Reading Reflection 2 1

Reading Reflection 2

What resonated with you?

While everything that was included in the reading was very rich and helpful, some of the

concepts and ideas resonated with me more than the others. When reading topics about mentor

teachers and student teacher, I always try my best to look at the situation from both perspectives.

For example, if I ever become a mentor teacher, will I allow student teachers in my classroom?

And why? My answer to this question obviously depends on the context I am in. For example, in

Crookes (2017) the author mentioned that mentor teachers are most of the time happy with

having student teachers since it means that they will have someone to help them with everything

and take some of the heavy work they do. However, I started considering the other end of the

spectrum. Mentor teachers who refuse to work with student teachers and the reasoning behind

their choice. That made me remember an incident where one of my colleagues back at home

refused to allow another lecturer to take over their classroom. His reasoning was that he did not

want another educator to teach his students simply because he was worried that they already got

used to his methods and ways of teaching to the point they might not accept another person

teaching them. In a way, he was worried that his students might not learn as much as they should.

That resonated with me back then and remembering now and applying it to the situation we are

in as student teachers teaching students that we have never met before and have no connection

with. However, I believe it is part of our job as teachers to do help future generations of teachers

to get as much experience as possible to ensure the success of the educational field.
Reading Reflection 2 2

What made sense and what did not make sense?

Richards (1994) mentioned in his book the benefits of observing the classroom and how

it can provide some helpful experiences for student teachers. While I agree with most of what the

author mentioned, I have to disagree with one important aspect. The author mentioned that the

observer should stick to gathering information only, and not evaluate the mentor teacher. I

completely disagree with that. The evaluation of the methods you see and how successful they

are is one of the most if not the most important aspects of the process of observation. It makes us

notice the unsuccessful methods or attempts and makes us brainstorm why the issue happened. It

makes us more creative, we see what works and what does not and it allows us to adapt and

figure out new methods that can be very beneficial to us when on the field in the near future.

What will you try/incorporate in your own teaching?

I will most definitely incorporate surveys, which is one of the ideas that Richard (1994)

mentioned in his book. A beginning of the semester survey can do wonders in my opinion. The

teachers get to know their students and what to expect from them. Getting to know the students,

where they come from, and some background knowledge about them can and will help us as

teachers when it comes to adjusting the classroom to the students’ needs and objectives, which in

my opinion, one of the main characteristics of a successful classroom.

Reading Reflection 2 3

References

Crookes, G. (2017). A practicum in Tesol: Professional development through teaching practice.

ICGTesting.

Richards, J. C., & Lockhart, C. (1994). Reflective teaching in Second language classrooms.

Cambridge Univ. Press.