I had the opportunity to watch the educational movie Lean on Me.  This movie was based upon a true story about a high school principal who gained the respect and support of his students for his extremely controversial methods in eliminating the school of violence and drug dealers.  He also increases their learning level and improves their school pride.  From this movie, I have gained insight to what I will do as a future educator, but four statements stand out in my mind:

• I will develop strong associations with my fellow teachers because I know that positive relationships among teachers is essential for a school to function properly.  Teacher collaboration is an important part of being an educator, and it not only benefits teachers, but students as well.  
• There needs to be a strong teacher-student relationship in the classroom, therefore I will try developing a one-on-one relationship with every student to make them feel important. 
• A teacher needs to develop a strong line of communication with a child's parents, and to do this I will call and meet with parents to discuss their child's strengths and weaknesses.  I will send home monthly newsletters and progress sheets, so parents are aware of what their child is doing in school. 
• Peer-tutoring is important, therefore I will encourage students to help one another with an understanding of their assignments because children can often explain it better to each other than a teacher could.

*Graphic from the website: www.walmart.com