I received an email this week from one of my professors that my student-teaching experience is already 20% complete! Wow! Week 3 has quickly come to a close and week 4 is the next step in my journey to tackle!
This past week has been very exciting because I got to start teaching! I am currently teaching 3 classes: one section of Introduction to Agriculture, which is solely 8th graders, and two sections of CASE Natural Resources and Ecology, which is upperclassmen. Each day I am having "Ah-Ha" moments as I find my sea legs and discover more effective methods to deliver instruction.
As I reflect on last week, I can see that I am feeling and becoming more confident in myself, my teaching abilities, and my ability to have a very beneficial, growing, and stretching experience during my time at Tri-Valley High School.
Here are some of my immediate observations:
1. Day one of any class is SO CRUCIAL
I was SO NERVOUS for day one! It is the fresh start of any class, a crucial and pivotal moment to establish a solid foundation with all the students. It is the time to make sure they know what you expect as an educator and what will occur if those expectations/rules are not followed. I probably changed my PowerPoint for each of my different classes dozens of times (not kidding either) because I was so worried that I wouldn't get it right, my students would think that I was Trunchbull from Matilda, or that they would not take me seriously. So it was a very delicate balancing act of laying it on too thick or making it seem like I was trying to be too nice. But what I realized was quite simple, you have to be THE TEACHER. Some days this is harder than others, but above all else, it is my responsibility to educate my students about agriculture. Having expectations and standard operating procedures simply makes it easier to accomplish this task.
2. Following through on expectations can help set the tone of an entire class.
The scariest part of being a beginning teacher is classroom management and discipline, by far. You don't know the students as well as your cooperating teacher, your expectations and rules may be a little different, and you can never be sure if the students will respond well. But what I have learned is that even if you do have to follow through and discipline a student, if you are doing it because you care and show that student that you care, you will be making a different in that students life. Thus, even when it is hard, and scary, and uncomfortable, I will do what is in the best interest of the student, even if they do not see it at the time.
3. It is okay to have high expectations
On day two I introduced what I thought would be a simple assignment to help build a solid foundation for the class. It ended up being simple in my eyes and more difficult in my students' minds. Not only did it take longer, but there were a lot of questions. I honestly felt bad afterwards. Did I make this too hard? Are the students going to hate me now?
But I have realized that it is okay to have high expectations for students. It shows that you know they can do it and that you believe in their abilities. Looking back on this particular experience, I would rather set high expectations in my classes because we can always adjust. It is much more difficult to do this if you set low expectations.
4. "Never let the fear of striking out, keep you from playing the game."
If you watched me final presentation last fall, you would have heard me mention this quote. It is the one quote that has stuck with me for my entire life. It is in my high school year book and my senior student showcase. Its meaning hits home with me, right to my core. There have been so many times in my life where I have doubted myself, my abilities, and let other people try to dictate what I could or could not do. This quote, my persistence, and resilience has given me the confident to attach the scariest thing in my mind, student-teaching. This past week has taught me and showed me that I CAN do this. I CAN be successful. I HAVE what it takes to be an educator, mentor, and a person who inspires youth.
Here we go. Week 4. Let's Rock.