Go in Peace

In looking back at my first placement, I have learned a lot not just about teaching but myself as well. I have found that student teaching is so different from being at Coe and I had not prepared myself for that. The idea of not getting to see my friends or fiancee throughout the day, not having specific assignments and knowing that everyday I will be doing some assignment, be it teaching or planning really threw me off. I tried to plan my day as I did for being a student but that was the wrong way to think about this. I need to rethink how to prepare and think about student teaching. In the next placement, I will dedicate more time to preparing myself for the challenges of teaching and bettering myself as a teacher. That will help me think less about myself while I am in the classroom and allow me to address the needs of the students. That is the ultimate lesson that I have heard before but did not heed enough. Teaching is easier when it is student focused because you have a good purpose behind your work. I am working on growing up and accepting these things as my life because that is the case. I hope that it will get easier and I will strive for excellence but I have to stop comparing it to what college life is like and accept that college life is over for me.

I have also learned a great deal about teaching. One of the most clear things I learned was that teachers are humans. They give of a persona that they always know what they are doing in order to be the fearless leader of the class but they make mistakes just like me. There were days that they were not as prepared as they would have liked or that the did not achieve their goals. I also learned new skills for handling classroom management. I learned that preparation is one of the most key points in have a productive classroom. If you are not prepared then your students will not be able to feed off you because you will not be confident enough to teach them. I saw first hand the way placement of the teacher in the room makes a huge difference in how their students behave.

I also learned a lot about things I can do that will specifically help teach music. The fact that Xavier was a One to One school, meaning every student and teacher had an iPad, allowed my CT to show me how to App-Mash as he called it. This is where you can take three or four apps and use them to get you from point A to point B with less trouble. He showed me how to me a song a pdf, make it editable, create practice tracks that could be played over music as well as other things. He also helped me to negotiate my lack of piano skills by having students sing with a recording. I believe, although I have never seen it done, I could find a way to scrub the vocals from recording to create an accurate accompaniment track for the students to practice with.

I am looking forward to the future. I have not yet figured out how to get myself into the mindset that I am a teacher but I am getting there and I know that in my next placement that I will have a chance to reestablish myself as a teacher and leader of the class not just an observer. Although I am scared for the differences and the changes that will come, I relish the chance to better myself and prove that I have what it takes to teach.

In the rush of student teaching, it can be hard to remember the small things. Hopefully this helps you keep them in mind.