As we have stressed the presence of inquiry throughout our studies this year, I thought it was fitting to reflect back on my two-week practicum with a question: high five?
High fives can be given for a variety of reasons, but are typically known for positive accomplishments and a job well done. So the questions that have arisen are: do I deserve a high five for the work I have done? But more importantly, from whom do I get it? The students? My SA? My FA? Myself?
This beautifully crafted piece of art was made for me by one of my grade two students after I taught one of my five lessons. Coincidentally, this was the lesson that I personally feel I performed the worst on, as I drowned in classroom management problems amongst other issues. Just as I thought the afternoon could not get any worse, one of the students came up to me and handed me this piece of art and smiled. I could not help but laugh out loud.
Self-evaluating, I have learned, can be incredibly complex. However, when it comes down to it, does my opinion matter? Or is it the students’ growth as learners and their senses of both accomplishments and enjoyment at school more important? I may have thought that lesson was a complete gongshow, for lack of a better term, but did they feel the same way about it? Or, as we are in a professional educational program, is it my teachers- my school and faculty advisors-whose notes on my teaching that ultimately decide?
During one lunch, a fellow teacher told me “every day, you have to win your academy award.” However, he lacked to tell me who awards it to you.
Currently, it is very difficult to reflect on what has occurred in my classroom over the past two weeks. I could explain my lessons, talk about the hilarious things students said to me and the ways we communicated, or include the feedback my SA gave me Friday afternoon. However, at this point, I am not sure which matters more. So instead, I ask the question, high five?