The time has come...I am done with my graduate coursework, have attended all the requisite workshops, passed my NYS certification exams, and even the dreaded MSMC comprehensive exam, and now I embark on the final chapter, my student teaching, which begins 1/22 and ends 5/6, at which time I will become a full fledged, certifed teacher! I imagined this moment many times throughout my graduate studies--not with joy, but with fear. No matter how many courses I took, I still felt unprepared. So much of what I was learning, while interesting, did not relate to the day to day running of a classroom or, more importantly, to the actual teaching of students...and then I took Methods! Finally, I learned how to teach...how to motivate, engage, and guide students to higher levels of thinking and, ultimately, meta cognition.
I don't know about you, but having completed Methods, I am much less afraid of the minds that will sit before me, waiting for me to fill them with knowledge. The reason is, simply, this: Now, I am aware of what I need to know and be able to do (INTASC, people!!) to get inside all those little heads! Am I fully confident? Absolutely...NOT! But, I do feel more capable because I finally have the knowledge and, as I always tell my students, "knowledge is power"! For my student teaching placements, I have been assigned to 1st and 5th grade. Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum! Naturally, all the preparatory work I've done (unit plan, lessons, webquest, treasure hunts, directed reading activity, etc.) has been for 2nd-4th grade--everything but 1st and 5th. Let this be a warning to you! It appears that, in general, schools tend to place student teachers in these two grades, so it would be in your best interest to have created some work for either, or both, of these grade levels. After a exhaustive web search, I have 3 really good 1st grade unit ideas - Pennies, Nickels, and Dimes, Little Scientists, and Dr. Seuss- all of which my cooperating teacher likes and in which she has given me final choice. This will be a difficult decision as I have great ideas for all of them. I have been informed that this is a very low level class, so my unit will have to be designed accordingly. As for my 5th grade placement, again, this is a low level class (you would think I had special ed training!) which means I, again, will have to design a unit that is more high 4th grade but meets 5th grade learning standards--another challenge! I would really love to do a webquest with this class. The one I designed may not work so I am toying with the idea of creating a new one, once I've figured out the unit topic! I really believe that WQs are the type of thing a teacher must keep doing or we become convinced that we can't do it on our own and stop trying. That, and the fact that students really love them (when they're designed thoughtfully and creatively) is what is motivating me to create a new one. I found some wonderful template sights that have me even more excited about this prospect. Check them out and bookmark them for future use!
http://teacherweb.com/IdxStatesQ.htm
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/LessonTemplate.html
So, quick CFU: Do you remember what I wrote to you, back in September, at the beginning of Methods?
When we begin teaching there will be no one to hold our hands and smooth the way. It will be confusing, overwhelming, and seemingly impossible (are you seeing where I'm going with this??). It will be, very simply, sink or swim. The thought of this used to terrify me. Not any more. After indoctrination by Dr. Smirnova, I feel like I can handle anything. I have learned to trust my instincts, stop being so fearful, reach out to others, and just do it--whatever "it" may be. This has been the most valuable aspect of my entire graduate education. And that, my friends, is my theory on Dr. Smirnova, her courses, her teaching methods, strategies, and expectations..."
Does this make better sense now that you've made it through Methods? Do you now appreciate the method to the madness? Did Dr. Smirnova's "lessons on lessons" make you a far more knowledgeable and confident teacher? Did meeting her high expectations teach you that you can now handle just about anything? Then, as the title of this blog states, let this be a lesson to us all--in how we view ourselves and our capabilities and, also, how we teach our students. Be prepared, keep learning, set the bar high, but always have a hand out to help students over it, inspire and motivate your students to achieve things they believe impossible, never forgetting how you felt at the start and the completion of this course.
So, as I embark on the final leg of my journey to true "teacherhood", I do so with trepidation (because that's my nature!) but, also, with excitement borne out of knowing that, thanks to Dr. Smirnova, I have the tools and knowledge to succeed. I will also carry with me my favorite inspirational quotes, which I recited fervently, like a mantra, all through Teaching with Technology and General Methods...
"Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase."
Martin Luther King, Jr.
"You must do the thing you think you cannot do."
Eleanor Roosevelt
"It does not matter how slowly you go, as long as you do not stop."
Confucius
"You must be the change you want to see in the world."
Mahatma Gandhi
I wish you all true joy and success in teaching and continued learning...
