It has been a while since I last posted any form of reflection so I thought I would take this opportunity to unload some of my thoughts and experiences. Aside from being good practice, my kids have been quick to point that I have not done any reflecting since the beginning of the year. I assign weekly reflections that they are to post on their own websites and they never miss a chance to remind me that I have not been practicing what I preach : ).
I have been rotating across the "teaching spectrum" these past few months trying to find the voice and attitude that I will have for the rest of my teaching career. I have been the: "Go with the flow" teacher, the "no nonsense" instructor, the overworked employee, the "let's just take it easy today" guy, the "I am not accepting any more late work" tyrant, the "you guys are not trying hard enough" motivator and the "you guys are awesome!" educator among many others. I was driving myself crazy trying to find one particular technique that I could stick with.
I am coming to the conclusion that my personality cannot conform to a single persona, regardless if it is only for the hours between 7:30am-2:30. Even the same group of kids can be a dynamic entity. In my short experience, class atmospheres and personalities rarely stay the same so why should my teaching practice? I have always taken pride in my ability to adapt to certain situations. Whether it be adapting my body for athletic, competitive situations or reconfiguring the way my brain works so I could survive an accelerated grad school program. At the moment, I am feeling comfortable knowing that my teaching personality is in a state of flux. With this comfort gives me the confidence I need to move forward. Only time will tell whether this proves to be good practice or not. If not, I always have that adaptive thing going for me.
It is funny how my teaching career has evolved from when I first enrolled into a credential program. I was convinced that I would not want to teach anything lower than 10th grade History. After student-teaching in a Humanities classroom with a stellar cooperating teacher I decided to become certified to teach English as well, just in case I wanted to go the high school Humanities route. Fast forward to today, I could not be happier in my middle school English and Literature classroom. Just another example of how being open-minded adaptable can lead to unexpected happiness and fulfillment. This is definitely something I will be reminding myself when stress levels rise.
I have been rotating across the "teaching spectrum" these past few months trying to find the voice and attitude that I will have for the rest of my teaching career. I have been the: "Go with the flow" teacher, the "no nonsense" instructor, the overworked employee, the "let's just take it easy today" guy, the "I am not accepting any more late work" tyrant, the "you guys are not trying hard enough" motivator and the "you guys are awesome!" educator among many others. I was driving myself crazy trying to find one particular technique that I could stick with.
I am coming to the conclusion that my personality cannot conform to a single persona, regardless if it is only for the hours between 7:30am-2:30. Even the same group of kids can be a dynamic entity. In my short experience, class atmospheres and personalities rarely stay the same so why should my teaching practice? I have always taken pride in my ability to adapt to certain situations. Whether it be adapting my body for athletic, competitive situations or reconfiguring the way my brain works so I could survive an accelerated grad school program. At the moment, I am feeling comfortable knowing that my teaching personality is in a state of flux. With this comfort gives me the confidence I need to move forward. Only time will tell whether this proves to be good practice or not. If not, I always have that adaptive thing going for me.
It is funny how my teaching career has evolved from when I first enrolled into a credential program. I was convinced that I would not want to teach anything lower than 10th grade History. After student-teaching in a Humanities classroom with a stellar cooperating teacher I decided to become certified to teach English as well, just in case I wanted to go the high school Humanities route. Fast forward to today, I could not be happier in my middle school English and Literature classroom. Just another example of how being open-minded adaptable can lead to unexpected happiness and fulfillment. This is definitely something I will be reminding myself when stress levels rise.