Week 14: Role Models

Last week, we discussed role models of teaching, and I thought of my cooperating teacher from Methods Block. She was a fairly new teacher, however, I admired the way she taught her lessons with ease and got her points across effectively while I, on the other hand, felt nervous during nearly every lesson, paranoid that my students learned nothing from me. She also dealt with problem behaviors very well, handling an incident with a student with aggressive behaviors with an effortless calm that I have taken into my own practice, and hope to keep as I learn more classroom management techniques this coming semester when I student teach. She taught me to let go, and to learn from my mistakes in my lessons. She commended me whenever I tried and always gave me suggestions on how to improve. As that semester went along, she also helped me highlight my strengths while I worked to become a well-rounded teacher. As I embark on my adventure for student teaching next semester, I hope to keep her teaching methods in mind and hope to ease my nervousness and help my students learn the best that they can. After evaluating my teaching role model, I have given many thoughts to what I would like to do after I graduate as I wrote a letter to my future self.

As I evaluate my own goals, I realize what I would like to accomplish in my life and what passions I would like to continue. Forcing myself to realize what I want in life helped me come up with the above goals for myself. Above all else, the reason I became a teacher was because I want to help children learn, and I am passionate about what I do. I realize that if I can make a difference in a child's life while I work, then I have served my purpose.