About Me
- Neal Christian
- Neal graduated from The Georgia Institute of Technology with a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering and minor in Spanish, a Master’s Degree of Mathematics Education from Georgia State University, and a Specialist's Degree in Educational Leadership from Liberty University. He has taught mathematics on the high school and college level and served as the Academic Support Partner for the Office of Minority Educational Development (OMED) at Georgia Tech. As a former Mathematics Implementation Specialist with the Georgia Department of Education (GADOE), Neal traveled to high schools within the state to assist teachers with the transition from the Quality Core Curriculum to the Georgia Performance Standards Frameworks. Neal has also trained mathematics teachers in several districts throughout Georgia. In 2007, Neal presented on Implementing Mathematical Tasks at the European Teacher Education Network Conference in Liverpool, England. In 2010, Neal was the founding assistant principal of Fulton Leadership Academy. Currently, Mr. Christian is the founding director of Genesis Innovation of Academy for Boys and is pursuing his Doctorate's Degree in Educational Leadership.
K-12 teachers should have the most important skill of knowing how to work with children and teens. I believe that the biggest problems occuring in our school systems is that teachers dont know how to react, talk or communicate with thier students and thats a huge issue. Every student is different one student learns quiker and the other doesnt but if the teachers carry the same procedure of working with pace of the smarter student then the other students are keft behind. Our teachers dont reaslize and aknowledge every student as an indivdual. They should prep these teachers and teach them how to react and act with different students. The second non-negotiable skill that teachers should posses is tolerance and patience because as i said every student is different and needs different amount of time span to work with and i think if these skills are taken under consideration then we wouldnt have a lot more problems in our school system.
ReplyDeleteTeachers should care - and be sober. Some may think that being sober is a given, but when my children were in high school, being sober was not always the case.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Hamid. Teachers should care about their students - every one of them - and know how to help them learn. I know some teachers may have favorites, but if a child wants to learn, the teacher should be willing and able to teach. Also, a teacher should be encouraging. For some children, what the teacher has to say about them may be the only encouraging words they hear all day. Teachers can make a difference in what students learn and in their attitudes. They can be a great influence on a student. They should not take that influence lightly.
From a comical standpoint, Educators must have (1) a sense of humor, every little incident doesn’t require a write-up or suspension, because a lot of situations can be handled within the classroom, (2) you have to have a backbone, stand up for yourself (3) you must have thick skin, don’t take every little thing so personal. Relax, most of the time, it’s really not that serious. Teachers, please be aware of all of these acronyms, texting lingo, and catch phrases that students use. Don’t be so stuck-up and out of touch with reality, to the point in which you are unable to effectively communicate on a student’s level. When unsure about the meaning of certain acronyms, don’t worry, just simply ask your child or contact your nearest teenager. Some of them are: LLF, THOT, LIS, YADD, and FRFR. One day, I heard my neighbor having a confrontation with a young man, I thought it was her boyfriend, but then I looked closer, and it was her son, who is in the 9th grade at Washington HS. He had the nerve to call his own mother a, “Suck-a-Duck”. So, I asked my daughter, what does it mean and when she told me, I nearly passed out! :) Before his mom killed him, she called the police and had her son removed from her home, it was either live with the Grandmother, or go to Juvenile. Understand that sometimes, when disrespect occurs within the home, that same behavior is displayed in most learning institutions. Today, a student at my daughter’s charter school asked a female teacher, do you “Throw that neck?”, and she kindly replied; does your momma throw her neck at night? Or, do you want me to call your mother and ask her does she throw her neck? :) And, the student begged her not to call his mother. The instructor got him good!!! :) Another, popular catch phrase is, are you mad or nahh? and “It’s Gucci”! See, you have to be aware of what’s going, and don’t be afraid to get those smart-mouthed students back. Give them a taste of their own medicine, laugh it off, and keep it moving. :)
ReplyDeleteI know that there’s a separation between church and state, but it is a plus to have instructors who have a relationship with God. Spiritual balance is very important. When God becomes the central focus in our lives, he guides our actions, work ethics, and performance, not only in the discipline of Education, but in all careers. The paychecks received on the 5th and 20th, the bonuses, the perks, the benefits are all secondary as Christ is the head of our existence. The performance of a Christ-Driven Instructor is naturally reflected in the performance of his or her students. It is important that instructors take at least one day to recharge themselves, meditate, and rest in order to be effective and avoid burning out. “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy”. –Exodus 20:11 :)
ReplyDeleteAn effective instructor subliminally inspires the student to do what they do (teach), or encourages the prospective student to be his/her best at whatever other career aspirations they may choose to pursue.
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