Effects Of Ageism In My Teaching Career
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Effects Of Ageism In My Teaching Career
250-word response 2 references
I felt the effects of ageism in my teaching career when I joined a fully online school as the special educator. This was back in 2011, and the concept of online schooling was very new in the state of Michigan. I remember trying to understand the curriculum, online classrooms, as well as dealing with a different type of communication with my families. I felt old! I had never worked online before, so this was a huge learning curve for me. My students were much better at navigating the online curriculum and lesson room than I was, and I was supposed to be helping them, not the other way around. Once I got over the fact that I was feeling old and inept, I realized that asking for help from my students was a great way to connect with them. My special education students, who often feel like they aren’t as smart as most others in their class, were actually able to help out the teacher! Instead of being a curse, my ineptitude at dealing with the internet was actually a blessing. With plenty of help and practice, I ended up loving my job, but I still reached out to my ‘internet savvy’ students who are more than happy to teach the teacher. ‘For teachers to succeed in the environments where they find themselves, they must learn how to understand the strengths that children bring to the classroom.’ (McHenry, 2018, p. 18).
As I read our assignments this week, and think about ageism in the classroom, I am reminded that most teachers feel a bit ‘old’ every once in a while. I think of Rita Pierson’s story about trying to teach ratios to a classroom of students and teaching the whole lesson wrong. Then, I think of the reaction of her students when she apologized and told them what happened. ‘That’s ok Ms. Pierson. You were so excited, we just let you go.’ (Pierson, 2013, TedTalk). The students cared more about the enthusiasm of the instructor than they did about the lesson being taught incorrectly. They felt more connected to the teacher who came into the classroom full of joy, humor and love than they did about getting the ratios correct. This is a good lesson for all of us, I think. No matter what age we are, we can connect with our students through love, respect, honesty and joy.
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50 word res
p
onse
2 references
I felt the effects of ageism in my teaching career when I joined a
fully online school as the special educator. This was back in
2011, and the concept of online schooling was very new in the
state of Michigan. I remember trying to understand the
curriculum
, online classrooms, as well as dealing with a different
type of communication with my families. I felt old! I had never
worked online before, so this was a huge learning curve for me.
My students were much better at navigating the online
curriculum and le
sson room than I was, and I was supposed to
be helping them, not the other way around. Once I got over the
fact that I was feeling old and inept, I realized that asking for
help from my students was a great way to connect with them.
My special education st
udents, who often feel like they aren’t as
smart as most others in their class, were actually able to help
out the teacher! Instead of being a curse, my ineptitude at
dealing with the internet was actually a blessing. With plenty of
help and practice, I en
ded up loving my job, but I still reached
out to my ‘internet savvy’ students who are more than happy to
teach the teacher. ‘For teachers to succeed in the environments
where they find themselves, they must learn how to understand
the strengths that childr
en bring to the classroom.’ (McHenry,
2018, p. 18).
As I read our assignments this week, and think about ageism in
the classroom, I am reminded that most teachers feel a bit ‘old’
every once in a while. I think of Rita Pierson’s story about trying
250 word response 2 references
I felt the effects of ageism in my teaching career when I joined a
fully online school as the special educator. This was back in
2011, and the concept of online schooling was very new in the
state of Michigan. I remember trying to understand the
curriculum, online classrooms, as well as dealing with a different
type of communication with my families. I felt old! I had never
worked online before, so this was a huge learning curve for me.
My students were much better at navigating the online
curriculum and lesson room than I was, and I was supposed to
be helping them, not the other way around. Once I got over the
fact that I was feeling old and inept, I realized that asking for
help from my students was a great way to connect with them.
My special education students, who often feel like they aren’t as
smart as most others in their class, were actually able to help
out the teacher! Instead of being a curse, my ineptitude at
dealing with the internet was actually a blessing. With plenty of
help and practice, I ended up loving my job, but I still reached
out to my ‘internet savvy’ students who are more than happy to
teach the teacher. ‘For teachers to succeed in the environments
where they find themselves, they must learn how to understand
the strengths that children bring to the classroom.’ (McHenry,
2018, p. 18).
As I read our assignments this week, and think about ageism in
the classroom, I am reminded that most teachers feel a bit ‘old’
every once in a while. I think of Rita Pierson’s story about trying