Ellen DeWitt

Speaker Reflection 2
Dr. Rogers

On Wednesday at Trace Crossings, Dr. Rogers came and spoke to us on

dispositions. Samford students who graduate from Orlean Bullard Beeson School of
Education generally have good dispositions and personalities, but she wanted to touch
more on the subject. It is extremely important that we come into the classroom with
respect for our peers, students, and higher personnel. We must also be punctual, show
care for our students, dress professionally, and also act professionally. Our students will
not take us seriously if we do not. If we do not, we will not last at a school. One thing Dr.
Rogers shared with us was that if you jump from school to school too many times in the
state of Alabama, the state Department of Education would take your certifications away
from you.
Next, Dr. Rogers had us fill out an evaluation of our own dispositions. We rated
things such as our personality, respect, punctuality, professionalism, dedication, positive
outlook, ability to work with others, quality, organization, reliability, dress,
responsiveness, boundaries, communication, challenges, interactions, expectations, and
more. It was very eye-opening to see what categories I felt strong in and which categories
I probably needed some work in. I feel that I am responsible and can take being told what
to do. As teachers, we will often be told what to do by principals or other teachers. It is
important not to take offense to this, but to use it to better our teaching.
I really like that Dr. Rogers came and spoke to us about this. She told us stories of
struggling schools and teachers. Many schools struggle because of bad teachers. Samford

wants to produce the best teachers they can, and I believe they are doing a great job of
making us into these teachers!