of a large family dinner and how the conversation usually turns to, “I remember the old days” or “I remember when.” This is another thing that I’m sure many people have experienced, making this analogy very fitting. I have never thought about lifestyle characteristics with each generation. Looking at some of them, whether it’s how they communicate or how they spend their money or if they just save it up, I learned a lot about each generations characteristics. Things like maybe not spending Christmas together as a family were really interesting to think about because every year my own family gets together to enjoy each other’s company. I think this article brings up an interesting case in the work place. When you have different generations in one work place, it’s possible that their will eventually be some sort of disagreement or altercation between employees. When one generation finds work to be a challenge and contract when the newer generation sees it as a means to an end, those two may have some sort of conflict with how they each do their job. Or if an older generation sees that they aren’t as excited as they are for their work and creates some sort of conflict that way. Thinking about different generations in the work place is, again, something that I have never thought of. Not exactly anyway. I have noticed older generations and how they do things. I also noticed how a lot of the time, I may not agree with the way they do things.  

Teaching Hope (Anticipation)

The very first thing that stuck out to me in Teaching Hope was entry 9. It is the first day of the class in high school and the teacher says that he believes there are only three birthdays a person ever has. The first birthday is when they enter high school. The age here doesn’t matter since everyone enters a different age. This is the time they first take on responsibly and are seen as young adults. The second birthday is when they turn 18. They may or may not still be in high school but either way, this is when they are held accountable by their actions. If they get in trouble, they may not just get to go home with their parents, they may end up in jail. The third and final birthday is when they turn 21. This is when the world says they are responsible enough to buy and drink as much alcohol as you would like. The teacher talks about the importance of making smart decisions and that hopefully you have learned to be responsible enough to handle what comes with your last birthday. All the other birthdays are just yearlong mile stones with some other celebrations along the way.

The second entry that really caught my eye was entry 17. In the entry you find out the health teacher doesn’t let the students ask any questions about sex and how it works and anything that they are curious about. As a result, it all comes out during their other class. This entry really got me because I can’t imagine anything like that happening in my health class where I wouldn’t let them ask any questions. Having sex is a huge part of growing up and they should know everything about it. This entry frustrated me that a teacher who wasn’t the health teacher had to answer all of those questions.