Maximillian Cole teaches Freshman Seminar at Manley
Career Academy High School in Chicago, Illinois on the Westside. Its current
demographics of students population is 559 with 75.3% of the school population
from low-income households and 26.1% of the student population homeless. The
student population is 97.5% black, 2.1% Hispanic, and 0.2% white. The school’s
average class size is 26. I had my first initial meeting with Mr. Cole to do a
SWOT analysis of his teaching experience. One thing I learned from Mr. Cole is
that he has a lot of energy and enthusiasm for teaching that I believe can
result in excellent classroom practice. After analyzing the SWOT analysis video
of Max, I found he was eager to learn how to improve. From the SWOT analysis I
learned that Mr. Cole is skilled in oral communication which is a great skill
to have because he is able to build relationships with his students and connect
with them mentally. He’s also able to make the content in his classroom
relevant to his students’ daily lives. He’s also believes in holding students
accountable while effectively modeling to his students integrity and
responsibility. Those are two core fundamental values he aims to give to his
students.
When we got to the topic of weaknesses in his
classroom, I wasn’t surprise because they are two of the common problems faced
by first year teachers: planning and delivery of instructions planned. Recently
finishing his student teaching, Mr. Cole is overwhelmed with the number of
strategies he could use to deliver instructions to his students. It’s a daily struggle to figure out what works
and what doesn’t works. The support system in his school encourages him to
boost rigor but due to the culture and climate of the school, it’s easier said
than done. Mr. Cole admitted that he became too comfortable with the routines
established in the classroom and this approach shifted his enthusiasm to push
students to the next level.
There are some opportunities that are very
beneficial to Mr. Cole as he advances through his first year of teaching. The
professional developments and various webinars that are meaningful and allow for Mr.
Cole to use his newly acquired knowledge to apply these strategies and best
practices back to the classroom. Also, being a ‘Teach for America’ alumni, Mr.
Cole is being provided with “tons of support” and provided with a unique
opportunity to further his education and advocate for various educational
enrichment programs.
Mr. Cole finds his greatest threats to his teaching
and success in the profession is classroom management and school’s current lack
of positive school culture and climate. This factors are detrimental to Mr. Cole classroom because it is keeping students from achieving success and receiving
the quality of instruction Mr. Cole is working hard to achieve.
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