I am not sure if it is because it so close to summer here for me (in New Jersey, we are still in school until the end of June), or if it is because I am so near to completing this program or what but I find myself not as confident in my lessons as I had been in the middle of the school year.
There was uncertainty in the beginning, which is understandable, then the confidence builds as you get into the swing of things and the momentum is suppose to keep moving upward but for some reason, I feel as if I am running short and i cant quite put my finger on it. I know when it began, I just don't understand why the sputterings are still here.
If I may think out loud for a moment...Instructors / teachers are in place to instruct of course but please do it in a way where you are not breaking down a student, but are giving the foundation that they can use to build themselves upward.
@ Toni-
ReplyDeleteKnow that you are not alone at all!!! I too feel this way now. I am entering my 8th year as a middle school teacher, and I feel like more of a novice now than I ever have! I think that as we have become more knowledgeable about the possibilities that await us and the generation that we are ‘educating,’ we have a tendency to get timid. In my first couple of years I knew that I was nothing and so I longed at every turn to learn from every successful teacher I encountered. Then, as the years passed and the experience of the classroom grew, I took control and, unfortunately, began to trust my colleagues and students less. After being a student in this program, I can see that it actually takes more control and experience to let go and simply let learning happen naturally! There is an old Christian poem that I sometimes have to remind myself of quite often:
The Art of Letting Go
By Cathy Josue
As children bring their broken toys
with tears for us to mend
I brought my broken heart to GOD,
because HE was my friend.
But then, instead of leaving HIM
in peace to work alone.
I stay around and tried to help
with ways that were my own.
At last I snatched them back and cried,
How can YOU be so slow?
my child, HE said,: what could I do?
You never did let go...
Of course, this poem is directed towards a religious perspective, but I believe that it’s theme is to be applied in what you and I are learning about teaching as well. If we continue to control their learning, then what will they learn on their own? Will they leave and forget it moments after the assessment? We have to learn to let go, and let our students learn for themselves!
@ Aimee-Thanks for the poem! I love it and will refer to on the regular I am sure.
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