Welcome!
Introduction
My name is Patricio Martinez and I am a teacher at Park View Middle School in Yucaipa, California. I currently teach 8th grade U.S. Histoy and 6th grade Ancient History.
Developing as a professional educator
The induction process has overall greatly impacted me in my professional growth. It has asked me to focus on many aspects of my teaching that I never had before. When I started this process my only goal was to continue to grow as an educator and I feel like this progam has been very beneficial.
Going forward I would like to continue to grow in this profession. Basically just keep getting better. I planto take advantage of all the resources available to me. Thankfully this program encourages this with the available currated sources as well as with the collaboration of my peers.
In order to stay connected as an educator I will always be looking for new and innovative ways to raise the engagement level of my students.
I must remember why I became a teacher. I love to teach and I love to make positive impacts on people's lives. This means that I must take care of myself outside the classroom as well. Maintaining a healthy personal life is essential to performing to my full potential as an educator.
John Taylor: "You have a presence in the classroom"
John Taylor: "You need to learn to be a control freak"
I love these two quotes from my reflective quotes. THey show that he recognizes potential in my talents as an educator but they also exhibit the guidance that I have recieved from him throughout the entire induction process.
For anyone who is entering the teaching profession I would show them the quote that is at the very top of this page: "teaching is a work of heart." I feel like this demonstrates exactly what teaching is. Yes it is very hard and difficult at times. But you must remember that this is a very selfless job. You will constantly be thinking of the needs of others. Even though this is thecase it is extremely important as well that you take care of yourself. As long as remember why you chose this profession without forgetting that you needto take care of yourself in the process you will be just fine.
Contributing to the Profession
It is important to realize as a teacher that you do not need to do everything on your own. THere are many valuable resources that you can use that will be very beneficial. Here are three that I ghave found to be the most valuable to me.
1. teacherspayteachers.com
Teachers pay teachers is great because it allows you to look at and choose different lesson plans that have been made by other teachers. You can purchase them but a number of them are free. I have found so many of these lessons to be engaging and well worth the prices they usually cost.
2. daretodifferentiate.com
Dare todifferentiate is another good source. It has many different strategies for educating. Usually it focuses on the newestways to engage students and has a ton of information on how this generation of students thinks and learns. I have found it very beneficial to me. It simply offeres me new ways to think about how I teach and introducesnew ideas thaty I never would have thought of.
3. Teach4theheart.com
This may be my favorite site to look at as an educator. This website haseverything you need because it will link you to a ton of other sites as well. It is specifically designed to aid teachers in the profession. It has articles to give you confidence and let you know everything is alright. It has links to other websites. It is a place to visi if you are ever doubting youself as an educator. I feel like this site is most beneficial for anyone who is in the early stages of the profession. It has certanly helped me in my first couple years as an educator.