The summer ARC teacher candidates met Thursday, April 22 for orientation. Their journey is beginning. What two or three pieces of advice would you share with them? You can address any or all of the following: core, methods, student teaching.
I will copy and paste your suggestions to a document to share with them - anonymity will be honored.
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Title: Advice of a newbie to other “newbier” persons
ReplyDeleteWith respect to student teaching my recommendation is : be yourself so be genuine. For example enthusiasm may not be your strongest trait. Do not fake it. It will not carry you for long. The kids are very astute to find out quickly if your enthusiasm is a genuine or a fake one. By making the decision to become a teacher I am sure you possess other natural strong traits that will carry you over. I believe that the best attribute of a good teacher is caring about children. If you really do care it will take you a long way in your teaching career.
With respect to methods, initially you would get overwhelmed with making your first micro-teach lesson. Do not despair. Like anything else it gets easier the second and the third time. And Yes you need to sweat the details in the micro-teach lessons because you need to know what an ideal lesson is. As a comfort, not all your lessons have to be ideal when you actually do the student teaching. But if given the time you should be able to produce one such a lesson.
With respect to core, due to the plethora of speakers and subjects I would suggest to have a special page when you can jot down the “must learn” or “must do” points so you can quickly refer to them when you need them. Otherwise it will be very tough to find that useful tip or piece of advice when you really need it.
Most importantly try to enjoy the program. You have already made a big commitment. Enjoy the journey as much as you can because at the destination you will have a tougher job to do.
Relax. Nobody is perfect. You will make many mistakes and the children will survive and probably even learn from it. I felt really stupid when my homework examples were wrong or a mistake was made on my handout because I stayed up to midnight to do it, but the students enjoyed pointing out my mistakes and I also knew they got it.
ReplyDeleteClassroom management and lesson preparation are 100 times more important than mathematical knowledge in being a successful teacher. Although, mathematical knowledge is essential. Read as much as you can on classroom management and try everything suggested even if you think it won't work, it might surprise you. And things you think will work well in managing a classroom might not.
I still am looking for easier ways to develop lesson plans in a timely fashion. Spend some time reading and web surfing to find resources for lesson plans. Using multiple text books on the same subject is helpful, but very time consuming
My advice is to be prepared for the change. It is a change that you can interpret from different perspectives.
ReplyDeleteFirst, the job nature itself is not 9 to 5 at all. You are constantly in the mode of thinking about what you can do better in the next class or next time. You keep doing reflection of what you just did and learn from it.
Second, your role in a classroom is always changing from a teacher to a presenter, cheer leader, counselor, facilitator, monitor, law maker, baby sitter or sometimes a judge.
Third, your focus is not only on one particular dimension but on different dimensions. While you are thinking about what you are going to do in the next minute, your eyes are keep watching the responses from all the kids in the classroom. While you're giving handout, you keep talking to the class all other things they have to pay close attention to.
Change is constant in a classroom setting. So be prepared for that and the reward is totally amazing!!!
Practice Makes Perfect, or Practice Makes Better. Either of these could be the title of this letter. Don’t be afraid to learn and try new things. I finished Student Teaching today. It was a great experience. I was far from perfect, but I enjoyed it. I learned something about myself, the class in general and about teaching the class everyday. I think that is one of the most exciting things about teaching is that in doing so, we are constantly learning as well. We are learning or re-learning the mathematical topics; we are learning how to present material better to students and how to engage them.
ReplyDeleteEngaging students is the most important thing you can do. It is easier said than done. I have had good days and days that did not go so well with the student teaching. My cooperating teacher’s words of wisdom to me were not to worry about the days that things didn’t go so well. But learn from them and go on and improve. She said that was one of the things that she liked about working with me, was that I was teachable. Let yourselves be teachable. Be open to ideas of others and try all the classroom management techniques presented in Core and Methods. Some will work for you and some may not. I was surprised at how well some things worked.
Learn from your mistakes just keep trying and practicing. If you can, go and visit other schools and spend more than one day observing before the program starts. The real life classroom is the best learning experience.
Try to video tape yourself in the classroom early on in Student Teaching. You will be surprised at what you see. More than what you say or your teaching style. You will also see what is going on in the class while you are teaching. Take that experience and learn from it.
Have fun with the program. Practice will make you better and in the end hopefully, practice will make perfect.
If you are become a teacher because you think it is important, go for it. If you think this job is easy, you're doen at 2:30 and the summers are off, withdraw now while you still might get some money back. The job of teaching is very rewarding and also very difficult. Teaching is the most difficult job I have had. It takes courage and perseverence.
ReplyDeleteTo the Newbies:
ReplyDeleteFirst, the pre-assignment on the Foundations of Education is just painful. And the readings are just very difficult to push through. Just gut it out and get your assignment finished. After that, you will learn from amazing educators in your Core and Methods classes and you’ll really enjoy the learning experience.
