Week One

After the first week of being in the classroom for my extended 10-week practicum, it seemed like this week’s theme was schedule and structure. Like the students, we as adults also rely on a schedule and structure in our everyday lives. At the beginning of this week I was feeling very hesitant about being in the classroom. I was feeling unsettled in this new role of being in the classroom every day, all-day teaching. It is quite a shift from sitting in a classroom every day, all-day. Halfway through the week I made the analogy for myself that I am a little pre-schooler getting ready to go to kindergarten. I may know my ABC’s and I know how to count to ten, but I am certainly not going to know how to do multiplication. In the grand scheme of my career as a teacher I am that pre-schooler. Being in the classroom since October has helped me know the classroom routines and how my School Advisor (S.A.) deals with certain difficult situations however and I am still learning every day. Using this analogy has helped me throughout the rest of the week because I notice things that I could have done/said/handled better and I am applying those learnings into my next lesson. Something I am working on for myself if seeing the positive in my lessons and the delight that some of the lessons bring to my students. At the end of the week I am feeling more settled into my role in the classroom and the shift in schedule and structure of my life.