My CE and I were talking the other day, and I said "I can't believe I take over in 2 months, that makes me want to throw up." Her response was "That makes me want to have a party!" Hahaha.
At this point I am just trying to prepare myself mentally, physically, and academically for January! Don't get me wrong, I'm scared, anxious, nervous, but I'm crazy excited and feel so blessed to have made it this far.
As I prepare myself for this upcoming time, I have spent a lot of time reflecting on my practice. What are my strengths, and what do I really need to focus on before January? I think that it is important that we do different research and find different articles and blogs that we can connect to, learn from, and take new ideas.
I found one article in particular on Edutopia that I really connected to this week. The article talks specifically about things that we need to stop doing in the classroom, things that we need to start doing, and things that we should continue doing. Maybe you aren't doing any of the "stop" points, and maybe you are already doing the "start" points, and if that's true for you, then good for you! I can definitely tell you that they were all things that I took something from though. I'm not going to go through and explain each of the things that they talk about, but I really encourage you to go look at what each of these mean.
What Should We Stop Doing?
Stop teaching as if we have the answers.
Stop rushing.
Stop talking.
What Should We Start Doing?
Start looking for problems to solve, actions to take, and beauty to create.
Start teaching with new discoveries about the brain in mind.
Start seeking out authentic, high-stakes audiences for student work.
What Should We Continue Doing?
Continue with your professional development, and model the growth mindset in action.
Continue to place our work with students in global contexts.
Continue believing in the potential of every student.
Each of these things have really valuable points backing them up. I think that we all can take something away from this article and hopefully use them to reflect on our own practice and start building and working on our future practice!
Check out the link below to read the full article:
Lauren,
ReplyDeleteYour description of how you feel about Student Teaching is so accurate and is similar to how I feel! I love your ideas about prepping now in the ways that we specifically need to grow and improve our practice. You have such a great attitude! Thanks for encouraging me, friend.
-Meredith
Wow! We only have four weeks. That is an awesome feeling, but you are so right! It is also extremely intimidating. Like you, the thought of student-teaching makes me a little scared. I mean, I taught my entire literacy unit last week, and it was A LOT of work. I can only imagine what it's going to be like all day, every day. I know we can do it! I have never been so excited/nervous in my life! We can do this! :)
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