The Week of Realizations (STB#4)

This week was an interesting week of student teaching. I feel that I made progress with my students in moving them forward with the content and diving into the inquiry lessons that were engaging. I very much so enjoyed bringing in hands on materials that helped engage students in the lessons. Although I enjoyed teaching my lessons, my students put up a bit of a challenge.

I heard many complaints from my students about having to complete a lab. In lab they had to create the digestive system of a pig from the given materials in their groups. I was super excited for this lab and students were super interested in the materials that I brought to class; however, once I gave them materials and told them the task for the day, the complaining began. The complaints at first were hurtful because I took them as I am failing as a teacher. This week, however, I came to a realization. I am not a teacher to make my students happy. I am a teacher to help my students learn and achieve higher levels of educational success. It seems that as soon as any sort of work is assigned the complaining begins. So perhaps the complaining is a sign of students being pushed to think which should be encouraged because that is how our students achieve such success.

This is still the beginning of my student teaching experience and I am learning that my students are taking a bit longer to be conditioned into a new teaching style. My teaching style just so happens to push students to think through the activities that are asked of them. I'm not ready to lower that standard due to the complaining. I believe my classroom is not a study hall, nor is it a time socialize. It is a time to engage, learn and build cognitive thinking skills. That standard I must keep high and with engaging and enthusiastic materials I believe my students can achieve success.

This week was also a week of realization for me. I often times find myself reflecting on my day on my car ride home. One particular day I began crying on my way home. It wasn't because it was a rough day or because I didn't feel successful but rather my heart ached for my students. I started thinking about each of them and the situations that many of them go through. Some of them deal with extremely difficult situations and I see their lack of respect for their education. Some seem to have given up and don't care if they fail. Some don't take school seriously and others choose to engage in unwise activities. These things make me sad because I care about my students. I see them making bad choices rather then dedicating their time to things that will help them rise above their difficult situations and become successful. Their poor choices only encourage a pattern of low standards. My tears came because these students don't realize their potential to be successful. They don't realize just how great they can be. If they could just make this realization for themselves I think it would change their whole attitude about life and school. Their situations in life tell them that they can't but I hope as their teacher I can help them realize that they can.