One teaching skill I feel very confident about is the ability to be flexible and adapt my plans as I go. One thing that we have definitely learned is that, no matter how well planned out the lesson is, something outside your control may and likely will happen to derail your plans. Perhaps this will be a good distraction as students become engrossed in something that was only supposed to take, and perhaps it will be a less productive distraction, like a code red drill, or a technology mishap. I have experienced many distractions this fall, and feel very good about my ability to roll with the punches and adapt my plan as needed.
Another thing that I feel really good about, is that I have a solid idea about how much time I need to prepare a lesson. I began student teaching terrified because I had been spending 6 hours last spring on each ECOstars lesson I taught. I was convinced that there was no way I would be able to plan a whole day everyday. Now I have a good sense of how to manage my time and energy so that I can still deliver quality lessons, without giving up my whole night to planning. Knowing this goes a long way in making me confident that I can be a teacher for the long haul.
I've always wondered about that switch from needing hours to plan a single lesson, to managing multiple lesson plans in far less time. Why do you think this happens? Is it experience? Practice? Do teachers plan a big lesson that then gets divided among multiple days?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I'm relieved to hear your planning time was harnessed so that getting ready for each day wasn't consuming every moment of your free time. I'm sure you still had nights when you were yearning for a career that didn't require bringing work home every night, but overall, if you're finding balance, you've been successful.