So I don't know about everyone else in the cohort, but throughout the summer I was finding myself very eager/anxious to get in the classroom, get the kids in there, and try this whole teaching thing out once and for all.
Well, today I got my chance to do just that. We were discussing immigration to the US in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and I was given the task of explaining how and why people from Asia came here during that time. It's not like I teaching an entire lesson, but it was just me up there, running the show for a solid 15 minutes. If anyone has ever seen the movie "Old School" where Will Ferrel's character is debating with that bald dude from CNN and he blacks out for a few minutes while he's talking, that's pretty much what happened to me in first hour. But the cool thing about it was, I got to give the same "schpeel" five hours in a row, so by the end I really felt like I knew what I was doing. One class even had follow-up questions afterwards, I was amazed to wrap up what I was saying and see three or four hands in the air! To be honest, there were also a few heads down on the desks, but I wasn't letting that rain on my parade.
In short, I'm really excited to be in the classroom now. I'm really feeling positive vibes about this whole becoming a teacher thing, and while I realize the other shoe may not have dropped yet, I'm walking on air for now!
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5 comments:
Sean,
I can totally picture that scene from Old School haha. I am also extremely excited to be in the classroom and realize that your friend was right... we will love it! I also realize that he was right about things like homecoming/lunchlady haha ... we should participate in these things especially because I know the kids at Romulus will have some sweet dance moves that I could steal haha
P.S. I am positive will be an awesome teacher
*I am positive YOU will be an awesome teacher haha!
hahaha Sean, I love your positive attitude towards school AND the podcast!! I think great things will come of it :) Until then, I'll be working on my papers all weekend as well so if you want a break to podcast brainstorm I'm up for it.
As for the Old School quote, my teacher showed a clip from SNL where they're making fun of the French... it made me happy to know we can apply our humor to make class topics more exciting.
It's great that your mentor gave you the opportunity to get in front of the room so early on...now you know that you can do it (and do it well, it would seem)
Onward and upward!
Hey Sean,
I love the "Old School" reference! I too found myself becoming extremely anxious by the end of the summer and all I wanted to do was get into the classroom. Well now we're there and it feels really good! It's been a lot of fun meeting the kids, the staff etc. and getting the know my school better. It is a weird feeling though to be up in front of the class and know that you're in charge, even if it's only for a few minutes. Definitely a cool feeling, but also a little scarey because you hope that what you're saying is making sense..haha! It sounds like you're doing great though and I'm sure it will only get better and easier to slip into that role and take charge of the classroom.
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