Student teaching has definitely been an eye-opening experience. I have gotten a lot of experiences that I didn't get at my previous field-sites regarding the inner-workings of a school, curriculum, and teacher responsibilities outside of the classroom. I've even gotten to see how to utilize union representatives first hand. At the same time, I have become aware of just how much time it requires to be the type of teacher I would like to be. The lessons I'm most proud of I spend hours creating and developing. I can see the appeal of following the curriculum with minimal creating of ones on lesson plans. I however have also seen the difference in my kids when they know that the lessons we are doing I made especially for them.
Another important thing I have learned about is the importance of a good team. When I see how well the first grade team at LHLC works together to get things accomplished, it makes me hope that I'm lucky enough to end up at a school where teachers can spend their meeting time so effectively. Thinking about the teaching field I have always thought about my classroom and I how would want that space to be. Looking at how one teacher must make decisions that wont "rock the boat" for the remainder of the grade, student teaching has given me a new appreciation for working with great teachers alongside me.
The final thing that student teaching has taught me is how much teachers have to let go of. There isn't the time to make everything fair and to make sure every student gets the assignment completed. Student teaching is helping me to find the balance between keeping everyone on track and keeping everyone moving forward, keeping everything even and keeping everything fair, running a quiet classroom and running a fun classroom simultaneously. Overall, it is helping me to find a balance in the things I value in my classroom and the reality of what needs to happen to best fit the needs of all children.
Your reflection shows just how much you've grown as a beginning teacher this semester. I'm not sure why this wasn't the last reflective prompt of the semester, but I guess it's helpful to take a minute while you're still in the thick of the experience to reflect on what you're learning.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I enjoyed reading about the different "awarenesses" you're developing, about building-wide realities and more local, classroom-based realities. In particular, it's interesting to see you wrestling with the idea of equality and equity; it's true that what's fair is not always equal, but it's also true that teachers need to be careful to hold high expectations for all students, and then to figure out strategies and time management systems that allow you to support all students to meet the expectations. Some will need more time and resources to meet goals, others will need less, but there's no way around that (unless you finally give in to the notion of one size fits all teaching and the bell curve!).
Thanks for taking extra time with this post.