Throughout my practicum experience, it's my job to ensure that I strive to uphold the characteristics that make up a novice teacher. While I'm still far from achieving my goal, it is a constant practice of mine to look for ways to improve my professional education in order to be an effective educator.
The 8th characteristic of a novice teacher says that the novice teacher should be a reflective practitioner. I try to model this trait everyday by keeping a researcher's journal and keeping up with regular blog postings. Oftentimes if I see something interesting in class, I will journal about it as soon as I get the chance. Afterwards, if I get the chance, I will talk with my mentor teacher about the experience and see if they have any comments on the matter.
The 9th characteristic of a novice teacher claims that the novice teacher should have a respect for human diversity. Recently I created a Character Education lesson plan focused on the value of respect for others' dialects. I did a good bit of research last semester on the topic of dialect awareness and I found that the common theme was that one should not stereotype someone because of the way they talk. I want all of my students to feel comfortable in the classroom, and I believe a basic level of respect for other human beings is necessary to achieve this.
As I mentioned above, I still have a long ways to go to fulfill these characteristics, but I believe with the help of my peers and mentor teacher I will be prepared to enter the professional world of education in the coming years.
