Think First Certificate Teacher's Book Free 13
Tanesha Prately
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When I got reflecting on my own conceptions of teaching, it struck me that so much of how I conduct myself as a teacher comes from being a failing, disengaged student in high school. When I stepped into my first teaching role in Adult Basic Education, my main objective was to avoid creating the kind of educational environment I so loathed as a teenager.
Two anecdotes illustrate my loss of faith in schooling that led, along with a slew of other factors, to my eventual dropping out of high school. Looking back on them now, they also make good case studies of what NOT to do as an instructor (especially the first):
First, I would trust my students and give them the benefit of the doubt. I would not make accusations; I would listen and approach them with compassion. Even if someone does cheat, why are they cheating? What is going on with them that cheating is a viable option and how can I make authentic learning more attractive to them?
While the teacher in the second story did at least try to have a democratic classroom and allow student choice, I think one could go a step further by allowing even more autonomy and choice in assignments. If some people were drawn to one book and others to another, why not have book groups?
This is easier said than done. It was much easier to be the failing student with my head down in class who muttered insults about the class under my breath than to become a teacher and have one of the most important responsibilities in society.
I spent a long time hiding the fact that I dropped out of high school. Now that I am in PhD program, I think I have finally overcome the stigma and can instead turn my early experiences failing in school into a strength.
When reflecting on this semester of student teaching, there have been so many challenges, so many celebrations, and so much that I have learned. I have been pushed beyond my comfort zone, and I have grown as a teacher immensely. It is hard for me to only talk about a few of the takeaways that I have gained from this semester!
First, I have learned the importance of messing up. I know, this sounds crazy, but I have found myself so nervous about screwing something up. I expected to always plan the perfect lesson, explain everything perfectly, and have everything go smoothly and as planned. And let me be the first to say, this is rarely the case. I have learned how important it is to accept that we are not perfect teachers, and neither are our cooperating teachers! We all have things to learn, and my student teaching experience has taught me how to learn from my mistakes rather than letting them eat away at me. I learned something from my cooperating teacher and from the students almost every day, and being open to this and vulnerable allowed me to grow, adapt, and think on my feet! Having these experiences is the true life of a teacher.
With being honest about my mistakes and imperfections, I was able to also form stronger connections with the students. This is another takeaway from the semester. I have always valued forming strong relationships with my students in order to create the best learning environment for them, but I was able to truly see the value of this throughout the semester. Being the first placement where I was able to be with the students every day of the week, I was able to see the growth of my relationships with them from day to day over the course of the semester. I was honestly intimidated working with older, gifted students coming in, but I worked hard to break down their walls and get to know them as individuals. I have loved getting to know each of my students likes, dislike, strengths, and weaknesses. I believe that this has helped me better teach them and has made my classroom a happier place to learn!
Finally, I have learned the importance of having an open mind. You can walk into any classroom and see completely different environments, teaching styles, student personalities, curriculum, resources, etc. It is so easy to have your own ways and your own approaches to teaching, disregarding anything else that you encounter. I have learned that opening up to approaches and styles that I am not particularly used to is beneficial to help me learn more ways that I can help my students and to also learn more about what I like and dislike as a teacher. Rarely does anyone have a perfect student teaching placement. I am fortunate to have enjoyed mine, but I have also learned that there is value in learning about what you do not want to do as a teacher just as much as learn what you do want to do. It is so important to continue being open minded so that you can leave room to grow into a more effective teacher!
I have really enjoyed my student teaching experience despite all of its hardships and challenges. I found myself in very low points but also in very high points throughout the semester, but I can clearly see how it has all grown me as a teacher, and I feel as though I can confidently walk into whatever classroom I will be teaching in next year. I cannot believe that the time has come for my own classroom; I can hardly wait!
As the semester is winding down, I have been truly experiencing one of the best parts of teaching, the relationships that are formed. I am becoming so sad to be leaving these kids soon, and I am reminded of why I love this job so much. As teachers we spend the majority of the day with our students. While they may drive us crazy many days, it is inevitable that there will be relationships formed and connections made that leave lasting impressions. I will miss these kids and the adventures that they bring to me each day.
There was a case of bullying involving several of my students this week. Apparently, there was an escalation of name calling in the lunchroom involving several of our students and several students from a different classroom. The students in my class refrained from sharing what happened for some time, but they eventually pulled my cooperating teacher aside and let her know. They were obviously upset because of it. When my cooperating teacher filled me in on this situation, she explained that she was going to hold a class meeting at the end of the day. I was curious as to how my cooperating teacher was going to address this situation and how the class/students involved were going to react.
This week was anything but calm, and I definitely got to experience what a hectic week looks like as a teacher. This week, I had to balance edTPA, full takeover, and interviews. It was hard and exhausting, but I was able to accomplish a lot. With that being said, I averaged about 2 hours of sleep a night and was definitely thankful for the weekend to come.
I finally turned my edTPA in this week, and I have been working day and night to get everything done just the way I wanted it. It was a good experience going through it, but it took a lot of time and hard work. I learned the value of reflecting on your teaching and purposes for your lessons, and this experience definitely allowed me to think about my teaching in a way that I never had before. I was able to connect my choices and practices as a teacher to my knowledge of the students and to ongoing assessment of their success. Although the edTPA drove me insane at times, I do see the benefit of intentionally planning lessons, reflecting on your teaching, and using assessments to guide further instruction. I was able to learn more about my students through this experience as well. With all that being said, I am very happy that I am done with it!
Also thrown into this week were two interviews. I had one interview at a local elementary school with a interview team of 8 teachers and a principal. This was intimidating, but it was definitely a good experience. I also had an observation interview for a position at a local school, and I liked this better, but I was also a nervous wreck leading up to it. For the interview with the interview team, I was very nervous about the questions they were going to ask and how I would respond. I prepared as much as I could with practice interview questions and research on the school, but I learned that just relaxing and being yourself is what goes the furthest. To my surprise, I found myself laughing and joking with the interviewers and walked away a lot more comfortable than I started. With the observation interview, I was really nervous planning the lesson. I was overthinking it and trying to make it very elaborate. My cooperating teacher advised me to just do what I normally do. This seems simple, but she was right. My normal teaching is what the principal wanted to see, and he ended up loving it! After the fact, I learned the value of just being myself despite the pressure of an interviewing setting.
Another difficult situation that I was faced with was dealing with misbehavior in the classroom. I had a group of four girls at a table in my classroom who were clearly not focused on the lesson and were writing notes to one another. I noticed this, and gave them a verbal warning to stay on task. Later on in the lesson, I saw them continuing to write notes to one another. So, I collected the sheet of paper they were writing on, and read through it. It was not about the lesson whatsoever, and it even had a part where one of the girls told the others to flip the paper over if I walk by so that they do not get written up. I knew that I had to get them minor slips for this, especially since I had warned them. They know the expectations. At the end of the lesson, I gave them their slips and explained to them why they were receiving them. They argued and were upset, but I stood my ground and respectfully reminded them that they knew the expectations and were warned already. This was a very difficult situation for me because, of course, no one likes disciplining their students. I want to have positive relationships with them. I know that although they were not happy with me at the time, that this will strengthen our classroom environment moving forward and will help with my development of behavior management skills.
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