For
those of you returning for another semester as we near the final stretch of our
teacher preparation, I welcome you. We’ve
finished one giant step forward on the path to “Teacherhood,” and we’re about
to begin taking another. Good luck and
best wishes to all of you. For those of
you who aren’t going through this experience with us, greetings as well. Welcome to my blog, Training for Teacherhood,
where I am chronicling my progression through the placement experiences associated
with the teacher preparation program.
Good luck and best wishes to you too.
This
week, I moved into my final placement, the semester-long experience known as “Student
Teaching.” This is exactly what it
sounds like, the experience of juggling being a student and a teacher in the ever-more
familiar (and ever changing) environment that is the high school
classroom. And, so far, I am enjoying
the experience.
The
biggest driving force behind this week, and everything when you think about it,
is energy. Without energy, a heart won’t
beat, a computer won’t turn on, and a teacher won’t be able to effectively
teach. The physical logistics is
something that no class can get you ready for.
It is one thing to read that “teaching is mentally and physically
draining” (and many add emotionally as well), and another one to experience
that first week of teaching firsthand. I’m
truly marching to a new drummer’s beat, and though there are the occasional
stumbles, I am confident that I will eventually learn all the new steps. That starts with a new sleep schedule, as
well as more rigidly planned daily schedules.
I am
slowly growing more comfortable with my position as something other than a
short-lived classroom teacher-shade (my previous placements were valuable and
interesting, but the short time that each allowed me to spend with the classes
made it necessary to sacrifice and expedite things. I needed to “get in, and get out,” as it
were, but still make some kind of mark).
I am lucky enough to have a host teacher who believes in starting off more
as “colleagues,” with us sharing responsibilities in the class (which I will
begin to gradually pick up more of as I transition towards being the primary
teacher). As such, I have been,
hopefully, seen as a “second teacher” by the students, not a “student teacher,”
with all the associated baggage that stereotypically comes with that (not that there’s
anything wrong with being a student teacher, mind you). I think this will become helpful as the
experience wears on. My host teacher and
I have also been conversing regularly about what is going on in classes and in
my observations outside of our classes, which allows the seeds planted in my
head to germinate.
As I
move forward, I will be focusing first on honing out the teaching persona that
I can be fully happy and comfortable with.
Various things come up, and I think it is of paramount importance that
the skin you teach in fits well enough for you to do some contorting in. If it’s going to shred or fall off every time
you move, then there needs to be some mental tailoring done. This is something I have been talking to my
host teacher about, and I will continue to work on it moving forward.
The
other thing I am getting more aware of and comfortable with are the
students. I want to build a nice rapport
with them, to form that ever-important “bond” with them. As a student teacher, I believe that this
bond is, if anything, more important than normal to establish soon and with
strength, as I will only have one semester with them. I will be learning from them as they learn
from me (something I see happening even when I am a teacher on my own, even if
it seems more dramatic in student teaching), and I want to minimize the
obstacles in the way of that happening.
Overall,
I have had an enjoyable week. My host
teacher, and the rest of the school community, from students to faculty to
staff, has been warm and welcoming. Whether
at professional development, in the hallways, or in classrooms, I feel like I am
a member of the school family.
I look forward to continuing in this semester,
and I can’t wait for next week. If I
take another step in the right direction every day, then by the time this semester
ends, I have confidence that I’ll be able to reach my goals, no matter how
lofty they might seem on the first day of classes.