My goals as a first year teacher...when I get there!

As a first year teacher there are many things that I need to accomplish, but after reading some goals that first-year teachers should follow, some of the goals I want to accomplish when I am a first year teacher are:

1. Use technology wisely. With so much technology out there, I think it is easy to get lost in it and lose sight of what's really important.
2. Open a line of communication with my students. I feel as though some first year teachers get so caught up in that stressful transition in their lives that they forget to really communicate with their kids and they come across as "bad teachers."
3. Be open to new ideas. I think that most people, regardless of the profession focus a lot on what they have learned in the past, in their books and class rooms; and they are too scared to step outside the box.
4. Knowing when to shut off. I know full well I am one of those people that if I know someone may need me, I am on the look out 24/7. Knowing when to say "I need my own time" is very important.
5. Combine the old and the new effectively. Even thought times are changing, I think that there are somethings that we should incorporate into our teachings that are from an older era. For example, while teaching a lesson,  I think it would be great to have students participate in the lecture or lesson by "tweeting" comments or questions digitally, instead of raising their hands.
6. Have fun! What's the point of doing something if you can't enjoy it in some way?

We are connected, whether we like it or not.

The first social network that I even used was Myspace.  I was about thirteen when it hit big.  Then came Facebook. It made Myspace obsolete.  When social networks first came about, they were for young people; but when Facebook started up everyone joined, and I mean EVERYONE.  I have family members in different countries that are in the 60’s and are on Facebook! As I have grown older, my mentality has changed.  As a young teenager, my main reason for having a social networking account was for friends. It was a popularity contest. Now my main reason for having a social networking account is to stay in contact with my family and some close friends.  However, as an added bonus, I get to see all the stories about people I went to high school with, ruining their lives or bragging about how glamorous their lives are, which is really annoying...I mean seriously, who actually wants to know if your day sucked or not? Slowly, my interest in these websites have diminished, and I’ve even considered deleting mine.  However, if I think about the advantages that these websites have from an educational standpoint, I think it’s amazing, yet dangerous, the possibilities are endless.  As a future educator I think that it would be so much simpler to just send an e-mail or an instant message if a student had an issue or a question on his or her work.  This seems so easy and efficient. However, it could also be dangerous.  Sometimes conversations between student and teacher could be misinterpreted, or perhaps a student could begin cyber-bullying the teacher through an anonymous name. Even so, I think the positives outweigh the negatives. From a cultural standpoint, I think we’re at the point where these medias are a necessity. No one writes a hand written letter anymore, it’s too time consuming. I believe there is no going back on social networks. It’s part of us already. Plus who doesn't love a good Facebook breakup?