Mollycoddled
C'mon, you have to admit you want to say that word. Go on, try it. I've been attempting to incorporate it into my conversations ever since I heard it uttered by the prince himself. And yes, I know I haven't blogged in quite awhile, but that doesn't mean I've failed to be reflective.
It's hard to believe this semester is almost over (especially with several huge assignments I've yet to complete). I've been pretty happy so far with my student teaching placement; I couldn't have asked for a more laid back mentor. I just hope he isn't too casual and nonchalant with his constructive criticism next semester - I know I'm going to need all the help I can get.
I don't know if I've planned too many lessons using analogies (synectics, another great word) or what, but during a recent run I was struck with the similarities between preparing for a race and my MAT experience thus far. Ok, I suppose I need to break it down. Training for a marathon takes time, advice from others, tons of energy, a disciplined schedule, and plenty of pre-planning. Yet on race day, an element of the unknown still lingers, even if you've done everything right. Anything can happen, and there's usually some degree of ambiguity regarding the final outcome(unless you've run a bazillion marathons, which I obviously have not).
And now for the cheesy analogy: As for preparation for teaching, I have certainly done my best to pay attention in class (most of the time), complete my work, listen to others, give my best effort, and plan (micromanaging is only a slight obsession). However, the skeptic in me is all too aware of the element of uncertainty. I don't doubt that I won't be a bad teacher (whoa, way too many negatives ... I think I said that right); I'm just not entirely sure that I'll be a good one. I don't even want just to be good; I want to do well, thanks to my perfectionist tendencies. I guess that's the point of reflection ~ re-evaluating yourself periodically with others in order to improve continually.
Tomorrow should be fun ~ I'm only teaching one class, but my mentor calls it "the dreaded 4th period." I don't know who dreads it more, the teacher or his students. :) The past few weeks he has resorted to writing notes, silently, on overhead transparencies while the students copy them. Students were even asking him, "are you gonna talk about this?" and others commented, "some of us don't learn visually!" and "you get paid to teach us!" I think I've planned a decent lesson, but anything could happen. It's kind of fun, the component of potential surprise, but I think I will definitely have to learn how to be flexible. And how to stifle my laughter. Just how important is the "don't laugh until Christmas" rule? I think I broke that one the first week of my observation. If that's any indication of my success as a teacher, I'm in for a rough ride. At least I'll be "laughing all the way." (So festive, I know)
It's hard to believe this semester is almost over (especially with several huge assignments I've yet to complete). I've been pretty happy so far with my student teaching placement; I couldn't have asked for a more laid back mentor. I just hope he isn't too casual and nonchalant with his constructive criticism next semester - I know I'm going to need all the help I can get.
I don't know if I've planned too many lessons using analogies (synectics, another great word) or what, but during a recent run I was struck with the similarities between preparing for a race and my MAT experience thus far. Ok, I suppose I need to break it down. Training for a marathon takes time, advice from others, tons of energy, a disciplined schedule, and plenty of pre-planning. Yet on race day, an element of the unknown still lingers, even if you've done everything right. Anything can happen, and there's usually some degree of ambiguity regarding the final outcome(unless you've run a bazillion marathons, which I obviously have not).
And now for the cheesy analogy: As for preparation for teaching, I have certainly done my best to pay attention in class (most of the time), complete my work, listen to others, give my best effort, and plan (micromanaging is only a slight obsession). However, the skeptic in me is all too aware of the element of uncertainty. I don't doubt that I won't be a bad teacher (whoa, way too many negatives ... I think I said that right); I'm just not entirely sure that I'll be a good one. I don't even want just to be good; I want to do well, thanks to my perfectionist tendencies. I guess that's the point of reflection ~ re-evaluating yourself periodically with others in order to improve continually.
Tomorrow should be fun ~ I'm only teaching one class, but my mentor calls it "the dreaded 4th period." I don't know who dreads it more, the teacher or his students. :) The past few weeks he has resorted to writing notes, silently, on overhead transparencies while the students copy them. Students were even asking him, "are you gonna talk about this?" and others commented, "some of us don't learn visually!" and "you get paid to teach us!" I think I've planned a decent lesson, but anything could happen. It's kind of fun, the component of potential surprise, but I think I will definitely have to learn how to be flexible. And how to stifle my laughter. Just how important is the "don't laugh until Christmas" rule? I think I broke that one the first week of my observation. If that's any indication of my success as a teacher, I'm in for a rough ride. At least I'll be "laughing all the way." (So festive, I know)
posted by Kat at
10:55 PM
1 Comments:
So, how did teaching go? Did you manage to laugh a little? I remember being told not to smile until Christmas my first year of teaching (the students would take me seriously then). I didn't set out to do that but I was so conscious of "being the teacher" that first year, I'm pretty sure I followed the advice! I ended up taking myself much more seriously than the students did - they were sure laughing a lot more than I was. Where's the fun in that?
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phd me, at 6:33 PM
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