I read Lee Ann Halls post this morning which truly spoke to me. I am a student teacher, and I am passionate about utilizing Twitter for educational purposes, but sometimes, when I look at all the great things being shared, I question whether or not I am doing enough.
I really enjoyed one of the questions on #waled chat on Thursday which asked us to reflect on an average lesson. Some days, I admit to teaching lessons that are perceived as "average", but I am always striving to get better. As a student teacher, I have ideas of how I want to structure my classroom next year, and I want to set a solid foundation for both myself and my future students. I want my students to enjoy math and see the beauty of it while cultivating a growth mindset as well. The reason that this post is called failing forward is because I believe that attitude is everything. When I make a mistake, I try to think in my head "how fascinating" which is something I learned from a LeaderShape session. It keeps me focused on the positives and makes me realize that I need to figure out how to change something in order to make that lesson go better next time. We all fall down from time to time, and, when I have a rough day once in a while, I reread sections from "Shattering the Perfect Teacher Myth" by Aaron Hogan which keeps me focused on the fact that not everything I do has to be perfect. I tend to be a perfectionist, so that mentality of being a "perfect" teacher led me to worry about whether or not I would be able to meet the standards that were expected of me, but after reading that book, I realized that failing forward is the key. A professor of mine told me that what truly matters is how we react to a situation, and I view that to be true. Our response can escalate or deescalate a situation, and that is a heavy burden to bear, but from what I have experienced thus far during my student teaching experience, a caring teacher truly can make a difference. When a student of mine emailed me that she was dealing with things in her personal life and that I made her excited to go to math, that almost brought me to tears. She was missing school a few times, and I emailed her parents letting her know how proud I was that she got a 4 on her last quiz. The student emailed me back saying how happy those emails I send make her, and she thanked me for cheering her up on her most miserable days. She also said that she does not know what she would do without me, her family, and the rest of her teachers. Now, if that email did not make my day, I do not know what would have, I got this email the day before my job fair, and I talked about that impact. This student has become a big part of why I teach, and I wish she knew the impact she has made on my life . I have hard days when I come home crying, but that email is one I will treasure forever because it showed me that someone is watching and someone takes notice of all that I do. It is so true that our students end up inspiring us to do better. I take pride in failing forward because #kidsdeserveit.
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AuthorMy name is Ms. Jachymiak, and I am a pre-service teacher currently attending Illinois State University. This blog follows my journey as a student teacher. @MsJachymiak Archives
May 2018
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