Back in the beginning of August 2011, I thought I'd be teaching at BCC again; by the end of the month, I landed a job at Vestal High School. Although it was challenging with all the preparations, the first few weeks went well. Now, we're 20 weeks down and half way through the school year. Here are some of my thoughts and reflections.
1. After my student-teaching and substitute-teaching experience, I was less than ambitious to teach upperclassmen at the high school. If I had a choice, I was hoping for eighth or ninth graders. However, God blessed me with not one, but two great classes of juniors and seniors. Even though it's a very challenging class for them, most come to class prepared, astute and ready to learn. They are continually honest, resilient, impressive, and, most of all, forgiving of my rookie mistakes. Of course, there are a few students who aren't as motivated as they should be, but the good far outweighs the bad. I haven't had to write up any of my juniors or seniors for behavior issues, and I doubt that will change going into the second half.
2. Furthermore, in further praise of my upperclassmen, they all have unique personalities. Being not too far removed from college myself, I've discussed a myriad of topics with a variety of different students: sports, music, anime, politics, theology... you get the idea. When I have taken the time to interact, listen and understand these students, almost immediately to a see a change in their participation during class as well. So, I have been making a deliberate effort to try to get to know each of my students on a personal level. This, I've discovered, is critical and its value should not be overestimated. When you fail to view a class a group of individuals, the class, in turn, seems boring, lifeless, and uninteresting.
3. When I was assigned the Elements of Algebra A class, I was told that these students were very low performing. Since I taught a similar class at BCC, I was prepared to handle the academic challenges of the class. Although one thing that I wasn't ready for was the behaviors and culture the students would bring. Unlike the BCC classes, those students wanted to be there. A handful of students I have in my Elements class definitely do not want to be there, and have probably never been successful in math to boot. Throw in the fact that some are coming from apathetic or broken homes, its a perfect storm of frustrations. Some days I can navigate the storm; other days, I'm sunk. Despite the many days I retreat back to my office, it has given me a lot of particulars to focus and improve upon.
4. Teaching is an art. Knowing something is great, but being able to communicate that to someone else so that they know they know it is something entirely different. What makes it an art is that effective instruction rarely looks the same way twice. People have a whole range of different learning styles, such as visual, auditory, or tactile. In addition, not all students are coming in with the same masteries. Some are weak in algebra, critical thinking, or processing. To teach well in a classroom is to be able to bridge all those gaps for 20-30 students in 40 minutes shouldn't be called anything less than an art.
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