Making a Plan

Chapter 1 of Guide to Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse or A Year in the Classroom really hit home with me. I've had a lot of teaching experiences, both in the classroom and in more informal teaching situations such as tutoring, where I have a very abstract idealistic view of the kind of teacher that I want to be and then when I actually start teaching I find myself struggling just to keep up and survive because I don't have a clear plan. I think it is definitely important to have a vision that goes beyond the lesson plan, and writing down clear and concrete goals to help you get there makes it much more likely that that vision will be fulfilled. I liked the example goals in the chapter about learning students' names and learning styles -- I really appreciate when teachers take the time to do this, but I have discovered that it definitely does not happen automatically. I was also interested in the discussion about the environment of the classroom, something which I feel is often overlooked but which can be very important. I will definitely keep these considerations in mind whenever I find myself in the role of teacher in the future.