Educational Psychology Article Reflections

After reading the four articles, Cross-state Mobility, Inequality at School, How Beginning Teachers Learn to Survive, and Why Teaching is not an Exact Science, in relation to Chapter 1, many inferences can be found. We have been taught by our educators here at Oklahoma Panhandle State University to differentiate instruction, differentiate instruction, differentiate instruction! So it's no surprise that these articles all have in common the different ways teachers had to adapt in every classroom or hallway situation that presents itself. Of course, the longer you've been in the classroom, the more tools you have under your belt and the more you think about "Do I really need to stop teaching to address this issue?" Teaching is all about adapting to the environment you're in and during your early days of teaching, beginning teachers do just that! Moving from school to school, let alone state to state, can take a toll on the teacher as it can be a process, but also, teachers have to adjust to the new teaching styles of the school districts, as well as how diverse their new classroom may be. I believe that is how these articles relate to Chapter 1 of our textbook.

I'm sure many to all of my classmates will agree that teaching definitely is not an exact science. If you have spent any time in the classroom at all, you will quickly realize that. Especially when your time in the classroom transforms from observing to teaching lesson plans. It's exciting, but you can't magically make all of your students engaged, motivated, or on task. Teachers are so good at differentiating their instruction that they allow their students to have fun, hence the art part of teaching: teaching is both an art and a science. It's not just the creative side of teaching either. By allowing your students to do things that they are interested in, students will become more engaged, motivated, and will remain on task. All while differentiating instruction, it is crucial to keep in mind that whether the student is from a lower socioeconomic background, lives in poverty, has a steady income, or moved in from another state or across the border, every student is an individual and every student should be treated fairly. That is a fine line to walk, but Mr. Mihelic once said something along the lines of, "As a teacher, you want every student to succeed. That's fair. So by differentiating instruction to one or two students because that's what they need to succeed, that's fair. And just because the other students don't need that adaptation, it doesn't mean that you're treating them unfairly."