Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Classroom Event That Affected My Professional Growth
During my second placement, I was given an opportunity to test my skills as a professional educator. I showed up one day expecting to attend a professional development meeting with my CT. 15 minutes before the school day begun, I was told that I was to teach the class without a substitute in the classroom. Initially, I was terrified of the thought of being alone in my classroom. I had visions run through my head of things going horribly wrong. My CT reassured me and told me that she had total confidence in me. I soon realized that I had already been teaching the content areas that she would be gone for, and was nervous, but excited to see how it would go. Surprisingly, after I started teaching, I realized that there was nothing really different about this situation. I had gotten to the point in my teaching where I was completely "in the zone" during instruction, and did not even realize if my CT stepped out of the room. I realized that my students really did see me as their teacher and I was able to run the classroom as if it were my own. I believe that this was the turning point of my student teaching experience. I gained confidence and excitement because I finally felt like an effective teacher!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMelissa, I think I felt the same way you did when my CT had to leave one day because she had strep throat. I was pretty much on my own the whole day and I was worried that I would lose control of the class. Everything went well that day and I felt great about my teaching! I think often as student teachers we might not give ourselves enough credit, especially with our CTs always present in the classroom. I think it's important for student teachers to experience interacting with the class without their CTs there at least a few times. At least for me I felt like I had more authority when I was alone with the kids and felt more comfortable trying strategies that I wouldn't have normally done.
ReplyDeleteMelissa,
ReplyDeleteThat is wonderful that you finally realize yourself as the "teacher!" You actually have been for a year! I totally understand what you feel when you taught the class yourself. I actually had to do that a couple of times. Like you said, when you start teaching, nothing else matters but the kids. And that is what makes you a great teacher because you solely focused on your students' success. Congrats and I know you'll be a great teacher!!!
I found myself in the same situation in both of my placements. During my second placement, my CT had several meetings to attend so I was left alone with the class. In most of those instances, there was another staff member or a substitute teacher in the back of the room because it was the school's policy not to have the student teacher alone in the classroom. Even though there was another adult in the room, their presence played a very little role. They were simply there to be there and nothing more. My CT told me that this was the best way to gain experience and I could not agreed with her more. Sometimes, when my CT is around, I would ask her questions in between lessons. "What should I have done her?" "Does this make sense?" "How should I present it?" I often found myself second guessing my methods because I felt like I was being observed by my CT. I value the feedback I got from her but it made me cautious whenever I taught. When she was gone and I had complete control over the class, there was no time for asking questions and definitely no time to second guess what I was doing. I stepped up to the role of their classroom teacher with no hesitation and with the idea in the back of my mind that "it is okay to make mistakes." As daunting as it may seem, you can't get better at teaching unless you teach. I'm glad that you had that experience...and survived! It shows that you are more prepared than you thought you were.
ReplyDelete