How do I even begin to write about my first “official” day of student teaching? For many teacher education students, the first day looks like picking out your outfit, worrying about standing in front of 20+ sets of eyes, and navigating through a new school. For me, however, my first day looked like logging onto Zoom, learning how to connect with students without knowing their voices, and awkwardly laughing at your own jokes when everyone’s mics are off. Even though my first day was not a student teacher’s typical first day, if you can even say there is such a thing as a typical first day, I never want to forget what I learned on my first day.
At the beginning of class, prior to my official introduction, I had students complete a Google form I made called “Getting to Know You”. In this form, I asked students questions about after school activities, their learning styles, and who they lived with at home. Not only this, but I allowed students the opportunity to answer some other questions and tell me anything they felt like I ought to know. Some students gave comical answers because they felt like I ought to know that they are “funny”, “cool”, or “chill”, whereas others were more guarded about their answers. The guarded students still revealed a lot about themselves through what they did not share, yet they still shared a bit about their home life. I even had some students surprisingly share some pretty heavy and personal information with me. One thing I learned yesterday about the culture at my school is that there are a lot of students who only have one parent, live with just grandparents, or only have guardians. That was heavy to learn because as I am going into my second day I am seeing how this impacts them as individuals. It is evident to me that a lot of students are struggling with learning virtually since they have a difficult time focusing and managing their time. It was surprising to me to learn how many students in the 8th grade actually had a desire to learn those skills and other adult-like skills such as how to use credit and debit cards. Moving into day 2, my heart only breaks more for a lot of these students. Being a teacher and a student teacher through a pandemic is challenging, but being a student has to be even more challenging. I had a girl today, for instance, who shared with me some of her struggles through the pandemic and prior to the pandemic. She is dealing with some personal mental health issues that she wants to work through, yet she feels so alone. Over the course of chatting with her, she told me that I was the only teacher she has felt like she could talk to since coming to this school. I am not even a teacher yet, and still I have students who already look up to me as a teacher. I know teaching is nowhere near a glamorous job, but being able to be there for these students, these kids, and helping them through their lives more than just their education reminds me of why I became a teacher and just how important it is for me to be a teacher now more than ever.
1 Comment
Dad
1/22/2021 06:37:24 am
Soooo goooood! thanks for including me on your journey!! Proud of you!
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AuthorKelsey Hayes is a student teacher finishing up her Senior year at Regent University. Through this blog, Kelsey Hayes will share the raw, honest truth about teaching and how both its joys and challenges motivate her to continue pursuing teaching. Archives
April 2021
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