A World of Monica Yohana

ok, saat lulus dari SMKN 2, kegalauanpun terjadi. mau dibawa kemana pendidikan saya setelah ini? dari lubuk hati yang paling dalam dan kerena saya jg g mau rempong jauh2 kuliah, saya akhirnya memilih kota Tarakan yang hanya kurang lebih 1 jam 45 menit perjalanannya menggunakan speed boat, atau lewat pesawat yg cuma tutup mata langsung sampai. gak gt jg sbenarnya --"

ok,,setelah menimbang beberapa hal dan mengikuti 2 x tes akhirnya saya bisa lulus di Universitas negeri di Trk tercinta ini. yah...bolak balik Tanjung Selor-Trk sendiri, dimarahin bos coz trl santai dan menunda2 keberangkatan, + lg mesti ikut tes yang ke 2 membuat lika-liku kehidupan saya semakin bertambah (tsaaaahh....)

dan...langsung saja pada hari dimana dapat info klo lulus dlm tes. hahah,,,perjuangan dimulai..

1. mest bolak balik kampus ditemani sepupu & bbrp rekan seperjuangan.

2. beli peralatan ospek dan mengikuti ospek itu sendiri.

3. nyiapin diri untuk masuk kuliah & apa aja yg msti dilukukan seorang maba.

dari ketiga hal diatas, yang paling tak terlupakan adalah point 2. hanya Tuhan yang mengerti masa-masa itu. udahlah males bahasnya, panjang. intinya, serangkaian kegiatan dan smua yang harus kamu persiapkan sebelum bangun dan prgi ke kampus subuh2 harus dipersiapkan dengan sebaik-baiknya. jika tidak, bersiaplah..."kejutan" menanti dimulai dari gerbang..

  setelah klo g salah 3 hari ikuti kegiatan itu, tibalah hari dimana masuk kelas dan merasakan jadi mahasiswa sebenarnya. lagi2 saya terlambat..dengan cueknya masuk, senyum, duduk disebelah dosen, paling depan, ngelihat sekeliling anak2 yang masih pada culun. hahaha....dipilih jadi bendahara pula (yg smpai sekarang duitnya gak pernah terkumpul) entahlah,,saya punya karunia untuk menjaga duit sepertinya..baik itu di gereja, KBMK, semuanya sama..(: trimakasih utk kpercayaannya (': #terharu (lebay lg). 

okokok, lanjut...semester 1 perjalanan lancar, sem 2 jg puji Tuhan IP memuaskan, sem 3...nah ini dia,,masih dalam proses. sem 3 adalah semester terSUPER selama ini. tanya kenapa? dosen jarang masuk tp tugas segunung! yg paling dahsyat adl 1 minggu belakangan ini. tidur kayak gak tidur, makan kayak gak makan, mandi kayak gak mandi...kurang lebih gt deh..biar kn sdikit kebayang bagaimana situasi itu. tapi itulah tugas dan kewajiban yang harus dijalani dan dinikmati. syukurlah saya punya teman2 yg setia sekata, Krap yg mengerti, dan orang2 yg slalu mberikan support selalu hadir disaat yang tepat, dan tentunya Tuhan Yesus yg pertolongannya tak pernah terlambat. U're great guys! 

itulah mungkin sedikit curahan dari saya. yang mau saya simpulkan dari catatan ini adalah:

1. kuliah itu menyenangkan jika kamu bisa menempatkan dan membawa diri kamu sebaik-baiknya.

2. kuliah itu adl kebebasan dan tanggung jawab besar yang harus km jaga dan pertahankan.

3. kuliah itu bukan hanya turun ke kampus dan pulang ke rumah, tapi mendapatkan pengalaman dan pengembangan diri utk jadi lebih baik.

4. kuliah itu ajang mempromosikan diri dan bersosialisasi seluas-luasnya.

