I think I can, I think I can...

Listening to Anita Woolfolk's podcast on academic optimism made me instantly think of the picture above. I enjoyed the podcast because it brought in the teachers effect on student achievement. There are many debates on teacher efficiency going on today. The government wants to based fifty percent of a teachers evaluation on their students performance on standardized tests. Although this is a controversial issue, Anita brought up an important point regarding a students overall achievement in school. She said that if a teacher has high academic optimism then there students will likely perform better on tests. Academic optimism is "positive belief that you can make a difference in students lives by emphasizing academics and learning, by trusting students and parents to cooperate and by believing in your own capacity in overcoming difficulties" (Woolfolk, 2007).  This involves the teacher playing a role in the student achievement not strictly by instruction but from developing a relationship with your students and their parents. Research has shown that "teachers who have a higher sense of efficacy are more devoted to their profession and participation in a students achievement" (Woolfolk, 2007). I thought this was a great point. There are many teachers our there who love what they do and have a real passion for helping children gain knowledge. There are also teachers who have lost sight of the reason they entered into this profession and may not have a high sense of efficacy anymore. We as teachers are in our students lives to help them construct their knowledge on topics, learn new topics, and but also develop a relationship with the student and their family. It is important for teacher candidates to understand the impact low academic optimism can have on their future classroom.  If you would like to listen to Anita's podcast on the topic click on the link provided. 

Resources

Woolfolk, A. (2007, April 13). Anita Talks About Teaching [Podcast 13]. Academic Optimism. 

            Podcast retrieved from https://anitatalks.wordpress.com/