It was such a long day that I feel like tomorrow is going to be Thursday already. This morning got off to a rough start with feeling thoroughly frustrated in my first class due to lack of involvement and reaching my breaking point in terms of yet another homework assignment not completed by over half of the class.
This has been a bit of a pattern with the majority of this particular class even though I had several of the students in previous classes. I don't know if it's due to Fall Break being around the corner, hitting the mid-semester slump, or just honest forgetfulness on their ends but after another late night of prepping for the course and feeling as if I've exhausted all ways and means possible to help them out via alternative assignments, extra credit opportunities, and tailoring/modifying instruction, I was SO frustrated with the lack of those who had completed the homework assignment let alone the assigned reading over the weekend.
I then carried on with class and hopefully ended on a positive note as we moved forward with the material.
However, this day was brightened when I graded the mid-term exams from the last class tonight. The short answer question at the end of the test asks students to make connections between activities we've completed thus far in the semester and the course material. Below are some of my favorites that show that you can, in fact, find validation in the most unexpected of places, such as on an exam. I'm looking forward to continued improvement as a teacher and on the part of my students as we all grow from these learning experiences we encounter every day!!
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* This class has introduced me to many creative and fun teaching tactics during the semester thus far. This class has truly been work disguised as play!
* I am going to step out of the box a little and involve the zone of proximal development which we have learned about in this class. For me, I had never thought about teaching songs in my class, but with your help I learned a song that is still stuck in my head! Being pushed a little to try something in the future that maybe doesn't sound possible today is a great thing to accomplish. Now, I think it would be fun to teach my future students the chickadee song along with others (with sign language of course!).
* A simple activity like the "art snacks" shows that everything has a purpose. Learning does not have to be a formal activity. A snack offers a learning experience. It is a way to engage the children while they are learning and meeting cross curriculum standards.
* The chapter writing activities have helped me reflect on my professional development as a facilitator of children's creativity and shown me ways to improve.
* Another activity was when each of us brought in a children's book and chose a graphic organizer to then display the information. This related to class because we learned about how important it is to provide different instructional practices because each student is so different and learns in his/her own way so there must be accommodations for all of them. The fact that there were several different options of graphic organizers to choose from was good because each student could pick one that would be best for them personally.
Yes, yes, yes!! I'm going to latch on to this statement: Being pushed a little to try something in the future that maybe doesn't sound possible today is a great thing to accomplish. It is SO true. These growing pains as a professor within the first couple years of this new calling or profession can be trying and downright brutal at times when thinking about the demands, expectations, and highs and lows that come with each day. However, I hope to never tire of reflecting and trying to improve or better my craft. I might as well considering I've been focusing so much on the teaching over research and service at this point. I want to continue trying to reach out to each and every student in any way I can. They deserve the best of me even if I might not necessarily get that in return. That is not why a teacher signs up for this gig. It can be a tiring, never ending, low paying, and tough job but someone has got to do it. If just one student, child or adult learner, can feel that you care and is able to grow as a learner and a person as a result of your instruction then it is all worth it! So bring on the late nights of prepping, the endless hours of grading and providing feedback, and the thankless job sometimes of searching for activities and other hands-on approaches to conveying the material. But also bring on the smiles, the light bulb moments or "aha" moments when it all clicks, and the satisfaction of knowing at least one person learned a concept because of your presence in that classroom. Ah, teaching, there is nothing quite like it!!
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