5. kuliah itu hrs jaga diri sendiri, ngurus diri sendiri, dan saling membantu satu dgn yg lain :p

6. kuliah itu jembatan utk sukses dan syarat mendapat izin utk menikah after u finishing ur study, & get a job :D hahhahah.....

yah..kurang lebih seperti itulah. ok, yg terakhir pesan saya kepada seluruh teman-teman..tetaplah berusaha dan maju tak gentar. masalah akan selalu hadir kapanpun dan dimanapun, tapi percayalah Tuhan tak akan biarkan kamu melangkah sendiri. kamu punya potensi luar biasa, dan byk orang yg mengasihimu dan akan bersama dengan kamu. U're not alone & u can! 

muaheheeoohhaahh,,,itu sajalah, sampai berjumpa lagi dicatatan berikutnya..^_^ v da da....

Perhaps even more so than with students, the watchword for communicating with parents is listen. Th e parent’s involvement with a teacher is oft en due to a particular event or problem. In all cases there is an intermediary between the parent and teacher who has interests of her own (i.e., the student). Th e result is that parents typically come to a meeting with the teacher armed with a child’s perspective of the situation. That’s not always bad, but it’s rarely the complete story. For a teacher, eff ective communication begins with listening to the parent’s perspective.
Teachers should develop several techniques to facilitate good communication with parents (Million, 2003). For instance, in an initial meeting with a parent, listening to the parent’s perspective of the child’s strengths, weaknesses, and needs forms the foundation for future eff ective communication with that parent.
In problem situations, parents may ask questions such as: Are you being fair to my child? Is my child really the instigator of the problem? What have you done to provoke my child? What steps have you taken to discipline my child? It is the teacher’s responsibility to avoid being defensive and instead listen, keep a professional perspective, and work to resolve the situation with the best interests of the student in mind. Stevens and Tollafield (2003) stress the importance of preplanning with a clear focus, documenting information, following up conferences, and considering parents as partners. Aft er reading “Parents Behaving Badly” (Gibbs, 2005), you might want to consult How to Handle Diffi cult Parents: A Teacher’s Survival Guide (Tingley, 2006) for numerous practical suggestions for dealing with many sensitive but common issues.
Teachers have students for whom English is a second language. Th e fastestgrowing demographic in the United States is Hispanic (Rubinstein-Avila, 2004; Slavin & Cheung, 2004). In 2005, 20% of children aged 8 or younger were Hispanic, primarily of Mexican origin (Hernandez, 2006). Many of them are Englishlanguage learners. They need to have notes translated into a number of languages and have an interpreter present when conducting parent conferences. Likewise, teachers may need to supplement any school paraprofessional resources by utilizing bilingual speakers or readers, or both, in their classrooms. And of course, as an emerging professional, you certainly will want to become conversant in another language as well.
A teacher’s interaction with parents does not always involve discipline problems. Sending notes home or placing calls to parents to indicate progress and positive behaviors would be an excellent practice to develop. Home visits, general letters at the beginning of the year and periodically as appropriate, regular informational newsletters, and parent meetings such as open houses are other avenues for parentteacher communication. The teacher’s responsibility is to clearly explain the child’s progress through school. However, parents are not likely to be fluent in educational terminology, and they similarly may not understand district policies and expectations.
The test scores and work samples that a teacher brings to the conference may be just so many pieces of paper to the parent. So, what does a z-score or percentile rank mean? What do the student’s work samples indicate? How can the teacher demonstrate in tangible terms that these samples indicate progress or lack thereof? The keys in both the problem situation and the collaborative one are listening to what the
parents have to say, communicating in their language, and monitoring (much as is done in class) to establish whether all parties understand each other. Th is last item cannot be overemphasized.
When a parent conference draws to an end, the parent is not likely to ask the teacher to summarize
and review what has been discussed. From the parents’ perspective, this would be like saying that they were unable to understand the child’s teacher. Just as classroom assessment is part of the teaching profession, assessing whether parent and teacher understand each other is the teacher’s responsibility.
Clear and open communication is important
because, as research has clearly established, parent involvement is linked to student achievement. For example, Lazar and Slostad (1999) have found that parent involvement programs provide many benefi ts, such as improved student motivation, increased long-term achievement, decreased dropout rates, and more parent support of the school. What do teachers want parents to do? Initiate contacts with and be involved in the school, monitor homework, teach study skills, set expectations for student behavior, support the teacher and the school, emphasize reading, respond to school communications, and be sure their children get a healthy diet and enough sleep (Boers, 2002). It is helpful to keep in mind a broader perspective of the value of parents. Not only can teachers assist parents with parenting skills, but they can foster two-way communication, encourage parents to become involved in (not “do”) children’s homework, encourage volunteerism and participation in school activities, and help them to become aware of community resources and opportunities (Epstein & Jansorn, 2004).

