Hola! Me llamo Margarita ;)

Hello everyone! My name is Margaret Lolley, Miss Lolley if your lucky! A few casual things about myself: I was born in Tennessee, moved to Alabama shortly after 2nd grade so I'm pretty much considered an "Alabamian" ...really that's what it's called down here! I've decided to go into teaching because I love educating people about interesting things they might have not known before. English is my best subject and I really didn't realize it until I started at the University of South Alabama. I always had a creative side to writing and could always lose myself in a piece of literature, but I never thought it was my calling. That experience itself is what motivates me to motivate others. Sound confusing? Let me explain. Some kids don't really know what their nitch is, just like I didn't and their probably not going to know until their forced into it and then they decide WOW! I absoultely can't stand what I'm doing. To me, that is perfectly okay and doing all the searching is a part of the experience of life. I am there to guide them through, and making it interesting along the way. Looking back at highschool I remember my favorite teachers were the English ones. They were always liberating to watch and somehow they managed to make Shakespeare fun. Maybe I'm exaggerating on that part, but anyways it was their spunk that kept me interested. If every teacher kept the energy going in the classroom, maybe some kids wouldn't have such a hard time finding themselves in a world of choices.

Okay, so there's my memoirs now let me take you into my secrets of successful guidance! First and foremost, Communicating is the most important. You never know what's going on in those heads, unless you investigate. Seriously. Secondly, blogs are the coolest thing and kids enjoy doing them. Awesome right? Thirdly, group projects teach kids to interact with their peers. If they can't communicate with a small percentage of their class, how are they supposed to function in the real world with millions of strangers? Which brings me to my fourth strategy, role playing! Being that English is my specialty there are lots of literature (Shakespeare if you haven't caught on yet) to act out in class. Letting kids hold on to their creative side is so important. Growing up is essential to life but why let go of your imagination? I'm 21 and I still have the visual mind of a 9 year old. Finally, the most important thing in my book that is, is to keep them guessing...schedules are great and all but life doesn't always work itself out the way you had planned right? No this isn't Dr. Phil speaking it's still me! There it is in a nutshell. Thank you for playing ;)

Monday, October 27, 2008

Communicating is key

My professional guidelines in teaching have often stemmed from the important fact that even though I am "in charge" of these kids, I'm not their babysitter. I am here to provide educational information in a limited time capacity, while making it fun and interesting enough for a teenager to grasp. Assuming a student is fully aware of a task is ignorant and should be considered careless as a teacher. Talking with a student and questioning their ideas is more beneficial, in my opinion, then giving out take-home homework. Let's face it, some kids are scared of teachers and might not tell them their problems upfront. I believe trust is an important quality to have in a teacher/student relationship, especially since you are around these kids almost as much as their parents. If they can't tell you the problem, what makes you think they will tell their parents? Communicating effectively and casually is important in my teaching techbique. If the student trusts you enough to not feel embarrased or intimidated to ask or talk about their situation, then the problem can be solved more easily. Giving a lecture on a particular topic and speaking one on one with a student are on totally different levels and should be taken into consideration.
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