Entry Level Teaching Standards

It’s hard for me to say exactly how I meet these standards listed on the Michigan Standards for Entry Level Teachers seeing as though I haven’t had my first actual teaching experience yet. But when I look over the list of standards, I feel as though they are pretty do-able.

Right now, something that I am somewhat nervous about it writing my own lesson plans proficiently. (Section 2 “Instructional Design and Assessment” part a.) I am hoping that by the time I have finished my training at Cornerstone, student teaching, graduation, and eventually finding my own classroom to teach in, I will have had enough experience and practice to feel more comfortable about this.

I feel fairly confident about designing instruction so that students are constantly engaged. (Section 3 “Curricular and Pedagogical Content Knowledge Aligned with State Resources” part d.) I had certain teachers in high school that did a very good job at keeping students engaged in the classroom with different activities and learning exercises. At the same time, I had some teachers who were extremely disengaged and did nothing but lecture in the classroom. I learned so much more from the teachers who involved the students, and enjoyed those classrooms immensely. When I decided that I wanted to be a teacher, I also decided that I refused to become one of those teachers who only lectured. I want to make classroom experiences enjoyable and helpful for my students.

I think that one way to be sure that I meet these standards as a teacher is to be conscious of them. I need to remind myself of the goals that are set for me, and re-read these types of standards often to self-analyze and be sure that I am up to the standard I want to be as a teacher.