While I was overwhelmed after the first few sessions, I am
happy to report that I am getting the hang of how Education 250 is ran.
Education 250 is no longer solely a stress giver but is starting to become a
stress reliever. As I really begin looking ahead toward becoming a teacher,
there is a lot of unknown. Will I jump right in with a job? How will I
establish authority in my classroom as someone a few years older than them?
Will my authority be formed from mutual respect? Will my classroom provide an
understanding, homely atmosphere where my students feel welcome? With all of
the questions, it is very easy to be intimidated.
However, being in this class has allowed me to see the answers
I do have. Even with only five class sessions, I feel as if I have learned a
great deal. Without planning it, I have caught myself assessing how my
professors engage with and keep (or don’t keep) his or her students’ interest. I
can feel myself evaluating my teachers as I attend sessions each day,
contemplating which habits of theirs I would like to mimic and which habits I
want to avoid. As an aspiring mathematics teacher, one of my biggest goals is
to keep my classes interesting. As I have encountered more and more high school
and college students, the more I have heard negative feelings towards math
classes. I want to change this. I want to get all of my students actively
participating and find creative ways for them to explore mathematical concepts.
To go along well with this, every part of each Education 250
class has tied into the theme of the fact that we will be running our own
classrooms. Over the past week, our focal point has been different philosophies
that teachers incorporate into the classroom. To encourage our leadership, our
professors had us make decisions on our philosophy project’s meaning criteria.
They paired us up, gave each pair a philosophy and basically said “GO!” Now,
here we are! We’re off to the races, researching and collaborating within five
days! Who would’ve thought I’d be completely comfortable and excited to work on
a video project with a new friend after only a handful of class sessions?
Instead of hesitant and not enthused by what I thought would be a dry topic, I am
full of joy because I know God is calling me to teach and this will all
help me get there!
Sydney,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post this week because I can totally relate. Having grown up working with kids, it can sometimes be easy to become a little over confident about having my own classroom one day. In class, I am constantly reminded that there will always be something for me to learn. In the classes I am taking in the Physical and Health Ed department I too catch my self really observing the habits my professors have. I think thats awesome that you are already trying to develop the mindset of habits you want to carry through your career and bad ones that you don't want to carry over from your professors. I think this is important for us as students to really pay attention to things that do and do not work from people who have had a lot of experience in our field. As a future PE teacher, I too want to change the mindset kids and teens have about physical activity as you want to change your students minds about math. I think thats awesome to always have that drive and to keep that as a top priority. I can tell you are really passionate about what you want to do and you will go far because of that! Good luck with your infomercial!
Stephanie Blackwell
Sydney,
ReplyDeleteOne part of your blog that really stuck out to me was when you mentioned that you want to be the part of the change in the opinions of math classes. Many students base their liking of a subject on the liking of their teacher. To teach with a goal such as this is wonderful because it follows the goals that we have discussed throughout our class so far, being a transformative, engaging, adaptable, content-driven, holistic, evidence-based, reflective, and successful teacher.
-Colleen