Take a moment and remember the times when you would get a
break from school to play on the playground, when you could sit on the carpet
in a circle with your classmates, and when you could bring your animals in for
show and tell. This was the beginning of
your educational process. This is where
you learned to read, write, and analyze – skills that you are using currently
while reading this blogpost. This is
elementary education.
An elementary teacher has the privilege to communicate on
many levels. One is given instructions
and guidelines from political leaders and administrators, must communicate the
needs of individual students, discuss the best ways to teach the necessary
curriculum, help children to understand basic concepts and assist parents in
the teaching of their children. Believe
it or not persuasion has everything to do with teaching. Most communication is done face to face but
emails can be passed on and phone calls to parents are common.
A teacher must be able to analyze his/her audience and adapt
to effectively communicate. When
speaking in the community or with administrators the needs of the children
should be the focus and how to improve on what is already being done in the
classroom. Colloquially language should
be avoided. When communicating with a
child the teacher must take great care in teaching in a way that is comprehensible
to every child in the classroom. The
children’s interests and backgrounds should be taken into consideration to
provide better understanding. When communicating
with parents the teacher must show love for their child and his/her specific
needs. One must show sincere concern for
each child and his/her home life.
Most communication in the field of education is
deliberative. Usually there is a goal of
changing something in education and promoting action. This is seen in community forums with the
politics of education, in teams of teachers for the best way to teach and even
in parent-teacher conferences to encourage the progress of the student. Teachers want to encourage children to
progress, want to change how the community views education and want to inspire
parents to help their children better learn.
I found out most of this information by talking with those
who are currently in the education field and teaching. I first became interested in teaching when I
was in Elementary School and saw the difference that an effective teacher had
in my own life. I want to have the same
effect on my future students and help them to see their potential.
Very interesting and applicable connection of rhetoric and your field! I must say that if ever there was a profession most closely tied to rhetoric, then teaching would definitely be vying for the top spot. A teacher must be, as you said, able to adapt to various settings and all manner of students. In order to be successful, the teacher must learn how to best approach teaching to students on a larger scale while simultaneously discovering how to best better the individual. It is a fine balance of speaking to both the individual and the crowd. Great job!
ReplyDeleteSometimes, convincing young children to do anything is almost impossible. Elementary education teachers must not only know how to persuade kids but also the faculty. There is a lot of politics that comes from being a teacher and trying to do what is best for the kids. Teaching is more than just communicating knowledge; it is also about rhetoric and persuasion.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, Hailee!
ReplyDeleteAnd I definitely agree with Thomas and Katie. I never thought about it that much before until I did my own post, but teaching is all about rhetoric. When teachers know the kairos of the situation and their audience--and what appeals are easily understood and accepted by that audience--they become effective persuaders and awesome instructors. All things considered, I think you'll be a great elementary school teacher!