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.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

A Classroom with a Tech Twist

Should classrooms today exist identically formatted to classrooms decades ago? Are we to ignore in the classroom the vast technological tools available to us? I believe a classroom should have a tech literate teacher who will implement all sorts of technology along with the primary subjects of their lessons.

In my future classroom, I think it will be great to incorporate blogging, podcasting/vodcasting, Google Docs, Geocaching, Smart Boards, Skype, and more. These things could easily become distractions, so I will carefully use them.

These and other tech twists, if used correctly, can only enhance the students' knowledge and conviction. Some of these methods could also be used to communicate virtues and vices of students with their parents. Without a tech twist to the classroom, students may become bored and, in turn, lose interest in their studies.

My Turn to Teaching: A Change of Course

If someone were to have asked me ten years ago, when I was nearing my high school graduation, what my college major would be, I would have told them something different than the route that I am currently pursuing. I initially set out to major in Computer Information Systems in a school in Tennessee. After rethinking my direction and interests, I determined to attend a vocational school in which I could be trained to preach in churches of Christ. While working as an evangelist has been very rewarding, I have wanted to also fulfill my intentions to obtain a bachelor's degree. My choice of discipline: Secondary Education, English/Language Arts. Those who knew me in the beginning might not have assumed I would become an English/Literature teacher, but as I learned and matured over the past several years, begun a family, and experienced various challenges, I believe it is a charted course that will not change.

Despite having technology as an integral part of my life, Computer Information Systems was no longer relevant, to me. Furthermore, I have not planned to cease my work as an evangelist for the smaller congregation with whom I work, but found that establishing a career in education will supplement my overall ambitions to help others become educated and useful citizens and to use my talents to influence others for good. I have always respected teachers, but have not necessarily always loved teaching. It is a love that has grown on me, starting from a heightened desire to learn and fondnesses I have for reading and writing and stimulating others to think creatively.

So, today I am attending the University of South Alabama. I am excitedly looking forward to the future and working towards graduating in approximately 2011-2012. At the present, I could see myself returning to USA to pursue a master's degree in Administration.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Taught to Teach, Learning to Learn

There should always be a time when every student becomes a teacher, even though he or she may not do so, professionally. The difficulty in the student's transition to teaching is the temptation to forsake learning. Teachers should not forget the pupils' perspective. Students rely on their teachers for motivation, guidance, and correction. They expect their teachers to have a wide knowledge of subjects discussed in classes, but it is impossible for teachers to be so resourceful in they do not seek to learn for themselves. I am convinced that if teachers choose to stop learning, they choose to stop helping their students to do so.

Students are taught to teach. Whether they will end up teaching themselves, their families, small groups at work, young students, or some other audience, they will be teachers. Likewise, their learning in school is also preparation for ongoing learning throughout life, including their time as teachers. I have always been taught that it is impossible to remember the answer to every question that one is asked, but that the best factor to remember where to look to find the answers.

Everyone, regardless of occupation, needs to be a life-long learner, not only being taught to teach, but learning to learn.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Gaining Classroom Experience

For my first post in my professional blog, I think I will begin with a few words about my experience as a teacher. Although I have not yet begun my student teaching, I have been involved with teaching for several years.

Since graduating high school in Indiana in 2001, I have lived in four other states: Tennessee, Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama. I have substituted in both Mississippi and Alabama, and I have loved it. I am currently a substitute teacher for the Mobile County, Alabama public schools. To date, these are the Mobile County schools at which I've worked: Hankins MS, Semmes MS, Hillsdale MS, Baker HS, Theodore HS, Montgomery HS, Bryant HS, and LaFlore HS. I have previously substituted for schools in Calhoun County, including Saks MS, Saks HS, Weaver HS, Wellborn HS, and Pleasant Valley HS. When living in Mississippi, I substituted at several elementary, middle, and high schools in the city of Gulfport and Harrison County.

I have mostly seen very well-run classrooms with considerably bright, interested students. To broaden my teaching perspective, I have also purposefully chosen schools at which to work that represent diversity in student and faculty makeup. Although most experiences have been good, the few exceptions have demonstrated to me the constant need in all schools to facilitate improvement.

As a side note, I have professionally taught for more than six years in a distinctly different field. I have worked with three different churches as a local evangelist, developing my public and personal teaching skills with people of all ages.
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