So, what did we learn?

The single most important thing that I've learned and has been confirmed for me is the old adage, "What you put into it, you'll get out of it." You see, doing some of the things that Rafe did throughout his book are sometimes going to not work well with my own personal style. Also, as much as I loved the way that he was able to squeeze in so much else outside of "traditional studies", thanks to standardized curriculum placement scores being a gauge for how well you do as a teacher, my experience will be different.

However, this guy worked and worked and worked. He put so much in, cared so much, and as you may now see it pretty much worked out. The old saying is not for teaching only. The medic that studies and trains continuously provides the best patient care, the car salesman that spends all his time on the phone and on the lot sells the most cars, and the soldier who trains and is well-prepared is fit to fight.

People always ask me if one of the huge deciding factors to teach was the schedule. I always assumed that while it has perks, you still have to be there before the students arrive and after they leave. Sometimes, you must tutor. Sometimes, you do not have a choice and have to take on other responsibilities within the school. I would imagine that those with the best attitude and willingness to succeed are the ones who reap maximum benefits. As he says in his book though, it is not easy, and many times he wondered if what he was doing was right.

Three methods I'll incorporate into my own teaching: (If allowed ;))

- Letting students call me Jordon, rather than Mr. Phelps,

-Doing my best to offer children the chance to learn things outside the "core"...(i.e. music, physical fitness, additional history, etc...)

-Getting students excited about trips outside of school, researching the areas and having all of the children well-versed in the place we will see. Also, level VI thinking in general.