The great part about being a student teacher and being halfway done with the experience is that I can look back and notice how far I have come. I honestly wish, and maybe some day if I ever get the privilege, honor, or opportunity of having a student teacher, that I would have taped the first day of my student teaching. It would be amazing to see how far I have come in seven weeks. One thing that has definitely changed is my depth and recognition of quality self reflection.
What I mean is that on Friday after school Anne and I were reflecting about the day and everything that had happened. I was just telling her thing after thing that I was happy about, but also what I was not happy with and that needed to improve. The one major stumbling block in my teaching so far, and I think it is more of something that I notice with my ninth grades but that happens in all of my classes, are my transitions.
I do not mean my transitions from one activity to the other or finding the next classroom to teach in (needless to say I have not gotten lost lately), but rather my transition from individual student questions before the period starts and actually starting the whole class on that day’s activities. Students are always coming up and giving excuses, making appointments with me, or understanding the work that was assigned while they were absent. I struggle with making the shift from those individual questions to addressing the whole class and going from there. How do I tell students that want to talk to me to do it after class when they are standing right there? Or do I answer all their questions and then get started with the class? How do I answer one student’s question and then not another? I want to teach bell-to-bell, but it has been really hard with the transition from the individual questions to the whole class material. It will be something that I am focusing on getting better during weeks eight and nine.
