My life is starting to feature paperwork on a fairly regular basis. Lesson plans are also becoming a constant. Student teaching looms on the horizon. This is is. This is the real deal. While there is still time to back out, that window's getting smaller and smaller. I am going to be a teacher.
I've been getting a preview of student teaching over the past few days by actually doing some on a small scale. I've gotten the opportunity to be in one of the local Lutheran schools here in Racine, and it's been fantastic. The teachers have all been so welcoming and so informative, and it's been a lot of fun to be in the different classrooms. I've been all over the school because the teachers literally have told me to just pop in whenever. It's been a great opportunity to realize how much work lesson plans really are and the importance of being flexible...and also not being too hard on myself. Today really fizzled out, but I'm hoping to fix things tomorrow. We'll see.
This really does make me excited to get into classrooms for student teaching, though, and move on to those next phases. I guess that was probably half of the point of this experience, too, so mission accomplished.
This is the first time I guess I've really gotten the feel for being a real teacher, though...yes, I'm still a student, but they trust my experience and talk to me as an equal. They've been open and honest with me about everything, and it's all been a huge honor for me to be in this position. I've gotten to ask a lot of questions about everything. Having such welcoming and helpful people readily sharing their knowledge and advice is really crucial to helping me feel prepared for the long-run. I need mentors, and this has definitely proven to be an opportunity to find some.
Tomorrow's my last day. I'll be there for the longest I've been there all week, so I'll be pretty wiped by the time I'm done. I might still go back a bit after tomorrow, though, since I'll be in town anyways and because it has been so much fun, but we'll see. At some point I do need to do some other work for my classes and also take some time to enjoy the "break" part.
~"The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires." [William Arthur Ward]~
1 comment:
I think it's so weird to realize we're in the "real world," outside of being students. We've spent our entire lives just doing what we're told - they give us assignments and we do them. Then we graduate and all of a sudden, no one's telling you what to do. It's all up to you. You can do whatever you want, and this also means a lot less guidance. So you really need to trust that your education gave you what you need.
It's scary and exciting all at once, I think. But I know you'll do great, Shell. You have so much great experience with kids and a passion for them, and that's the most important thing. That's what they need. :-)
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