I won’t
even pretend I’m not still terrified, but I do feel like I’m starting to get
the hang of this. As we have had the
opportunity to listen to, watch, and be in class with so many different teachers
this semester, I am getting more and more comfortable with the idea of being a
teacher. Luckily, it turns out, I like it.
The best
thing about this semester so far has been the opportunity to get ideas from the
teachers around us. The more I watch my mentor teacher the more I love the
relationships she is so easily able to form with the students. Seeing that kind
of rapport being built is both exciting and inspiring and very much reflects
how comfortable I would like my students to be in my classroom. Our professors too
have offered windows into incredible experience. It’s quite neat to see and hear
about how they actually are in the room with high school students. The skill
and (apparent) ease with which they present, lead, and develop lessons is
something lofty for which to aim.
When it
comes to our videos, I’m both nervous to show mine and highly anticipating
seeing others. Hearing what my classmates are up to have been very interesting
and thought provoking. As much as I would love to have more classes with my
fellow MACers, I also love hearing what is happening, what’s being taught, how
things are going in other social studies classroom. Who knew you guys were so
smart?
I’m very
appreciative of this exposure to different teachers doing their thing. As
nervous as I am when I’m standing in front of my classroom, I think about the
teachers I know and make (pretty sad) attempts to emulate them. That has given
me the ability to get up and try as opposed to my normal avoidance and these
first few weeks in the classroom have turned out pretty nifty. In case anyone
is offering, I’m always looking for more chances to see teachers I know in
action.
I hope you know that Rory and I appreciate your willingness to hang in there with the many tech tools being tossed in your pathway, even as you view them with some skepticism. Indeed, Shannon, that skepticism is very healthy, and it will serve you well. It's nice to hear, though, that technology is providing the means for you to see a broader array of teaching styles than would otherwise be possible. It's hard to watch ourselves teach, but I suppose that slowly working our way past that gives us a potentially powerful window on this act that is so much about interaction, and not just action.
ReplyDeleteI, too, can relate to the feeling of relief that I like teaching!! It is much more complex than society makes it out to be.
ReplyDeleteIt certainly does take courage to get up in front of a classroom and teach for the first time! Knowing that you'll have to take over is nerve-wracking, but also motivating for you now, as you try to make the transition from observer to practitioner.
I think your humble attitude about teaching will greatly benefit you, Shannon. Being so attentive to what you can learn from others is key to becoming good yourself; so many people, including me, fail to just observe and reflect on experienced teachers' decisions.
Thanks for these thoughts!
Aye Aye Captain!
ReplyDeleteWhen someone says "oh you're going to be a teacher, that's so easy!" I want to give them all of the syllabus (syllabi?) I have from this program thus far and yell at them "OH YEAH? YOU THINK SO?" but I refrain from doing so and hold my breath and profanities inside. Whew.
I don't know if this counts as one of my 8 responses but here goes.
Its great to hear that we are honing our skills and doing better in our placements than when we began the program in June. I agree Captain. I agree. Who new that these random 40 or so strangers I didn't know before June 2013 could have such awesome ideas for classroom activities, policies, and procedures. Who knew?!
I surely didn't.
That's my .02
Destiney, I might be holding in a lot of anger when I hear something like that. I don't understand handing over your children's intellectual development to someone you don't respect. We are all working so hard and when I see our teachers at the university and our teachers in the field, I see nobody with an easy job.
DeleteIt's really heartwarming, however, to hear from all of you and know we are going to change that attitude. During our "summer break" (those few days between the summer semester and fall), I read book called "The First Days of School" by Harry K. Wong & Rosemary T. Wong. A lot of it was review (not that it's ever bad to review these things), but one of the things that stuck with me was the insistence that teachers should display their degrees.
The idea was that we have to respect what we do and be proud of it in order for others to come to see education as a prestigious and important profession. Luckily, we're going to have some pretty fancy degrees to put up behind our desks.