Monday, December 19, 2011
The End of the Beginning
As I sit here in a Agriculture Experience Tracker professional development session in my placement school a wave of emotions rush over me along with one thought. I start student teaching in TWO WEEKS. Included in these emotions are excitement, fear, relief, anxiety, and humility, to name a few. I found a quote earlier this week that reflects how I feel at this exact moment. "Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."- Winston Churchill I am standing at the doorway to the rest of my life and in two weeks I take that first step to become the working professional I have always wanted to be. Three and a half years of college coursework have brought me to this point and now I am about to begin the hardest part yet. Will I learn all that is necessary to successfully impact my students the way I hope to? Will I become that respected teacher that others look to for advice? Will my professional development be enough to prepare me for my future? Only time can answer these questions. All I can do now is take a deep breath, enjoy my last two weeks of vacation, and prepare for my upcoming journey as a student teacher.
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Great Blog, Brandon! I look forward to reading it as you embark on this extraordinary adventure!
ReplyDeleteHey Brandon, good luck on your student teaching! I know all of the unknowns are unnerving and you're very anxious to put all of your work into practice. The best advice I have is to be patient, ask lots of questions, say yes to any opportunities you have, and utilize your cooperating teacher and supervisor as much as possible. One of the things I've really struggled with is not having someone else giving me feedback like I had while student teaching. Also, keep track of all the things that were successful as well as things you see other teachers do that you want to emulate or avoid when you have more control. Pay attention to details like what they say to redirect, pauses they take for wait time, or even just the organizational tricks they use. Take advantage of the beginning part of student teaching to get into other classrooms and see what other teacher do. Oh, and get copies of syllabi and classroom expectations from multiple teachers! The fact that you are keeping a blog shows how dedicated you are to your profession and your students and the best thing you can do is just care about them. You will have down days and great days; and the great days make it all worth it!!
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