So for those of you that do not know, I am a junior here at Winthrop University and I am majoring in middle-level education. It’s been a tough road, but I am proud to say that about two weeks ago, I started my college teaching internship in an actual school. I literally have no words to talk about how I’m feeling. I genuinely don’t have any words. I was a mix of emotions in the first two weeks and that makes me excited for the next four weeks of this internship. In the first two weeks, I’ve learned more in the classroom, than any college class will ever prepare me for.
Here are the top 4 things that I’ve learned:
1. Middle schoolers are ruthless
Yep, I said it. They are so ruthless, it is not even funny. They will be as blunt as possible and will not care what you think. The first day I walked into my mentor teacher’s classroom, they jumped at the opportunity to “kick me when I’m down.” They were so blunt, in fact, that it felt like I couldn’t really do much within the classroom, I just kind of sat in the corner and kept my mouth quiet, didn’t really say much.
2. the students come first
Within my first two weeks, I think that this is the most important thing that I’ve learned. The students come first. If I as a teacher, can not get to know my students, then I can not expect them to be able to be open and honest or be able to complete the assignments that need to be completed. I need to be able to get to know my students. I don’t need to know their deepest darkest secrets, but I want to know their fears and what makes them happy and sad. I think that this is what makes these students, students. They’re humans. They aren’t sponges that they can absorb information, they have to know that their teachers care about how they are feeling.
3. Not every lesson will go the way you want it to
This is the biggest lesson that I think I’ve learned! You could spend hours planning a great lesson the week before you’re going to teach it. But when it gets time to teach it, it could go terribly wrong. And that’s okay. It’s not the end of the world. You have to gauge the student’s knowledge and mastery before you can continue to the next concept. Not every lesson is going to be perfect, you can’t expect every single lesson to go perfect. It’s okay to be nervous when teaching your first lesson.
P.S., I teach my first lesson in about a week, and I am very nervous!
4. Don’t work outside contract hours if you don’t have to
As a teacher, mental health is something that gets ignored. But I am here to tell you as a future teacher, don’t work outside contract hours if you don’t have to. I truly believe that teachers are not appreciated as much as we would like them to. Please let your teachers go home at a reasonable time. They don’t live at school, they have a life outside of school, they have feelings too!