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I chose this topic to write about for my summative task because I believe that it is inclusive of many of the other topic choices and understanding the role of a teacher is crucial to becoming the best teacher that I could possibly be. Throughout this course I have learned the importance of what is taught, how new material is taught and the layout in which something is taught in, and how the teacher teaches plays a pivotal role in all of this. I have learned that a teacher's job is to create a lesson plan that is innovative and creative to keep students attentive and excited about learning. I have discovered that a teacher's attitude and approach towards students is equally as important through the videos that were provided in one of our units comparing "good teacher" vs. "bad teacher." These videos heled to convey how a teacher's attitude greatly impacts students' desire to learn and participate in a lesson. Finally, I learned the importance of caring for one's students as a teacher. When a teacher takes the time to get to know each student on an individual basis, it helps to promote learning and assists in increasing receptivity to the teacher as well because the students will know that the teacher cares for them not just as students but as individual people. With all that said, I learned that a teacher holds a variety of roles and each one is essential to student development. Without good rapport with students, there will be no respect for the teacher and motivation to learn will be lacking. However, even with great rapport between teacher and students but a lack of lesson preparation, there will still be less motivation to learn and students will be prohibited from moving forward in their studies. Therefore the role of a teacher when it comes to a student's growth and opportunity to learn is pivotal and also wide spread. A teacher must create a positive learning environment so that students feel comfortable to make mistakes and learn from them. A teacher must also offer a variety of ways to learn a new concept or subject within a lesson to help all types of learners learn the new material in the most effective manner. Finally, a teacher's main role, is to care for his or her students and promote learning. When a teacher expresses that he or she cares for the well being of each student, the students desire to perform at a higher level and trust the teacher to create a safe learning environment where they can become better students overall. When a teacher cares for his or her students, creates and finds new ways to make learning fun, comes to class prepared and with a good attitude and teaches relevant material in a way that relates to students and their culture, a teacher is able to leave the greatest impact on his or her students and opens up the door to how exciting learning can truly be.
