Taking Initiative

Hello!
Being a second-year student in EAT has it perks when you have dreamed of becoming a teacher. Interning at an elementary school is nostalgic, but that is not what I'm going to be talking about today. Today I will be talking about the initiative and how it is seen in a classroom. My teacher has encouraged us to step out of our bubble of coziness and lead others. Here is our prompt that I will be answering to.


Initiative means to be independent and take charge without having an adult or someone else telling you to do something.

Here are 10 ways to show initiative in a classroom as a teacher.

1. Reading out loud to students when they need help
2. Ask students to students when they are in working on individual work to see if they are grasping on the lesson correctly.
3. Help students with class assignments and ask questions so they can analyze the work more in-depth.
4. Going out of your way to make copies or deliver papers when your mentor teacher is busy with a lesson or students.
5. Add to the conversation/lesson.
6. Clean and/or organize the classroom after students leave the classroom. 
7. Ask what needs to done
8. Work with students who are falling behind 
9. When working with groups include other ways of learning 
10. Control the environment of the classroom, meaning to keep the students on task.

Initiative synonyms: ingenuity, volunteer, hustle, ambition, drive

The past two weeks in my classroom I have been making copies and grading papers and tests for Ms. Ibarra. However, this week I have been more active with the students and in the classroom. I have worked with two groups in my class who need their poems to be translated into Spanish and taught a small group how to write a letter. I have asked each group questions that relate to the activity/assignment they were given. Taking initiative in the classroom has helped Ms. Ibarra concentrate on her small groups who are more advanced in reading. Translating English into Spanish has helped those students how to comprehend better in Spanish. One of my students understands little English, so having me in that class translating helps those students actually understand what they are supposed to be doing, decreasing distractions and off-topic conversations.

The initiative is a crucial characteristic a teacher must have in her career. Not only is is important to take initiative in a classroom but also outside the classroom like in meetings. Without initiative, students will not be on task and become disruptive. Students will not learn if the teacher doesn't step in and take charge. For example, in The Ron Clark Story movie, Mr. Clark took charge of the class and decided to change the rules to create a better environment for the students. He had a drive to change the class for the better. Without initiative, teachers wouldn't be doing their job probably. If you notice a child struggling are you going to ignore them? The answer will always be no. That child needs help to improve and having a teacher who takes charge will help them understand better than they did before.