Personal Growth

“Prompt: You've been in your internship classroom since late August, assisting your Classroom Teacher in launching the school year. For your first blog post describe, briefly, one strong conviction about teaching that you brought to the classroom that has changed considerably during this time. What changed, and why is this a sign of personal growth?”

Before I started in my internship classroom, I had (like all of my peers) many experiences in different classrooms around the area. I had worked with students in a variety of content areas (literacy, science, math), but these had all been extensively planned out and relatively small units. I knew what it was like to teach, but I still had misconceptions about what it was like to be a teacher on a day to day, and year to year, basis.
When I envisioned an established, experienced teacher, I had a picture of the teacher pulling out last year’s lesson plans and daily schedule and recycling them year after year. I knew that in the first few years of teaching, teachers tried new things and made adjustments as they gained their bearings and “got into the swing of things,” but that after a few years you settled into a routine and kept using it. While this may be true in some cases, I now see that teachers are constantly adapting their teaching and daily format for the students they are serving at that time. Of course, teachers reuse a great deal of their resources (which is great – who wants to reinvent the wheel?), but it’s been eye-opening to see how much experienced teachers change and rework their lesson plans. I have the privilege of working with a very reflective teacher who tries new things with the daily schedule and planning style, even after years of teaching. This has helped me see how important it is to be constantly looking for ways to better myself as an educator and provide learning experiences that resonate with my students.