I've had every sort of teacher you wouldn't want to have. In kindergarten my teacher made me miss my bus going home, because she put me in "time out" and forgot about me. In 1st grade I had a teacher who would get so exasperated she'd leave the class for 30 minute stints multiple times a day. My 7th grade science teacher would throw chairs when he was angry. I've had teachers in my life who wouldn't do more than read sentences off a notebook. I've had teachers who would pass out a textbook on day one of class and the next interaction they'd have with us would be passing out the final exam. I've had every sort of unmotivated, tired, so-far-deep-in-their-tenure-they're-just-counting-the-days-until-they-retire educator you could imagine.
In light of all this however, I want to be one of them.
The reasoning behind why I want to live out a career that'll constantly remind me of these less-than-fun situations keeps me up at night. However, I think that I'm closer to my answer after Monday's class: I want to do what they did but much better.
In class, I for did what I try to avoid as much as possible: I got up on my soapbox and made a point. I went on what felt like a 90 minute tirade about how there's a clear generational resentment between the previous group of textbook-reliant chair-throwers ,and myself. Due to this, I'm going to be viewed as inferior, lesser, of poorer substance, as compared to those who began before me, which from my experience, is backwards. What I am able to do however, is prove that I am better than those before me, and what I'm able to provide students will foster growth, learning, and a more complete education.
From my new urge to prove myself, I've compiled a list of actions that I'll need to take in order to be better than the educators I had to grow up with, and so far the list has three parts:
1. Read The Room
2. Teach The Room
3. Trust The Room
What I mean by these is simple, instead of trying to conform students to what I want, I plan on altering how I teach in order to appeal to the students; the way it should have always been. Firstly, I'll need to understand who I'm working with, meaning if I have a group who's strong in Science but not so much English, I'll need to adjust my teaching strategies to suit what works for them. This leads into the second note on the list: Teach The Room. If I have students who are more science-minded like in the example I just gave, maybe I'll explain things in a more analytical sense rather than from a place of emotion, as that is what typically happens when talking about books. The last portion is in my opinion the most important one, as it will be difficult for me: Trust The Room. I will need to come to a point where I can trust those I've taught to apply what I taught them but in their own unique way, however that may manifest.
In total, I hope to be a better educator than those who I have had previously, I just want to do right by those who deserve to learn however works the best for them. I don't want to be a point of imposition, but rather one of inspiration.
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