Having never been in a classroom as a teacher, I am pretty nervous about going into York tomorrow. I feel prepared, and I’m happy that we will be working in small groups as opposed to one 488 student in front of the entire class. I have been tutoring since the summer, and while the groups are three or four students instead of one, I see it more like working with my student as opposed to working with an entire class, which is much more comforting. I’m expecting that the students will be able to do the assignment, and I really hope that what I plan to say will make sense to them. I think that’s probably my biggest concern, but I think that the materials we have prepared both individually and as a class are pretty clear.
I’m expecting the period to go by very quickly, just because I have gotten so used to the amount of time we spend in our college classes, and this is almost half the time. I hope that we will be able to finish the lesson we have planned, so we will be able to give the students constructive criticism when we return on Thursday. I am thinking that when they write their outline, it might make it easier for them to write a paragraph or introduction, and hopefully the will have at least one finished by the time we have to leave.
Whether or not we get everything done tomorrow, I think the experience is a good introduction to working in a classroom. I think that just having the experience is worthwhile, because we are actually preparing a lesson and applying it, instead of just observing.
I agree with Julianne’s sentiments about time management; talking to Emmy, who taught her lesson this morning, I gathered that the forty-minute class period flies by. This being my first hands-on teaching experience, I do feel some nerves, but I also agree with Julianne that the smaller group size is more comforting than teaching an entire class. Also, although this is my first experience teaching, I did compose lesson plans and share them with my classmates last semester in Education 204, so I do have some level of experience with regards to implementing a lesson plan within a group. More than anything, though, I’m excited for tomorrow. Tomorrow’s lesson will officially be my first teaching experience, which is something I’ve been working towards for a long time. I have wanted to become a teacher for as long as I can remember.
I am also optimistic about this experience because it gives all of us who haven’t student taught yet an opportunity to ease our way into teaching. The small group size is conducive to a more personal approach, and will help get our metaphorical feet wet when it comes to teaching. I feel that these experiences in York will absolutely make the transition to student teaching easier when that time comes, and will prove beneficial in our future teaching experiences.
Despite these nerves and excitement that I’ve already mentioned, I realize that maintaining focus and composure during the lesson is key. I’m aware that I may not get to every aspect of my lesson, but there are key objectives that I need my students to achieve before the period is over. To make sure that my students achieve these objectives, I’m going to have to be very time conscious, but also thorough; I know that speeding through the lesson to reach objectives won’t truly help the students. Ultimately, I have my lesson plan typed out and ready, but I plan on going into this experience ready to improvise in order to be certain the students gain the most out of the lesson.
Like Julianne, I am a little apprehensive about going to into York tomorrow; Julianne and I seem to come from homogeneous backgrounds. I also have had experience tutoring but have never taught in a classroom. My biggest concerns are that the students will not be interested in what I am saying or will not understand the concepts. I believe that the materials I have will help to make it the concepts more clear, however, I realize that while something may be cogent to me, it may not be cogent to them.
Talking with Amy Ivers helped me to get a firmer handle on what the ninth grade students in York are like. She mentioned that the students are very interested in football and farming. I’m hoping that my lesson script will not only hold their attention but help to make them realize why writing skills are relevant.
Overall, I am looking forward to this experience. I am hoping to come out this teaching experience with some gleaned wisdom as to what works when teaching and what does not. While this may be hard to do during two class periods, I am looking at each experience as a learning experience.
As I contemplate entering the classroom as a teacher for the first time, I am filled with a mixture of excitement and nervousness. Naturally I’m worried about a lot of the same things everyone else is (namely the timing and pace of the lesson), but I’m also nervous about remembering the names of the students and the steps of the lesson plan. I have never been a very detail-oriented person in my memory, so this will probably be one of the biggest challenges for me. Needless to say I’m probably going to be doing a fair bit of rote memorization to get it all down!
With that said, I am also excited to enter a high school environment again. Having come from a rural school, going to York almost feels a little like going home. While of course this is far from the truth, I’m hoping this ease will remain with me as I enter the classroom! This is my first proper time teaching and I don’t want my memories of it to be of panic rather than constructive experience! Dwelling on not being anxious will probably just make it more difficult to be calm, though, so I suppose I ought to focus on preparing for the lesson itself. Overall, I’m quite looking forward to leaving later this morning and I hope (but sadly doubt) the students feel the same way!