I feel like I need to premise this with the fact that I am a huge fan of Disney, growing up watching every movie and learning the lines from all the songs to the point that I can sing them by heart even as an adult (I use that word loosely). Now with that said you will notice the picture is not of the Disney version either but of yet another version of this wonderful tale. This was the version I read to my grade two class at Mike Mountain Horse Elementary School, and thus became the inspiration for my blog.
I have now been in the classroom for two days, with a complete plethora of different experiences within the 15hrs of being around these bundles of energy and hilarity. Most of them have been good and the rest have been educational, cause to say they were bad would be ignoring the value in every moment for a student teacher. Luckily I have yet to have the moment of breaking down completely, or wanting nothing more but to listen to Lincoln Park. However I do know my time will come, and all I hope is that I'm strong enough to accept it for what it's worth, a lesson, and not a personal attack on me as a person. I had already met with my T.A (Teacher Advisor, pretty much my mentor and the person who'll be making sure I get the most from my time in their class, I'm also hoping a shoulder to lean on just in case.) and had gone over what I would be teaching. My schedule would consist of focusing on Science, Social Studies, a Language Arts lesson here and there, with maybe just a smattering of Drama (you know cause it's my major and all). It looked perfect to me, all the subjects were ones I'm interested in and have the ability to incorporate a little theatricality, I would just need to make sure I met the demands of the curriculum, how hard could that be? Oh and did I mention my teaching would start on day one? Well it would be and this is exactly what I needed, to get thrown into the mix and reestablish just why I was here in the first place. Standing on the edge thinking about whether to jump or not is just a waste, if all the protections are in place and something is holding onto your feet, everything will be fine, so enjoy the experience. I knew that if my lesson began to just bomb my TA would step in, and help me out (right?).
Yet it was the time before my actual lesson on Day one that I began to assume my role as student teacher in the classroom. I can't just sit around taking notes and observing what my TA is doing, and she wouldn't have any of that either, I'm there to learn and the best way to do that is to get right down to it. I also become less of a mystery to the students and the relationship between us can begin. This was the best thing that could've happened. To let the kids know that I too am a teacher, albeit a student one. I worked side by side with some students and was able to walk around and embrace the the type of classroom management already in place. It was my goal to have a smooth transition when it came time for me to teach and not have any counter rules for the class that would confuse them. So right there was my first oversight, no matter what I did, me coming in to teach was going to change things up, so really I needed to just embrace this. From there on it was a blur to just keep the kids focused on the task. I had written my masterful lesson plan and within 5 minutes of it, I had thrown everything out the window. The only saving grace was my confidence of the material. This was a lesson I had done previously at a drama camp, with kids of the same age, but the setting was completely different, and that was enough to throw me off my groove. Or that's how I would put it; I am always going to be my own biggest critic. So day one was done, I taught, I had survived, and best yet I showed that perhaps I could maybe, just maybe do this thing. Of course day two had to happen and mess me up all over again. In my mind nothing went right with my lesson. I was teaching first thing in the morning, just after everyone had arrived, and the energy was very different from when I taught the day before, at the end of the day. I attempted to have students hand things out, and that didn't work. I had them come up to my smartboard to solve the words, and that went ok. And don't get me started on the clean up. The world did not end, but the stress level certainly was rising. All of this is funny to think about after the fact, because my TA was very reassuring about both lessons. Once again I was reminded that this is a learning experience, and I'm supposed to have troubles and rough patches.
Now what does any of this have to do with Cinderella you might ask? Well I started reading a part of this story my first day, and was able to finish the fairy tale on day two. I have always loved reading to an audience, but an audience of kids, so transfixed in every word I said, and every picture I showed, was a complete dream. And it was these moments that all the stress I felt about my lessons, disappeared, and I was able to just enjoy my time. I was transformed, and I could only thank my own fairy godmother, or fairy godfather, for this time. Bring on week two.
I have now been in the classroom for two days, with a complete plethora of different experiences within the 15hrs of being around these bundles of energy and hilarity. Most of them have been good and the rest have been educational, cause to say they were bad would be ignoring the value in every moment for a student teacher. Luckily I have yet to have the moment of breaking down completely, or wanting nothing more but to listen to Lincoln Park. However I do know my time will come, and all I hope is that I'm strong enough to accept it for what it's worth, a lesson, and not a personal attack on me as a person. I had already met with my T.A (Teacher Advisor, pretty much my mentor and the person who'll be making sure I get the most from my time in their class, I'm also hoping a shoulder to lean on just in case.) and had gone over what I would be teaching. My schedule would consist of focusing on Science, Social Studies, a Language Arts lesson here and there, with maybe just a smattering of Drama (you know cause it's my major and all). It looked perfect to me, all the subjects were ones I'm interested in and have the ability to incorporate a little theatricality, I would just need to make sure I met the demands of the curriculum, how hard could that be? Oh and did I mention my teaching would start on day one? Well it would be and this is exactly what I needed, to get thrown into the mix and reestablish just why I was here in the first place. Standing on the edge thinking about whether to jump or not is just a waste, if all the protections are in place and something is holding onto your feet, everything will be fine, so enjoy the experience. I knew that if my lesson began to just bomb my TA would step in, and help me out (right?).
Yet it was the time before my actual lesson on Day one that I began to assume my role as student teacher in the classroom. I can't just sit around taking notes and observing what my TA is doing, and she wouldn't have any of that either, I'm there to learn and the best way to do that is to get right down to it. I also become less of a mystery to the students and the relationship between us can begin. This was the best thing that could've happened. To let the kids know that I too am a teacher, albeit a student one. I worked side by side with some students and was able to walk around and embrace the the type of classroom management already in place. It was my goal to have a smooth transition when it came time for me to teach and not have any counter rules for the class that would confuse them. So right there was my first oversight, no matter what I did, me coming in to teach was going to change things up, so really I needed to just embrace this. From there on it was a blur to just keep the kids focused on the task. I had written my masterful lesson plan and within 5 minutes of it, I had thrown everything out the window. The only saving grace was my confidence of the material. This was a lesson I had done previously at a drama camp, with kids of the same age, but the setting was completely different, and that was enough to throw me off my groove. Or that's how I would put it; I am always going to be my own biggest critic. So day one was done, I taught, I had survived, and best yet I showed that perhaps I could maybe, just maybe do this thing. Of course day two had to happen and mess me up all over again. In my mind nothing went right with my lesson. I was teaching first thing in the morning, just after everyone had arrived, and the energy was very different from when I taught the day before, at the end of the day. I attempted to have students hand things out, and that didn't work. I had them come up to my smartboard to solve the words, and that went ok. And don't get me started on the clean up. The world did not end, but the stress level certainly was rising. All of this is funny to think about after the fact, because my TA was very reassuring about both lessons. Once again I was reminded that this is a learning experience, and I'm supposed to have troubles and rough patches.
Now what does any of this have to do with Cinderella you might ask? Well I started reading a part of this story my first day, and was able to finish the fairy tale on day two. I have always loved reading to an audience, but an audience of kids, so transfixed in every word I said, and every picture I showed, was a complete dream. And it was these moments that all the stress I felt about my lessons, disappeared, and I was able to just enjoy my time. I was transformed, and I could only thank my own fairy godmother, or fairy godfather, for this time. Bring on week two.