So, I'm well on my way to become a substitute teacher for Logan County. This is exciting and a bit frightening. Exciting because substitute teachers here make a pretty good amount of money per day, exciting because I'm going to be "getting experience" for the type of job (teaching) that I've been dreaming/praying about for the last couple of years. But I'm a big frightened because I'm not sure about the actual teaching part.
I've taught in various capacities in the last 10 years (am I old enough to have done something substantial for 10 years?), and I've always done better when the lesson is "mine." It's fine if someone has given me a general topic to work with, but I'm not real good at doing someone's lesson. I guess it feels like cheating. I put a lot into what I write... its an investment. More so when it's something I have to actually talk about. So when I have a lesson that I've come up with, it's like I'm sharing a piece of me with the students/class. If its Joe Publisher's then.... it doesn't mean so much to me.
Maybe I'm overthinking it.
Anyway, the thing is that I can't figure out if I'm actually supposed to "teach" what the regular teacher has planned for the day. History or English I could probably get by with... math? Haha! Maybe if its adding or subtracting. Luckily I have a transcript of a scenario in which I teach calculus that I just made up:
Me: And that's how you find the value of Pie.
Student: Pi isn't served at walmart.
Me: Oh.
Student: And Pi is probably for Geometry or something.
See... kids are such jerks. Oh well. I'm sure I'll survive. I'll just rely on my stunning good looks and charm to get me through. Haha... no I won't, because kids are really vicious. So I'll have to be sarcastic. See what you've made me do?
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I wrote this for one of the billions of pieces of paperwork I had to fill out in this process. The question was, essentially, "Why do you want to be a teacher?" And I spake thus:
I believe that every student has within them great potential. I also believe that each student is in danger of being quite distracted. Cell phones, television, the Internet, and a plethora of other things [remove "that"] demand their attention, turning them away from what can truly bring them a lifetime of freedom and prosperity – education.What say ye?
As an educator, I don’t want to simply throw facts at students and “hope something sticks.” I don't want to try to satisfy them with stale facts, principles, and one-dimensional texts. I want to start a fire – a deep desire for knowledge that, when fed, only increases the students' desire to know more. By “know” I don’t mean to simply attain intellectual ascent but to experience (what the ancient Hebrews called “yada”)… interact with the material, so that it “comes alive.”
Further, I want my classroom to be a space where students feel safe from threats, ridicule, or whatever their dilemma. I (and all educators) would want our students to be safe from failure, but despite one’s best efforts, failure still happens. This is not to say that failure is encouraged or even expected. Rather, a classroom should be a safe place try, and “if” they fail, they can learn from and recognize their mistakes or shortcomings, come to terms with them, and continue forward.
3 comments:
Yaaay, mayor bee mayor bee!
I feel the same way about curriculum. If I have to use it, I prefer the kind that's ridiculously simple so that I can do my own thing with it while still getting the prefab idea across.
How exciting to be venturing into the world of substitute teaching. If you would like a great resource that was helpful to me as a substitute and permanent teacher, check out the Substitute Teacher Handbook at STEDI.org.
You are very inspiring. You are going to be great! You can achieve anything that you want and I believe in you. Can you please teach me? ha ha! No. seriously.
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