“Take a chance. That’s how you grow.” – Wally Lamb
Mrs. Trithart welcomed us into a class of 27 grade 3 students at W.S Hawrylak School every Monday afternoon for eight weeks. I enjoyed every moment of this experience. Even though my goal is to teach in a high school setting, the grade 3 students proved not to be as intimidating as I had once thought them to be. This experience gave me an idea of what the near future will look like as an educator and at times I could visualize myself in the position of an educator. The goal did not seem so far-fetched as it had on my first day. To say I loved every moment of it would not do the experience justice. I am beyond grateful this was an option as a first-year student. Though the subject matter mainly stayed the same from week to week, the students were always learning something new in their mini-lessons. Working in such a large class gave my partner and I the opportunity to work one-on-one with students either in small groups or individually. Working in these smaller groups helped me grow in certain aspects, most notably instructional competence, teaching strategies and most importantly interaction with learners. By the seventh week, my partner, Ms. Steele, and I had worked up the confidence to teach a mini-lesson to the students on Poundmaker. Had I been asked to carry this out on my third or fourth visit, I would have been hesitant. It helped that we remained in the same class and with the same students. There were a number of students I have gotten to know quite well, mostly through working with them one-on-one.
When I began this journey, I filled out a bull’s-eye for where I think I fit into being a well-rounded teacher. I filled one out our first class and recently filled the second out to see where I have improved. The improvements are not huge, some rather small. What is most important to me is that I gained the confidence to put myself out there and take a chance when it came to teaching a mini-lesson or helping a student with writing prompts.
The links below are direct attachments to the well-rounded teacher that was filled out in September and the most recent in December.