Have you ever noticed that some people are easier to talk to than others? Maybe your best friend understands everything you say, but other people are never as quick to pick up your meaning. It’s also likely that you speak to your teachers differently than you do to your friends. You communicate diff erently with different people. On any given day, teachers must communicate with four distinct constituencies: students, parents, colleagues, and the community at large. Each of these groups attends to and interprets communication in diff erent ways. To a degree, they speak “diff erent languages,” and without a doubt, the rules for speaking with various constituencies diff er. In all cases, however, it is the teacher’s responsibility
to communicate eff ectively and to determine whether understanding has been achieved.

Communicating with Students
Most of a teacher’s work involves communicating with students. Interestingly, this type of communication is the most susceptible to long-term misunderstandings.
Several factors are at work here. For one, children oft en feel that they cannot challenge what a teacher says. Th e teacher represents the established authority, and so students integrate what has been presented into their understanding to the greatest degree possible. Since it is unlikely that the teacher will engage every student in a detailed discussion of the topic, misconceptions that develop might never be identifi ed. As a result, it is not uncommon for teachers to assume that children understand what was “taught” and for children to assume that what they learned is what the teacher meant.
Clearly, communication skills between students and teachers have multiple dimensions. An eff ective teacher communicates expectations (Stronge, 2002). It is also the teacher’s responsibility to present information in a manner appropriate to the cognitive level of the students. Th at may involve rephrasing complex ideas
in simpler terms. Or it may involve fi nding several ways to express the same idea.
Consistent and deliberate monitoring of students’ understanding is also the teacher’s responsibility. Th ere is no mistaking the fact that eff ectively communicating with students is a skill that must be acquired and practiced.

To help you consider and develop your own pedagogical style, this section examines pedagogical competencies in terms of four components: purpose, content, communication, and professional development . Th is does not represent the only way of approaching your personal pedagogical style, but at this stage in your progress toward becoming a teacher, we believe it will be useful.
Since there are many levels of teaching and many subjects that can be taught, each of these four categories can be applied in diff erent ways to diff erent people with diff erent educational responsibilities. Purpose, for example, is concerned with three topics: an individual’s personal philosophy of education, the attitude that is brought to the task, and the particular style of interaction with students.

Content, particularly for the elementary school teacher, involves a broad range of knowledge. For secondary teachers, content is more narrowly defi ned but requires considerably greater depth. Communication skills addresses the four main constituencies (students, parents, colleagues, and community members) with whom a teacher is involved. And fi nally, there is an area that you may not have thought about much: professional development. In this regard, you will fi nd that teachers are themselves learners, mentors to other teachers, and frontline researchers in their discipline.

The science of teaching will be the focus of your teacher education program. Though your professors will foster your personal style, the formal emphasis will be on the science, and there is a lot of science to know.

Education undergoes continuing research, analysis, reform, intervention, and evaluation. Aside from decisions about the content to be taught, there is extensive literature about topics such as the sociology of teaching,
psychology (of the learner, of the group, of being evaluated, of being retained, and so on), and the philosophy underlying why we have public schools, as well as the economics and cost efficiency of educational institutions.
You are not entering a profession that lacks formal, empirical research. Though you may not have come to grips with all of these areas of concern (at least not yet), you should know and understand many of the currently accepted professional philosophies about educating other people’s children. As you continue your studies, you will find that few of your friends in other majors will have the breadth of understanding that you
will develop along the way to becoming a teacher.
When it comes to education, the stakes are higher because a certified teacher is given the responsibility for teaching other people’s children.
Simply knowing the information, the science of teaching, is not enough.Th e National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (2008) proposes five standards for accomplished teachers:

Notice that items 2, 3, and 4 address the particular knowledge and skills that teachers should possess. However, the standards also speak to commitment, reflection, learning from experience, and membership in learning communities. That’s where the understanding part comes in.