The First Two Weeks.

Whoa.

Preparing your heart for EVERY single day is highly important. One cannot simply go into a day and hope for the best, but you have to mentally and physically prepare yourself. Last week, I would answer the typical "how are you statement," with a "this has been the longest and shortest week of my life." And the only exception to that statement is this week; this week is actually the longest and shortest week of my life.

I have learned more about the classroom in the past 2 weeks than I have in the past 3 years. That's not to say the classes I have taken during my college experience have not engaged me; they've been wonderful! It's just that nothing can prepare you for the real thing until you are IN the real thing. And I fully believe that I will not be prepared for an actual teaching job, until I am in the teaching job.

This job requires practice. You WILL make mistakes. You WILL have a lesson fail.

Luckily, many of us that come into the teaching profession are not very used to failure. We were typically good in school. I mean, why would you want to go to school for the rest of your life if you had terrible experiences?

So, with that said, I have experienced a lesson bust. And it was embarrassing. Honestly, I was really upset about it. I taught what I thought was a really interesting lesson and the students seemed to be excited about it too. I even had an exit ticket for them to complete which told me they had least got something from the lesson.

But my very next lesson for social studies came two days after the original lesson. I asked them to create a poster which would be a fun activity and informative. I thought my instructions were clear. Turns out they were clear...  As mud. I fumbled over my words, my directions didn't provide clarity and apparently I did not articulate exactly what I wanted. Thankfully it was the end of the day so I was able to reflect and revel in the disappointment of it. I was walking with my CE to do car duty and I just looked at her and said "that was a train wreck." She was graceful and said "well at least you recognize that, and trust me it will happen again."

So much hope in this statement.

I didn't let my reflection stop there. I talked with my CE and I discussed my next course of action. What steps did I need to take in order for my students to understand this material? What exactly did I do wrong (NCPTS 5)? I learned that students need far more clarity than I would have thought necessary. They want you to exactly tell them what is expected and walk them through it. To a certain extent, this is what I should be doing for my students. But, if I were to baby step them through every problem, I would be doing them a disservice. I understand the differences in learners and I prepare for them. For example, 4 of my students have already finished their assignment I gave, so I have a furthering project for them to complete that helps them develop a deeper understanding (NCPTS 2).

I plan to move forward with this lesson, but after revisiting the important information. My students tend to struggle with sequencing, so I arranged a timeline lesson for them to complete. They will be working as a group in order to correctly solve this sequence and honing their sequencing skills as well as growing their knowledge of this information. After sequencing these events, then they will be able to continue work on their poster with the attached rubric. This rubric will show them what I am looking for and will be a way to direct their efforts correctly (NCPTS 4).

It was embarrassing to have a lesson already fall through. But, I plan to move past that frame of mind and improve myself. If need be, I can write out a script for the instructions I give to fulfill an activity (NCPTS 5). Upon reflection with my CE, I know clarity and that articulation takes time, but it also takes planning. There are many areas of growth, and I am excited to see those changes soon!