The conception of myself as a teacher seems to constantly change. I do not yet have an exact definition of what I think it means to be a teacher. Every time I think about this question or my philosophy, there's always something that changes. I look back at classroom experiences I've had, which seem like very few compared to what is coming, and wonder what I will do with a class that I'm in charge of for 8 weeks or so. I think about the 'what-ifs' as everyone talks about teachers that burn out after only 5 years and when I should get my masters. Not to mention I can't make a decision about whether I want to teach right away or do some sort of teaching English abroad program. Hopefully student teaching will give me a better idea of what it means to be a teacher and what I want to do directly after graduation.
I think going from student to teacher will become easier once I am actually in the classroom. Like I mentioned before, at this point I have no idea what to do with 8 periods of 7th grade English students. The easiest part of the transition might be the preparation and organization parts of teaching. Both of these I've been forced to practice through college so will hopefully be able to carry them over to student teaching fairly easily. The biggest challenge will be keeping students engaged and willing to learn. I've heard the cooperating teacher that I am working with is very good at that, which is good because I can learn from it, but I also feel like the students will have high expectations of me as well.
Currently, I don't think of myself as a teacher. I'm really excited about student teaching, happy with the grade level, and with my cooperating teacher, but still feel like a student. I think part of it is that I'm still doing the same things I've been doing the past 4 years... taking classes and working part time. I feel much more like a 'professional' when I'm in the schools or talking about teaching, just not quite to the 'teacher' level yet.
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