What have I learned about
teachers?
I have learned
so much about teaching in the last three months from watching my two
cooperating teachers. One thing I have learned about teachers is that they wear
a million different hats. It's not just about lessons, but it's also about
planning, strategizing, working with students, dealing with testing, and
everything all at once. I think we all have ideas about being in the classroom,
but there is a lot more to teaching than just being in a classroom. You always
hear about how many responsibilities teachers have, but seeing it and hearing
it are two different things.
I think I’ve
learned management is such an important structure for teachers. Seeing two
different teachers, one who is very controlled and one who has a more relaxed
classroom atmosphere, has given me a wider perspective of what different
perspectives look like. One teacher is pursuing silence and has a timer to keep
students on track, the other uses music as an incentive and allows students to
turn in late work. Both ways have merits, but the more controlled classroom
gets more work done and spends less time on behavioral issues, but the more
relaxed teacher is definitely more in tune with her students personally. I
think each teacher works on what is important to them, and I will need to
figure out my own management as I get closer.
I think the
most important thing I’ve learned about teachers is that they need to have an
end goal. Both of my teachers really focus on helping students become better
readers and writers and that guides a lot of their teaching. I really admire
how my original cooperating teacher, English, has a loose plan for the year to
make her lessons and learning targets more complex by the end of the year.
Overall, I think having a general purpose is helpful to juggling all those
roles and remembering what the job is really about: student learning.
What have I learned about
myself:
I have changed
a lot over this quarter. Some of the things I’ve learned are just
reinforcements of things I had already known. I had always known I was sort of
a “bleeding heart” and that I have trouble with caring too much about things I
can’t change. That was something I dealt with, as I found myself worrying about
students out of class. I learned I really love my content areas, and that it is
amazing to watch students experience Steinbeck or great literature for the
first time, even if they “hate it.” But I also learned a lot about myself that
I didn’t know. I learned that I need to be more confident. I feel like the good
lessons were ones when I just let the nerves go. I also learned that it takes a
lot for students to upset me, although, I did hit the frustrated with my
classroom stage a couple of times. I think my understanding of why I want to be
a teacher has cemented. I’ve had a couple of great experiences with students,
and I feel like I can be a good teacher who is relational and pushes students
without pushing them away.
It is hard to explain
what I learned about myself in so many words, because it’s hard to describe. I
think I got a better internal understanding of myself because as I was trying to
get to know students, I was constantly reflecting on whether I was being
authentic or not. So, putting that vision of “who I am” into words is difficult
for me to do, but I feel like I am more at home in my own skin and in the
classroom.
What have you
learned about schools?
I think the
thing I learned from working with my schools is how interconnected different
classrooms are. If one teacher decides to do a “game day” in second period, the
students come to their third period class checked out a little bit more. If
students don’t get along in one class, the following class the teacher deals
with same tension that as been building. I’ve seen a lot of great communication
between teachers at my school, and I think that is really important because it
keeps things running smooth. If teachers know about what was different from the
routine, they can address it and deal with it.
I’ve also been
impressed to learn how each school truly has its own unique culture. The school
I am at gets a bad reputation in the community I live in, and a culture sort of
formed around that idea that it is a “bad school.” I feel like half of the
lessons and things teachers do are “counter cultural” actions, trying to
instill value in students, teach them they are capable and worthwhile, and that
education can be a means to greater achievement. I think many of my students
come from mixed or divorced homes, and I understand where they are coming from.
You definitely see those “outside of School” issues being brought up inside of
school, if you’re paying attention at least. The “culture” of a school is so
complex, but it is definitely a driving force in the way students act and
learn. I think if were to teach at a school with a different set of students, I
would teach differently. I also think next year, with a group f new students,
the school’s culture will change and so I will adapt as I get to know my
students.
What one lesson would I share
with new pre service teachers?
The
most important lesson, in my opinion, is the art of balancing your life and
learning to relax. This quarter I taught nine hours a week, had a lot of
homework, and I was a mother and a wife. But unlike winter quarter, I just
decided to be less stressed and not let anything get under my skin. I think
when I started being in the classroom and teaching lessons, it was just another
thing overwhelming me and I was freaking out. It doesn’t help that the
Education department changes standards every week (so it seems), and the
classroom I am in always in flux. It is a draining experience, because your
time and emotions are taxed. But I am learning that my attitude has a lot to do
with how effective I am and how much I get to enjoy the experience of teaching.
I
can’t control when my observer returns my emails or if a quirky substitute
teacher shows up in the cooperating teacher’s class, yelling at my students.
But I can make a choice to let things go when I get upset, and to take things
one day at a time. I know this is cliché and probably not helpful advice to
other people, but I think it is good life advice. Learning to control your
emotions and making a choice to focus on the positive is how this quarter went
a lot better for me. It is a practice, and I hope I can stay positive as a
teacher and as a person.
