I received an email from my mom last night that had a video attached and after the watching the video I was almost in tears. The video is titled "The Teacher Movie" and this is the link if anyone wants to watch it. http://www.theteachermovie.com/ It sort of goes along with what Alyse and I talked about that day in class and how sometimes we will have kids that are going through alot at home. After watching the movie it reminded me that sometimes as teachers we are going to have to dig a little deeper to find out what is going on with our kids, and we really need to know thier backgrounds. I really think this video is what we as teachers should strive to be like in our students lives.

WOW! That was a great video. I agree. Teachers need to not look at every student as bright or dumb, they need to look deeper and figure out why students are the way they are. You may find out things that you don't want to hear but if we do this we can make a difference. This video really makes teaching look worth while. This is the main reason I want to be a teacher. Just think of all the lives we will impact....

That movie was so sweet. It really is amazing to think of all of the things that children of all ages go through. That's why it's especially important as educators to remember there is always another side to the story. If a child is acting up in class or moody, there is more than likely something going on in that child's life that you are unaware of.
It's so amazing to know that a teacher can have that kind of an impact on someone's life. That to me would be the ultimate reward.

I'm glad you guys enjoyed the video...it definetly gives me as a future teacher hope. I hope that one day I can make that much impact on atleast one childs life like this teacher did.

I am so glad you shared that with us Joanna! I think that all teachers and future teachers should watch it. I know I will share it with the ones I know. This is the reason we should want to be teachers, to make a difference in as many lives as we can.

Joanna, thanks for the video! It was great and very inspiring. I hope that we can all impact so many childrens lives each year in our classrooms throughout the state and country!

Good video, I love the line "that day she quit teaching reading etc., and started teaching children". We had a poem passed out in my reading class from a student studying special education, about the impact an action can have on a child's life. I think it is very important to put the stuggling students at the top of your list and realize what "you" are doing wrong in teaching "them".

That was such a great movie. I hope it inspires us all to help all students. It proves that teachers can make a difference in children's lives and even change them for the better.

This video brought tears to my eyes. It is VERY important for teachers to know what is going on at home. I connected with Teddy in that he had lost a parent during his school career. I lost my father during my tenth grade year. I fell behind in school and it was hard to bring my grades back up. My mother was however very supportive (unlike Teddy's father) and encouraged me to never give up. I was a very good student with very good grades but I couldn't always keep my chin up. In CI 2800, I was asked to write a paper on my best and worst teacher. I happened to have a classmate from my high school in there and we happened to put the same worst teacher and we were still two years apart school wise. However, when it came time to write about my favorite teacher, that worst teacher's name was listed again. My geometry teacher did not deserve to teach this class. In fact, students often taught him geometry. He did not have a degree in this...we were just short of math teachers and so this is where they placed him! I was absent the first couple-few weeks of school and more absent throughout the middle of the year when my father later died. I taught myself the class. But he was my favorite teacher because he encouraged me and supported my struggle to become a succesful student again. I will never forget him. I just hope that I can be good at what I teach and that I can be there for my students and know what is going on.

I wanted to mention a story my history teacher in college told me once.

He had a friend who was an elementary teacher. The elementary teacher had a kid who had been held behind for the last two years due to "his lack of intelligence." This kid would sleep all the time during class, would not pay attention when awake, and needless to say...failed a lot of tests. The teacher was amazed to see how true these comments were. However, he noticed that the kid was of an Native-American culture.. The teacher happened to be part of an Native-American culture. One day during class, the teacher spoke to him in a Native-American language. The kid acknowledged the language and spoke back to the teacher. The teacher asked him if there was anything going on that he should know about. The kid said to teacher that the reason he is sleeping and failing throughout the class is because he gets no sleep at home because he has to watch over his sister so that his father doesn't abuse them during the night. This killed me! Why wait now to find out what is going on in this kid's life? I understand that other kids may not have understood them but there is so many things teachers can do. Talk to the student after class, have children do journal writings or leave notes in a shoebox to tell the teacher how they are doing. The kid may still not admit to something...but give him/her more chances to! The teacher let the Native-American student sleep during part of the day and work on homework and assignments the rest of the day and some afterschool. The kids were moved out of the abusive home and that boy moved on to fourth grade!

I definitely enjoyed the video! The more classes I take at App, the more I realize how important it is to give everyone a chance. Everyone is going to come from a different background, some good and some bad. As a teacher I need to make sure students that come from bad home lives or have had a terrible tragedy in their life get enough attention from me. I want them to know that I care about them and want to see them succeed. I am working with a 14 year old boy who has never known his father and never gets attention from his mother. He is one of the nicest middle school boys I have ever met and I want nothing more than to see him succeed and further his education. I wish I could reach out and help every child who needs it, but sadly I can't. I will do my part and make sure every child that comes through my classroom is made to feel speical. Every child deserves that at least. Jessie idea to have a shoebox for students to communicate with their teachers is a great way for students to not be as afraid to talk to their teachers.

It's funny that you chose to post this video link at this time, because right now, I am involved in a behind the scenes look at Watauga County Schools. And the one thing that every teacher has told us is that your job really doesn't begin and end with the school bell. that, in many respects, you are the child's parent as well as their instructor. I am now just beginning to realize how much actually goes into being a truly dedicated teacher and this makes me think we should get paid better even more.