Second, be prepared to be overwhelmed at the daunting number of things the teacher needs to be consider these days with “differentiation”, inclusion, different styles of learning, changing technology, standardized testing, changing socio-economic norms, diversity. The list seems endless.
Third, nothing will truly prepare you for the student teaching part. You’ll be overwhelmed again but by the end of the 20 days you will learn so much about yourself and your own capacity to learn quickly as well as your own ability to be on display as the teacher of others also in many capacities during those short 20 days.
Overall, you’ll grow tremendously as a person over the ARC experience. And welcome to the “ARC-ees” club, an elite group of a few thousand who have also shared the same experience. Prepare to be amazed both at what you learn and yourself during this journey.
Dear Newbies,
ReplyDeleteThe fact that you were accepted to ARC indicates that you’ve enjoyed success both academically and professionally. If you’re an ARC student like me with no prior education experience in any capacity other than as a student, be prepared for some bumps in the road as you begin the process of learning how to become an effective teacher. There’s a ton to learn. Take it all in and give what you’ve been taught a try. If you’re nervous in front of the class and things don’t go well initially, don’t worry too much about it. You won’t be alone. Keep your chin up. Pick a few of the things you’ve been taught and use them. They do work. Or, if they don’t, try some other things you’ve been taught until you find something that does work. You’ll start feeling a little more comfortable each time you get in front of a class. The satisfaction you’ll feel connecting with students will make all the bumps in the road and hard work to overcome them worth the effort.
One thing I found very helpful as someone completely new to the teaching profession was spending time in a school. I found a local high school where I volunteered as a math tutor where I worked one on one with students. This was great for many reasons. I was able to see first hand the issues involved getting kids to understand Algebra and Geometry. I was able to experience the satisfaction of helping students understand a mathematical concept. It was fun spending time with the students. In the school I was able to observe experienced teachers working both one on one with students and leading classrooms. In the classroom I could see teachers using the techniques that we learned din ARC. I could also occasionally see the consequences of running into the pitfalls we were warned about. Finally, I was able to spend a lot of time speaking with these teachers about the things we were learning at ARC.
Best of luck. Congratulations on your decision to make a difference.
Sincerely,
Another Newbie
I wouldn't tell them a thing. Discovery learning. Let it all be a surprise.
ReplyDeleteMy top advice during student teaching is to be prepared to lead. Even though it is called student teaching, you are no longer a student and you must believe "you" are the teacher. Your role and the dynamic changes from when you started ARC as a student. My initial expectation was that I was going to follow some plan developed by the teacher during my student teaching. The classroom was suddenly in my hands and the month's worth of learning was my responsibility. It wasn't what I expected to do as a "student". However, it was a more rewarding experience than I could have imagined.
ReplyDeleteMy advice is to relax and enjoy every minute as much as you can, because this is really such a great learning experience. Also try to have confidence in yourself--I had trouble with this...Be open to new ideas, and just take it all in. You will need to work hard, but it is all worth it. I would also say to keep things simple at first, especially with the lesson plans...because you will need to keep it simple when you start student teaching. Enjoy! This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that is just so rewarding. You will glean much wisdom from all of the instructors.
ReplyDeleteMethods and Core: Listen carefully; there are many nuggets of wisdom; figure out how your style already fits the methods and concepts that are being taught and spend less time focusing on those aspects as they will come natural; spend more time thinking about how you will adapt to the methods and concepts that do not come natural to you, but you sense have real value.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to one of the greatest professions on earth – the calling which above other things, molds the human life and it’s way of thinking and response. Teaching is not just a job. It is rendering service which produces rewards more than the human mind can fathom. I believe your decision to be a teacher has its roots based on your love for children and your willingness to change a life, one at a time. Certainly, there may be days when you would ask yourself whether you have made the right choice. When that occurs, just pause for a brief moment and consider your school days and how another teacher’s input has brought you to where you are. The rewards for teaching are immeasurable. Begin the ARC program with the “I can do attitude.” Your objective for joining the program would be the driving force to anchor you on your journey. Take the program seriously because pretty soon, you’ll be standing in front of students to prove yourself. Both core and methods classes will provide you with the necessary resources you need to become a successful teacher. The instructors are well equipped to train you so absorb all the information they provide. Relax and be yourself. This is a continuous learning process and you will learn from your own mistakes. Invest time in improving on your lesson plans and keep your objective for the lesson/profession fresh in your mind. Remember! You will certainly make mistakes but those who learn from their mistakes are the ones who progress in life. You are in the right program. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise. You may be the answer to a student who may even dislike you. When all is said and done, you will be glad you chose this program and the teaching profession because, you will certainly be the missing puzzle to make another child’s life complete. Anytime you show up in class, a student becomes hopeful for his/her future. The children do not care whether you have parenting skills or not. They will still come to you for solutions to both academic and nonacademic problems. Seize that opportunity and bring hope to a hopeless individual. Welcome to the club for Rebuilding Future Leaders.
ReplyDeleteNice one Everett.
ReplyDeleteUse teacher lingo.
