Life of a Teacher

REFLECTIONS ON MY TEACHING LOG COMPONENT:

How did I cope with completing the three days of 'Life of a Teacher":

When it came to my three days of Life of a Teacher, I can personally say that the 2 days done in Block Two were must easier than the 1 day done in Block 1, however, I feel like the actual days spent doing Life of a Teacher were really enjoyable. Due to the fact that I did not do my life as a teacher days straight away, and I first became familiar with the way in which my classroom worked and was constructed, I coped really well when it did come time for me to do my first day of Life of a teacher in block one. My teacher allowed me to take all responsibility which she normally did within a day, explained to me the best way to do things within the classroom for the different learners, and simply trusted me with taking over the class for the three full days I needed to. Overall I really enjoyed my three days of Life of a Teacher, simply because my mentor teacher trusted me with all the responsibilities, assisted me beforehand with all I had to get done, and overall relied on myself and knowing I could perform these days to the best of my ability.

How did I feel taking on all the responsibilities of a teacher in Block 1 compared to Block 2:

When it came to taking on the responsibilities for my life as a teacher day in block one, it was more daunting than it was in block two purely because it was brand new in the first block, and I knew exactly how it worked when it came to the second block. I did not feel nervous to do my full days of teaching in either block, due to feeling confident within my classroom and knowing how and when I needed to perform specific tasks - this allowed me to feel confident and calm throughout all 3 days of Life of a Teacher.

Which activities did I find most challenging and how did I overcome them:

The one thing I found the most challenging in my life as a teacher days, was simply the overall time management of my lessons. As a teacher, there is not a clear line as to how the days go when it comes to the actual execution of the lessons. In varsity it is taught that lessons start with an introduction, move onto a main teaching phase, and then end in an overall conclusion but in reality, this is not actually how it works. I had to become used to thinking on my feet, coming up with new and on-the-spot explanations for things I assumed my learners would know, and a lot of the time spending more time in the introductory part of my lessons, and then only moving on my main part, leaving out my conclusions completely. Throughout my teaching within the classroom, I became used to the structure and time allocations needed for different types of lessons and adapted this knowledge into my Life of a Teacher days, so I could complete all necessary tasks on time for my learners. I do not personally think a teacher can overcome not having enough time, it is simply something she has to get used to and adapt along the way in order to get done what is needed and fit in what she can. That is simply what I learned to do.

Where would I rate myself higher on the self-evaluation survey I completed before my Teaching experience began:

Personally, I would rate myself higher on each one of the self-evaluation levels now than I did before TE began. I think this teaching experience has grown me into the best part of my teacher self, showing me all I am capable of and making me trust myself more in the classroom space than I did beforehand in previous years. Although I rated myself quite low when it came to my time management within the classroom, now after completing my TE prac, I can say that my time management has gotten a lot better and that I can manage more under pressure than I could beforehand.

Comparing my comments from my teacher within my assessment report to that of my own self-evaluation before TE began:

At the end of my Teaching experience, my teacher decided to write me a letter of recommendation (therefore did not spend much time on my comment section, but instead gave me the letter to explain what she thought of me, for the purpose of others knowing how I am). I can definitely say that overall I have grown as a teacher, I have a lot more confidence in my abilities, and my teacher saw a lot more of my own potential than I did in my own self-evaluation before TE began. Through the guidance, kindness, and assistance from my Mentor Teacher, I got to grow within myself as an educator and show her the potential in all I could do, which was a lot more than I initially thought before starting this teaching experience - it definitely shows that a kind and helpful mentor can really create such an impact on their student teacher.