It's okay to be different...

I like the idea posed in this article that all teachers have different styles and that one style may work better for them than any other.  The author mentions several different methods of teaching and classroom management, including assertive discipline and lecturing.  The methods themselves however were not important.  One teacher's definition of "assertive" can be completely different than another's, with the same being true of their level of success at implementing it.  The same can be said for lecturing.  One teacher can lecture with complete effectiveness, holding his or her students' interest and allowing them to learn.  Another teacher in a neighboring classroom can use the same technique and have no success. It all has to do with the personality of the teacher and their comfort with teaching a certain way.

This article also rightly discredits the idea that you cannot implement a "system" to replace effective methods of teaching. Though such programs can be helpful tools in planning lessons, they cannot be the lessons themselves.  Such cookie cutter ideas do not fit perfectly in every situation.  What works for one teacher may not work for another teacher.  Further, what works for a teacher in his or her 1st period class may not even work in that same teacher's 3rd period class.

Lonely? Really?

My first reaction to the idea of "The Lonely Profession" is one of shock. I'm not too sure about my  elementary and middle school days, but I do remember teachers popping in and out of their colleagues classrooms throughout high school. I always remember other teachers coming in to my classroom to ask my teacher about random things, from last weekend's football game to that day's weather. Looking back however, I realized that they weren't talking about anything that had to do with teaching. At least from what I saw. It was good that they were social with each other, but perhaps they should have been sharing teaching ideas. I also do not remember seeing any new teachers interact this way, they were always more experienced ones. I found the discussion of Web 2.0 tools in collaborative projects the most interesting part of the article. Using these tools, teachers can remain connected to not only other teachers in the school, but teachers around the world. These tools allow teachers to keep in contact more easily, particularly due to conflicting schedules and, in the case of international teachers, conflicting time zones.