Amelia Pfleger

Reflection One

To even begin to change the way education is now, it has to start with the teachers.

Teachers are at the center of the improvement of schools, and it is our responsibility to

acknowledge that and start acting to create the change. The way that pre-service teachers are

being taught today is the beginning of heading in the right direction in improving schools. The

way I was taught in school up until college, is not the way that I want to teach. We were taught

basic facts, but we were not taught empathy, how to communicate with others, acceptance of

others for their differences, or how it is okay to be vulnerable. These, I believe are important

concepts that I want to have in my classroom. Some teachers today are slowly starting to change

and adapt their teachings styles, but there are also still many who arent. Many of them say that

beginning teachers like you cannot be leaders. (Poetter, pg. 2). It is important for pre-service

teachers to know that we can be leaders as beginning teachers and it is critical for us to be those

leaders to alter schools today. One of the quotes we discussed in class was the silence of

breaking heavily relates to what isnt seen demonstrated by in-service teachers today. In almost

all of the classrooms Ive worked in since being a student at Miami, most teachers will avoid

bringing up difficult topics while teaching. To make a difference with a new generation of

students, teachers have to openly talk about difficult topics that make others uncomfortable. As a

result of creating conversation in the classroom, by the time the that generation of students have

grown the difficult ideas will no longer be awkward or uncomfortable. However, it is important

to remember that not all current in-service teachers are the opposite of the teacher I aspire to be.

There are many teachers out there who are taking the first steps in making a change in the
education system, and it is critical to follow in their footsteps as pre-service teachers, and

eventually in-service teachers.

References
Poetter, T. (2016). Teacher Leadership for the 21st Century. Van Griner