Scot Danforth's Becoming A Great Inclusive Teacher Reflection Paper

When I first entered the classroom I noticed how different this elementary school was from my own. It is the only other elementary school I have been in other than the one I attended. This allowed me to get a better understanding on how every school is unique and different from the next. When I first met Joel I noticed how happy and talkative he is. Right away we had a conversation and he never wanted to stop talking. While we would try to read he would get easily distracted, but not because he did not know the words more since he could not stay focused. I realized this is because he is a kindergartener and has not had too much experience with reading on his own. I can tell that he will be able to get into reading once he focuses more on the

Since I have only helped out in a few classrooms and never much one on one time with students, this is a new experience for me. Therefore I feel that it requires a transition or a transformation as Danforth calls it. In his book Danforth wrote, “When asked to explain how their attitudes, thoughts, and feelings changed, the teachers described going through a personal experience of emotional discomfort and cognitive dissonance, what one teacher described vaguely but powerfully as a ‘nagging feeling I’m not doing enough’ ” (p. 11). This relates to my time in the classroom not because I was uncomfortable, but more the part about not doing enough. For example, with Joel he struggles to read his alphabet and I worry that I am not doing enough to help him. Now I know that practice helps to remember things, but I constantly worry that I am not doing everything in my power to help him. While I believe all of this I know that this is something that all teachers feel constantly. When a student is struggling you, as the teacher, want to do everything in your power to help them, but feel you are not when they continue to struggle. Furthermore, connecting back to Danforth, I need to go through the transformation of not what I cannot do for a student to instead what I can do for them. I feel that while

When I use to go into classrooms I was more of an observer and just blended in, but now I am starting to see myself with authority in the classroom. This experience also teaches me about the major difference that just a single grade can make. While working in the kindergarten classroom we are focusing on learning the alphabet, but in the first grade classroom we are reading books that have multiple sentences on a page. Therefore, as I continue on in this program I will understand how to best use what I am being taught to help those that I am teaching. As for my personal teaching philosophies I am learning how I want to make sure I get across to all of my students. In my elementary school, students who were struggling, including myself, were pulled out of the classroom to receive the help they need, but now I see how the idea of an inclusive classroom can be so much more beneficial. Keeping all of the students in one classroom and fitting the lesson plans to fit them all will allow the students to flourish with all different types of learners. In conclusion, I feel that this experience is better preparing me to become a teacher because it is exposing me to an actual classroom instead of just reading about