Crossing Over to Canaan: Chapters 1 & 2

Why is reflection so important as an educator?

I found it very interesting that something which I discussed with my advisor during my student teaching interview, was here starring me in the face in chapter one. I never really gave any thought to reflection as a teacher, but my advisor brought up some good points on why it is important. First off, when you think about it, a teacher is constantly on the go, all day and everyday. A hectic school day of teaching lessons is followed by an evening of writing more lesson plans, grading papers and assignments, and a few hours of sleep before starting the routine all over again the next morning. A teacher needs to slow down and take a few minutes out of the day for his or her self to consider what went well with each lesson taught or what could have been done better or what should be changed. If not, the teacher may keep on using lessons or doing things which may not necessarily work well or it may be the complete opposite - not taking time to appreciate how well a lesson may have gone. So as a future educator, I am going to take all this into consideration and make sure that I can put aside some time to think and reflect back on the school day, perhaps even keeping a journal or notebook in which to write ideas and thoughts down.

"A Community of Learners" - why is this so important and why isn't it being done?

Chapter two gives brief insight into the lives of several teachers and their experiences, but the introduction of chapter two is what I would like to focus on. I found this particular quote quite striking and I am wondering what could be done to change it; "prospective teachers are treated only as individuals who must construct and implement lessons alone. The notion that collective thinking about teaching and learning should be an aspect of preparing to teach is not prevalent in most programs. Rarely are new teachers encouraged to come up with new ideas and pedagogical innovation. . ."
I believe that collaboration is the key - teachers and schools must build a community of teacher learners. Teachers should be able to feed off one another for new ideas, input, or support within their school or school district. By doing so, teachers can bring fresh ideas to their classroom and a sense of harmony between teachers and faculty may bring the school that much closer together. I think that collaboration is something that should be taught in teacher education programs and be instilled in the future educators of this country.