Back in December I flew over mountains, hills, and valleys to Northern Virginia. My plane arrived at the stroke of midnight on New Years Eve, or rather, New Years Day I suppose.
Good luck or bad luck.....?
No new years kiss, no confetti dancing through the air, no loud music or embarrassing dance moves to welcome the new year. Instead, I was standing in a deserted airport with three 50-pound suitcases, a carry-on, and an airport custodian trying to sweep through the maze of bags I had surrounding me. To add the cherry to the top, I get a phone call from my ride saying he'll be an hour late picking me up!
Happy New Year...?....
I'll politely spare you from the vulgar words that were racing through my mind at that very moment. I'll also skip over the part where there was a freak ice-storm two days later, and I was stranded in my apartment for a week. Actually, come to think of it, it was a freak winter for the East Coast.
Anyway, back on topic, the reason I went to Virginia was to student teach. Why Virginia, you ask? I wanted to experience something different. I was curious as to how other school districts in the country ran, and I wanted to be exposed to a new educational environment. I'll admit, it was a bold move, and it took about a year of working with UNR and various school districts to make it all possible.
I taught 8th grade English at Mercer Middle School in Aldie, Virginia. Without sounding like a brat, I was disappointed when I was first given my assignment.
Middle School???....................No...................................!!! (Cue the dramatic reaction).
My Middle School years were so awkward, and ugly, and filled with pathetic, but serious drama. They were the dark ages that I choose not to talk about.
Nonetheless, I was grateful I had the opportunity to go back East and start the beginning of the end. (of my collage career that is).
Turns out I was put exactly where I needed to be. I had, hands down, the most amazing and worthwhile experience. I was lucky enough to be assigned the most amazing, incredible, caring, thoughtful, and enthusiastic lead teacher, Mrs. Scanlon. There literally wasn't a day that went by where I didn't feel 100% comfortable around her. She was supportive, challenging, intelligent, and gave me positive feedback and great advice throughout my fourteen weeks.
The students. Let me just say that they are truly one of a kind. I had some comedians, future Martha Stewarts, entrepreneurs', athletes, etc. I even had one student who was recently featured in Time Magazine for being the best youth female football player in the country! While there were so many personalities intertwined in my 160 students,they were all so kind, and they genuinely cared about one another. These kids were all so smart too. I was amazed at some of the higher-level thinking questions these kids asked during a lesson. However, there is one thing the kids and Mrs. Scalon lacked skill in: correctly pronouncing Nevada. It drove me insane! Don't worry my fellow Nevadans, I didn't let them get away with such a shameful act. I wrote, in bold on the chalk board:
It's NE-VA-DA, not NE-VAW-DUH!!!
They absolutely loved to antagonize me by saying it wrong. Those stinkers! By the way, my kids get bonus points for understanding and playing along with my sarcasm. It's one of the many things I love about secondary education, you can joke around with them without getting phone calls from angry parents (to an extent of course).
Aside from that, my students worked so hard for me and pushed me to work hard every single day. I will never forget the fond memories I have with all 160 of them.
As the weeks were coming to an end, Mrs. Scalon asked me to write down things that I wished she would have done to help me, or things she could have done better as my supervising teacher (self-reflection at its finest). I racked my brain, I tried to look for things to critique, I even went as far as googling "the role of a supervising teacher," with no success. I came up with nothing, nada, zero. She really met my needs and concerns coming into student teaching. I am beyond grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Mrs. Scanlon. She has greatly shaped and influenced the teacher I will one day be.
If there is one piece of advice I can give to anyone who is about to embark on student teaching, it would be this: communicate with your supervising teacher and have an open-door policy with him/her and other colleagues at the school. The first day I met her I was completely honest and said:
I've never done this before, and quite honestly I don't know what I'm doing; however, I plan to work hard and achieve the goals I've set for myself, as well as represent you well. I want you to know that I want and am open to constructive feedback. I don't want you to beat around the bush or worry hurting my feelings. I came here to learn and grow as an educator.
I think she was relieved to hear me say all of this. I was her very first student teacher, and we both were about to experience something new and perhaps uncomfortable, but we were experiencing it together. That conversation shaped the relationship Mrs. Scalon and I developed.
Student teaching is such a pivotal experience for any teacher-in-the-making. I'm so grateful for my experience and all that I learned. Choosing to go to Virginia was hands down, the hardest, but most fulfilling and rewarding endeavour I could have ever done for myself. Most importantly, it was Mrs. Scanlon and the kids that made it worthwhile. I am forever grateful for my time teaching in Virginia and will never forget my experience.
I was showered with so many gifts my last week.
These are examples of some of the amazing work the students did for me, and the no re-take challenge we did for third quarter!
No comments:
Post a Comment