As promised, Chapter 1

OK, I don't know how exciting these posts may be, but I wanted to give some info for each chapter as I made it through. Chapter 1 was all about the students needing to be comfortable in a classroom. We as teachers have to create an environment that facilitates learning (which is the title of the chapter). That doesn't mean that you dumb down the material. "We must provide a quality environment for them each day. We do this be ensuring that the environment within our classrooms is enriched and supportive." Before the student will do anything, the brain has to decide whether the student will pay attention and begin a task. Once that decision has been made, the other systems of the brain take over and begin to make a plan to get the work done. If the brain doesn't make the first decision, the student is going to learn anything.
Next chapter is about using teaching strategies to address different learning styles - all the buzzwords in education right now! Check back as I continue to update.

Highly effective 21st century teachers

So I was just sent a link to an article titled "Eight habits of highly effective 21st century teachers" (here is the link). It is an article that in 8 short steps does a great job of encompassing what a teacher in the 21st century needs to be. A visionary, a role model, a leader, and a follower, amongst other things. We need to adapt, collaborate, take risks, and communicate with parents, students, and each other. It really is a lot to ask - thank goodness we get paid so well for it! :-)
My question is, it is too much to ask? Can 1 person be all these things?
One last thing, as I was looking at the comments that had been posted, one of them said that the teacher was going to print out the article and put it in the front of their grade book! My first thought was, "How 20th century"!