Reflectiveness and Why it's Hard to Do

    In the teaching and education world, reflecting on the past is an important thing to do.  Teachers and people in education need to be looking for ways to improve the way they do their jobs.  As times change and different students arrive in a classroom, each teacher needs to reevaluate how they taught in the past and what kinds of things they can change or improve on in the future.

Students
    Teachers and students often find it  hard to reflect on the heart of education because they fail to put the effort or understanding into it.  Students may fail to reflect because they simply do not want to be in the classroom in the first place.  They would rather be in an environment which allows they more opportunity to have autonomy.  This is one place actually that teachers can focus on to improve their students ability at reflecting.  By giving students a say in their own education, teachers can increase the chances of their students learning to reflect on their past experiences and learn from them.  This ability to reflect on the past is a skill which will help these students for the rest of their lives.  Their are no professions in the world which to not require reflection on past situations or even building on past skills and experiences.  By allowing students to have some autonomy and helping instill in their a love for learning and reflection, educators can instill in them a love for learning that will help their students throughout their lives.

Teachers
     Teachers too, just like their students, need to have the ability to reflect.  For teachers it is very important to reflect, because through the reflection process, one can look constructively on the things the did or tried to do in the past and make attempts at correcting or changing behaviors or educational approaches.  In a teacher teaches he same way for ever without ever looking back and striving to be the best teacher they can be, there is a large change that they will fail to be the best educator they can for all the students they have.  All students have different learning styles and educational needs.  In a changing world of education it is important for teachers to remember that they need to constantly reevaluate their performance in order to be the best educator they possibly can.

How to Reflect
    Reflection is the best when it is done in a few steps over the course of a determined period of time.  In the book Drive, by Daniel Pink he argues that human's intrinsic motivation, or their natural instinct to learn and improve themselves is being drowned out by incentives, bonuses, and rewards.  Attempt to harness students natural instinct to learn.  For students, teachers could have them write down some goals and expectations down on paper for a class to look on later.  When they write them down consider How will I reach these goals? and What will I get out of accomplishing these goals?  After a determined or undetermined amount of time has passed, consider Did I reach my goals?, How has this effected me?, and How can I work to accomplish how in the future?  This relatively simple process can serve to get students, if not completely involved but at the least simply thinking about their education and its role in their future lives and careers.
    Teachers can reflect in much the same way setting goals for themselves. Music teachers could focus on improving their conducting skills or increasing ear training proficiency.  Other types of teacher can look to improve their familiarity with current topics in education and research so they are able to give their students the most recent and applicable information possible that relates to their lives.  Teachers should also work constantly to improve their ability to teach to all types of students.  By informing themselves on new information about teaching approached and advancements in the understanding of students learning and development they can improve themselves and give their students the best education they possibly can.