Personal

My full name is Cade Kincaid Somers. I am a twenty-seven-year-old sophomore currently enrolled at the University of South Alabama, where I am majoring in Secondary Education, English/Language Arts. I am devoted to developing myself into an education professional who will always aim for the highest possible success among students and associates. I live my life optimistically and enthusastically, due to my spiritual convictions, the loving support of my wife and the admiration of my two young sons.

Philosophical

Be principled.
A teacher must have values. Principles such as reverence, honesty, sincerity, hard work, courage, responsibility, and humility all contribute to a well-rounded, dependable educator and colleague.

Put students first.
The classroom is not centered around the teacher. It is the students'. Teachers are on the students' time, not vice versa. Students, regardless of age and background, have people--parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, siblings, friends, other loved ones--who love them and want to see their success. It is great to see teachers reflect through their teaching the immense care others have for their students. A year can easily be lost if students are not put first.

Make learning fun without making fun of learning.
Students are not true students if they do not study. The teacher must make his lessons live, stand out, and excite. These lessons should entertain the brain, but the resulting fun cannot then detract from the instruction itself. The teacher must exercise a proper balance of instruction and fun to avoid making a mockery of the classroom and to ensure maintenance of the curriculum.

Remain critically open-minded.
A critically open mind does not require one to surrender his perspectives. What it requires is the willingness to test them in light of other views and additional information. If it turns out he was right in the beginning, then he may be able to say he honestly and objectively considered alternatives. But, if he was wrong, then what better a thing to have done than to have welcomed the substance that led him to enlightenment.

Strive not only to be an educator, but educated.
To impress upon students the need to learn, the joy of learning must emanate from the teacher himself. If a teacher cannot teach himself, he must be taught again to teach. It is good to enter graduate school, but even beyond it, there must be a sincere desire for him to keep reading, watching, listening, inquiring, contemplating, and reevaluating. When it comes to teaching, one must always acknowledge there is more to know and never conclude he knows it all.

Teach, expecting to be outdone.
One philosopher said, "You are rewarding a teacher poorly if you remain always a pupil" (Friedrich Nietzche). If one does not teach with the intent to help others excel even beyond him, he has missed the whole point of teaching. He must expect to be outdone and be glad when he is.

Keep up with the times.
Teaching techniques are changing constantly. So are students. But, some teachers aren't. A teacher should not only acquire knowledge of current events and new information, but they should encourage the classroom's technological evolution and make use of all the resources afforded them by our expanding tech culture.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Leave the Books at School?

I may be a little naive, but we haven't yet reached the technological plateau where actual textbooks are no longer needed, right? There are a lot of good qualities about public schools in which I have substituted in Mobile County, but I have struggled to find justification for one issue--leaving books at school.

Block scheduling offers four classes each day for every student. I substituted for a Special Education paraprofessional recently and was able to sit in regular teachers' classrooms. I thought the teachers did a good job for what one could ask of them. How can the school board, school administration, parents, and anyone else responsible, expect teachers to efficiently educate their students, who have so much potential, by requiring to keep their shared textbooks under their respective desks in the classroom?

I know the issue is money. But, seriously--where are priorities? I was raised in rural Indiana. I had other family members in other parts of the state. Since then, I've substituted in south Mississippi and northern Alabama. I have never previously noticed teachers demanding young people keep their textbooks at school.

If teachers cannot send books home with students, they tend to use classroom time to teach the textbook. Instead, ideally, students should use time at home to use the book, and teachers should spend time at school being able to teach supplementary material.

If this is as big of a problem as I believe it is, we need to do something to fix it. If it remains a problem when I begin my professional career, I will have to find some solution, at least for my classroom. I'd like to challenge my students. Let's make it possible for them to take their books home to study.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Special Moments

My Spring 2010 course schedule is light, so I have had increased opportunities to substitute in Mobile County Public Schools.

I visited the main offices of some area schools today to request my name be added to their master substitute lists. Mobile County uses an automatic system, called Subfinder, which calls potential substitutes to inform them of positions that need filled. Substitutes may also view and select positions on Subfinder's website. It's actually a neat, useful system, but I have not always been able to find a suitable, nearby position.

At one of the local schools I visited today, a secretary asked if there was a class, such as P.E., for which I would not be interested in subbing. I said there is not. At this point in preparing for my career, I believe it is important to get a varied perspective of education. In my five years of experience in substitute teaching, I have filled positions from grades 2-12. I have subbed in virtually every discipline (math, science, language arts, P.E., Spanish, etc.). I have taught in alternative schools and filled roles in Special Education classrooms.

Special Education. This leads me to another recent experience. I recently substituted at Baker High School in one of its Special Education classes. I was very impressed by the classroom aides and nurse who provide special, individualized assistance to the students. They were kind and helpful, and they clearly demonstrated that they love what they do. The students in the classroom were respectful, hard-working, and inspiring.

In this classroom, one student, a very bright 15-year-old boy, told me about his love for music and movies, among other things. He said he wanted to write songs some day to express the way he often feels, especially as a result of his physical challenges. It wasn't long until he asked me to get a piece of paper and a pen so that I could write the lyrics down for him. He gave the thoughts and words; I helped him with the placement of the lyrics, and we finished one song, and began another. He seemed to really appreciate my help. When I went to school that day, I didn't realize I would be writing song lyrics, but I'm glad I did. I wasn't comfortable at first, and honestly, I wasn't sure if I wanted to leave my comfort zone to do something in which I was not experienced. Those were some special moments.


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