Reflectiveness

Reflecting is a great tool that is not used often enough. I think it is so hard for people to reflect on their work for a number of reasons. There are two that really stand out to me. First of all, reflecting takes some serious thinking. After a day of teaching or working, who wants to THINK more? Second, it may mean realizing your weaknesses or things you can improve on. This can be a difficult task for anyone, but especially teachers because they are supposed to "know it all." Therefore, it is a tough topic. Some people probably consider reflection to be the heart of teaching for the EXACT reasons I just mentioned. It requires critical thinking (which Tony Wagner loves) and it means discovering flaws. People who are willing to do this obviously care about their jobs and want to do all they can to improve their methods of teaching others. I reflect the best when I am alone and preferably in an area of nature. I love being outside where there is still noise, but ideally no human distractions (including cars, buildings, etc). I personally do not like reflecting that much because of the reasons I mentioned at the top of this post. I also believe that I spend too much time thinking (which CAN be good, but can also be bad). Because of this, I don't really enjoy reflection. I tend to over-analyze situations which generally just leads to more problems. I do believe, however, that when done correctly and often, reflecting can be a very useful tool in the world of teaching.