I started my student teaching experience this past week, and hence I have a new motivation to write and reflect on the world around me. It went really well, especially as far as "firsts" usually go. Being "the new kid" is always a little intimidating, and it's especially so when you are "the new teacher" and there are 120 young minds in front of you at one point or another. Each student within whom one of those minds functions is likely to be a little bit different because of me.
The best thing I did all week was one that I was desperately hoping I could do: get to know my students as individuals. To accomplish this, I first practiced what I preached. I gave each of them a letter of introduction that opened myself up to them. I told them from where I come, why I am in their classroom, what I like, and more. I let them ask me questions and gave them the best, most honest answers I could give them. Then, I let it be their turn. They each filled out a slip that asked such things as "What are your extracurricular activities?" and "Complete the following: "If I could rule the world..." You'd be surprised (as I was) how much you can learn about someone by asking him or her how they would rule the world if he or she could. Letting the students I care about them first was difficult, but so worth it. I hope we'll reap the benefits of that for the remainder of my placement.
Teaching my first lesson on Thursday was nerve-wracking, but I think it went well. I learned the importance of being prepared. Even having all of my notes and plans organized, I still fumbled at certain points. The students were merciful during the few "dead" moments when I was searching for the right words or the right sheet of paper, but that might not always be the case. Preparedness is invaluable, and I'll try to be even more prepared as I take on more responsibility in the coming weeks. That includes having extension activities in case a class breezes through 50 minutes of material in 35 minutes, as was the case on Friday. What took two Algebra II/Trigonometry classes 50 minutes to complete took the third only 35 minutes. At that point, I gave students time to work on homework and ask questions. I think this was a good use of time, but perhaps if I had a review game ready to play, that would have been an even better idea.
Each week, I hope to have a particularly positive impact on a student in one of the classes. This past week, I had what I thought were a few particularly positive interactions. There was one student who I worked with one-on-one for a while after school, teaching her about imaginary numbers and radicals. I found it very rewarding when she smiled and said "It's like my brain's on fire!" She was really understanding the material, and a 10/10 on her most recent homework assignment is only reinforcing that she really is a good math student. There are other students who weren't doing homework assignments but who I've encouraged to try. These are students to whom math is probably not a priority, especially when they have children for whom to care. One student had a friend die this past week and another die not too long ago. She was doodling in her notebook "Rest in Peace," little memorials for her friends. I told her that that was more important than math today. She gave a sad smile, and I think she appreciated that I could see that there are things in this world that matter more than solving a math problem. Math will get its due time this week, but sometimes we need to have a greater perspective and a desire to teach more than the subject material. We teachers need to show our students that we're human. I hope to demonstrate that for weeks to come.
