Student Teaching Tid Bits

Welcome to Student Teaching Tid Bits. This is where I will do my best to document that which is my experience being a student while also being a teacher... a bit of a paradox. Want to come along with me through my experience of Student Teaching? Well if you don't then choose not to read.

I want to enjoy this experience. Not just stress about it. I still feel completely unprepared. Really. I feel like I do not know anything! I feel I know how to teach, but when it comes to my content... I feel hopeless. So this leads me to stress. Which then leads me to not enjoy so much what is going on. So maybe this blog will help me stop and enjoy the day at hand.

Day 1- A Day (yesterday.)

It hit me that I was going to be waking up at 5:30 for the rest of my career. I did not like this. But then once the kids left at 2:10 I thought. Okay I do like this.
This week I'm just observing my teachers I'm working with. So no teaching. Which to be honest I'm finding might make it seem harder.
Back to yesterday. 1st period. All seemed fine. I noticed out of the corner of my eye a student violently throwing punches into the air in front of him. I thought it was just an accident at first. But it continued. Then he started talking to himself. I hate the fear of labeling students before I really have been told by someone with authority. But it was obvious that he has turrets syndrome when he started mumbling the F word under his breath. So while my teacher is going through the sylabus I sat there thinking. Okay what does one do in this situation? I believe that everyone has the right to learn. And that everyone can learn. But it just opened up a lot of "Oh man. How do I handle this the right way?" A credit to my first period, they handled it beautifully. No one said a word. It was awesome.
2nd period: two students with very obvious signs of Autism. One even announced it. This period didn't handle it so smoothly. But the teacher addressed it nicely to the whole class.
3rd period: prep
4th period: Nothing out of the ordinary. Just more thoughts of "Oh my freaking heck. I've really got to figure out what I'm teaching these kids."

You know what I desire most? Well, yes I've mentioned to make my classroom one they feel save in. But I also want to help students realize that they can do something they didn't think they could. Experience something new. Basically just accomplish something hard. Hard things are what fill up life. And it's how we tackle these hard things that make up our character. So many of these students, I was not unlike them, just want to get by. Some give up before even trying. I've been there. I don't like that about myself. So by making this my goal to help them, it'll push me to do hard things. Benefiting everyone.

Day 2 - B Day

This day I get to teach dance. Not much to say. Except I'm so excited to be dancing regularly again. It makes me so happy. I don't express myself verbally all that well. How I'm feeling. But when I dance... well it makes sense to me.

But observing the students in these classes... man high school kids are so funny. I'm sure I was just the same. And I must admit I am still this way to some degree. They just think they are so grown up and they have it all figured out. I just look at them and feel for them. I'm probably going to learn a lot about myself in this process.

So, so far. I'm still feeling overwhelmed and completely unprepared, and under qualified. But I also know, that I have the potential to do this and do it really well. So I've got to believe that with more vigor than believing the other stuff. Because the more I worry about negative thoughts, I get sucked into not having fun and enjoying. I want to enjoy this and my job. Not constantly worrying about what's to come.

Always things to work on... always.