great teachers – discovery

Steep learning curve

Ideally, I envision a school that has bulletins that display work that students have selected to display. I hear students asking questions, and I feel that there is transparency in the classroom so students feel that they are in charge of their own learning rather than the teacher dictating the content.

I feel that there are so many things to learn on practicum that it is a little overwhelming. Though I want students to have some control over what they would like to learn, I have been mostly planning the lessons myself. Though I know that it is important for students to participate and collaborate, I find myself calling for order and panicking when the classroom volume escalates. I am learning to discern what appropriate noise level is and when to stop it from escalating into silliness and dis- order. There are a lot of basic teaching skills that I am trying to master while also learning to be a tactful, effective, best practice teacher.

Ideally I would like to be partners in learning with my students. Right now I feel that I have that working relationship with some students who are eager to learn and inquire with me. The other students are either used to being given a worksheet or project to do that they become distracted if we have a ‘looser’ lesson structure that has intentions to be student- driven. There are also a few students who are still testing to see if I will be more lenient with our classroom rules, and I find myself having to constantly remind them that “now is not the time” or “please stay on task, you only have so and so minutes left to do your work” or “what should you be doing right now?” or “what are the classroom rules about that?”. I don’t want students to feel that I am targeting them when I remind them of classroom rules. Nor do I want students to get off- task during work time. It is difficult to find a balance between these things and more often than not I find myself having to play “bad cop” because we have curriculum to teach and there are established rules in the classroom that I do not want to disregard.

(Some days I feel that I am not the best teacher that I can be. It is true, as I am just starting my career. But I really let it get to me, without realizing that I have so much to learn and that it is okay to make mistakes. I am too much a perfectionist, and I care a lot about my students. On some days I feel so apologetic towards my students, because I wish I could be the best for them all the time. Sometimes I feel guilty that I have my learning moments at their expense, because in hindsight I know how I could have done better. )

Past the midpoint of our practicum– teaching full days now.

First day of School

It is completely different being in school learning about how to shape a classroom and assume the teacher’s role (in approx. 14 months!!). This had been a program that I’d dreamt of attending, as a first step, for years and years and years of my undergraduate. It wasn’t because I knew what to expect.. but I knew in my heart that I wanted to be an educator and that the first step into that career would be by completing this bachelor’s in education.

I loved my first day of school. It was my favourite first-day-of-school, and I usually love all of mine. The first day I walked into Jamieson Elementary school was confusing, and I don’t remember much of it (because I didn’t know enough English to encode that memory properly?); the first day of the UBC Transition Program was overwhelming because we were told that we would speed through the Gr.10 curricula in three month’s time; the first day of UBC was less overwhelming because I was used to the campus; the first day of our Busolwe (Ugandan) kindergarten was coloured with uncertainty and improvisation..

Today, we took a dive into our course content. The framework of the program is centered around both practice and theory, and it is a unique experience identifying some of my past experiences working with children and youth using some new terms and concepts we discussed today. During our discussion about diverse learners, I contrasted the students I worked with in Vancouver versus those from Busolwe; and during our discussion about literacy and language learning, I reflected on the learning needs of all my ESL students at the Academy. We were, and will continue to be, challenged to identify and/or reconsider our biases, assumptions, convictions, and strategies in our teaching philosophy. I am truly excited to grow as a teacher! There is so much to learn!

The best part about today was that I learned with other students and teacher candidates who love kids, and teaching, and self- discovery, and all have similar sparks of passion for learning and discovery that I have always had.