Dear Newbies:
ReplyDelete“Love is a better teacher than Duty” – by Albert Einstein. If “love to teaching” is not your only motive, start making it as your only one, as it will lead you long way, no matter how intense the course is , how exhaustive student teaching is , you will sail through your journey with instant gratification and immense wisdom of knowledge of this profession.
Alright Rookies. Welcome to ARC. So, you think you want to become a teacher, eh? Well, we’ll see about that. As you get ready to embark on this demanding course over the next few months, here are some things that are not in the ARC Handbook that you need to think about before moving into the deep end of the ARC pool.
ReplyDelete1) Be ready to WORK overtime during this course. It is a very demanding course that packs in a year’s worth of material into a few months. There will be a lot of reading and homework. Student teaching is one of the most challenging periods during the course and you will be overwhelmed with all the balls you will need to juggle. You will spend a tremendous amount of time with preparation, studying material, and practicing your lessons. If you need at least 8 hours of sleep a night, pack it in now.
2) Have a thick skin. This is true for a number of reasons. One of the key points you will learn about teaching is that you need to be able to reflect upon what you have done in each lesson or each encounter with a student or parent. During the ARC program and during student teaching, there will be others involved (methods instructors, evaluators, cooperating teachers) that will help you be reflective and point out what went well and what did not go well. Many things will not go well or need improvement and you will receive a lot of constructive criticism about the items you need to work on. If your M.O. is to become defensive when hearing feedback, or if you have a difficult time fielding critical comments about your performance, then it is time to reconsider your teaching as a career.
3) Be ready to be frustrated. Especially during student teaching. You would think your business or life experience will help you with being up in front of a classroom. Well, it does help in many ways in dealing with certain classroom situations, managing your tasks, communicating with parents and other teachers, and teamwork within the school. But, as for the raw art of teaching lessons and content in front of 25 kids, you are still as green as they come. You need to realize that. You will make many mistakes along the way of your student teaching. You will have up days and down days. You will fix one item, and another will lapse. It can be very frustrating because you may think you should be good at this right out of the gate. It is an ongoing learning process for you.
If you can handle the three items above, you should be in good shape to move forward on your ARC journey. The program is fantastic and very rewarding. The student teaching is the most critical part of the course as it pulls together all you have learned into real world experience. So, go out there and knock it out of the park at ARC
So new people, as you've heard, you will learn a lot of different techniques to meet the variety of demands that will be placed upon you as a teacher. It will be overwhelming at times and sometimes, or oftentimes as the case may be, you're efforts will seem to be completely ineffective. When this happens, you are at a crossroads and you have a decision to make.
ReplyDeleteWhen humans are tasked with meeting some objective, and they try repeatedly to meet that objective but to no avail, at SOME point, we go into defense mode to avoid the prolonged torture. We all react differently. Some may disengage quietly, some may get boisterous and disruptive, some might point the finger at others, etc.
If it sounds like I'm describing students, you got it right... half right. The root cause for many students that exhibit behavior problems is often frustration. Failure for these students is the norm. Failure has been habituated, so from the moment they walk in they are in defense mode, doing anything they can to avoid the pain of your subject. Of course, once a student disengages, the failure becomes exacerbated as the cycle perpetuates.
But this cycle - person tasked with goal, person tries to meet goal but fails repeatedly, person gets frustrated and puts up defenses to protect from the pain of repeated failure - happens to some teachers as well. We have all met ineffective teachers that have a negative persona, always complaining about how the students just have to do their work, the students have to do this and the students have to do this that, *sigh*, *siggggh*, *uggggggggggghhhhhh, sigggggggggggggh*.... these teachers are exhibiting the same response to frustration that misbehaved students exhibit. They were tasked with a goal (goal is to get students to perform), they tried repeatedly (often with ineffective strategies or no strategy at all), and they consistently fail to meet their objective, so they become frustrated and exhibit all of the same behavior that students do... they disengage, they point the finger, they blame the parents or the system or the students themselves.
Interesting paradigm.
Anyway, when you start to feel frustration, recognize that it is normal and acknowledge it, but choose to persevere, rather than to become the pessimistic jaded teacher. You will have students that have no positive role models in their lives or nobody that believes in them. You have the opportunity to be that person. Keep those kids in mind and don't let yourself throw in the towel.
Of course, you need strategies to make this happen. To this end, train yourself like Jaf trains his dogs.... train yourself to do all of the things that they teach you in ARC. Sometimes it may seem like you're being yourself. Well, maybe so, but so what... do it enough and it will become you. In the end, the strategies that you will learn are what will make you an effective teacher.
Also, choose your friends wisely... surround yourself with positive teachers, don't hang around with the persistently negative ones. All teachers get frustrated and need time to vent, but at some point sooner than later, they need to move on to something more constructive. Good teachers will vent and then move on... seek them out. Stay clear of the ones that never turn to constructive ways to improve but rather just dwell on the negative.
Other than that, good luck and enjoy. Oh, and during student teaching, forget about sleeping, it's not gonna happen.