What Teaching Elementary Taught Me So Far
Saturday, June 29, 2013
It’s been four amazing years since the first time I’ve been somewhat blindly thrown into the teaching world. I taught various subjects in kindergarten, gave private tutoring lessons, became a robot at some point – completely drained and no amount of sleep could ever be enough, came to class without make-up on my face, including wearing mismatched clothes. Some days feel bright and sunny but there were also days where it’s a lot less darling job than other people’s career but I can sincerely say that I love every bit and pieces of it. There’s so much innocence in this environment, free from the worry of judgments from the real world that taught me to appreciate the little things in life, among other things. 4 years was enough time for me to make kindergarten my comfort zone and I knew I needed a new challenge.
New challenge, however, still came in the form of teaching and this year I’ve been tapped to teach… get this… Science and… wait for it… MATH to 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders! Turns out, this gig is indeed a challenge in every sense of the word. My schedule has changed around a bit since I started so now, I need to be in class at 7:20 {SHARP!} each morning, recess and lunch break in between and my day ends at 3:00 in the afternoon. Barely a month in this position, an outpour of countless new insights about teaching and the-what-nots occur to me in a wink and that makes life, for me, extra momentous.
Among the things I’ve learn so far…
- I’ve learned to cherish my introversion now more than ever. Handling a rowdy class enable me to survive, notch up my game and excel through my typical introvert attributes and what a gift that is.
- The key to inspire students to excel at and engage in Math is to tear down the idea that this subject is HARD, BORING and IT’S ONLY FOR THE SMART ONES. I used to hate Math in school too and I wish my teachers back then didn’t bombarded us with these kinds of messages.
- It’s great to be around kids of all ages but I prefer the rug rats over raging hormones on any given day.
- It’s kind of awesome and at the same time, daunting to be looked up to.
- The concept that I’m now a full-pledge adult is sometimes scary.
- SOME parents expect so much from teachers. We are one-person doing the best we can with resources available to us, it would mean the world to us if you give us a little consideration and not question EVERY move we make inside the class ALL THE TIME.
- 100 % marks on the test papers or straight A’s does not necessarily means your child is Einstein. So stop with the unreasonable demands and give these kids a break. SERIOUSLY.
- It’s heartwarming to see you’ve positively touched someone, whether it’s by making them laugh or teaching them the properties of addition or 5 senses.
- Checking piles of books and worksheets activity is slowly turning into a hobby, haha!
- Teaching is a challenging and often unappreciated job but one of the most significant ones.
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