Final answer:
Good teachers are indeed reflective teachers. They use reflection to evaluate and improve their teaching practices for better student outcomes. Reflective practices may involve metacognition, cultural value inclusion, and community engagement.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement "Good teachers are always reflective teachers" is indeed true. Reflective teaching means that educators consistently think about and evaluate their teaching practices to improve student learning outcomes. Being reflective allows teachers to recognize areas where they can adapt to better meet the needs of their students. Components of reflective teaching include metacognition, emotional regulation, consideration of cultural values, and engaging with the community to support learning.
For example, teachers may use metacognition to understand their emotions and manage them effectively to create a positive learning environment. In this context, they're practicing self-reflection to identify the source of strong emotions and develop strategies to deal with them. This reflective approach also includes understanding societal influences on education, such as how tracking and self-fulfilling prophecies impact student achievement according to conflict theorists.
Furthermore, the example of Mark Twain learning from Mr. Bixby demonstrates the value of reflection in understanding universal lessons and teaching them to others. Even outside of the classroom, in community settings, the collaboration between educators and community members like grandmothers, as pointed out by Mr. Ba, shows the importance of reflective practices in incorporating diverse knowledge sources, such as cultural values, that benefit student development.