- Learning to function with less than 4 hours of sleep
- ACTUALLY looking forward to my time in Jersey and dreading my return to NY (a reflection of one my lower points in life)
- Contributing to the learning of some very special people in institute (we made the most gains in our entire school!)
- My 5-year plan completely falling apart upon learning of my position as a learning specialist
- Getting a full workout during the first two weeks of school while chasing, carrying, etc. children (most likely crawling, hiding under tables, taking laps around the school)
- Getting kicked, slashed at, cursed at by a 5 year old
- Successfully teaching little people how to count (THIS IS A BIG DEAL!)
- Most recently (i.e. Thursday), getting some major bruises on my shins and knees and a super stretched out sleeve on my cardigan while "escorting" a child to the main office
A quick shout out...
My journey thus far has definitely been quite a roller coaster ride-emotionally, physically, and mentally. Some quick shout-outs here...
I am so grateful for my support system, most notably my family and my boyfriend. They put up with a lot as they listen to me describe work with the most drastic mood changes-
"Ughhhhh. I'm so angry that this kid ruined my sweater...I mean, it wasn't super nice, maybe $25 from Gap, but STILL...."
*2 minutes later after that rant..*
"Ohhh let me show you some pictures of my kids. They're the CUTEST! My job is awesome!"
I wouldn't be surprised if they've started to tune me out at this point (their responses and reactions have definitely gotten more generic-"Cool," "You really like working with little people, huh?")
Learning as a teacher
I would definitely describe my rate of growth as exponential. Between my colleagues and my actual experience in the classroom, I have learned so much in such a short amount of time. The more I think about it, the more grateful I am for having chosen to get into a classroom before (well, as it stands now, it's more while) attending graduate school. I find that I'm the kind of learner that requires first-hand experience and thrives much more when left to fall and make mistakes than the kind that can absorb and apply information attained from lectures, discussions, etc. Though I certainly don't like messing up, I think that this dislike drives me to make sure that I never make the same mistake again.
Patience really is a virtue! Especially with students with disabilities. When I first started, I'd chastise myself for not seeing the progress I wanted in my students. We were working so hard, but it just didn't add up-the input did not result in the expected output. However, I've come to appreciate that children experience the light bulb moment just as adults often do-you might spend many tedious hours talking about the same thing, and to the kids, you might as well be speaking in a foreign language. And then, one, GLORIOUS day, it clicks. And they make the connections. And for that one moment, all that hard, intensive work, is worth it. BEST. FEELING. EVER. (on a recent math assessment, one of my students made 31 points of growth!)
The million dollar question is, what is the cause of this delay? Is it that the material is not developmentally appropriate? Or is it that we're just not appealing to the students' learning styles? Most likely, it's a combination of the two. However, in some situations, I find that one trumps the other in terms of likelihood of being the culprit. Thus, one must truly engage in the craft of teaching, and present information in many different ways (differentiate) to really target the root of the problem.
People often ask me whether or not I like teaching. My answer often varies depending on the day asked. However, when it really comes down to it, I am obsessed with my job-I cannot imagine myself any where else (at least at this point in my life!).
I'm so happy you're loving teaching so much! I'm pretty sure my family stopped really listening to me complain weeks ago. My mom just goes "I don't know what to tell you anymore" lol.
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