First Time for Everything

I taught my first student today, and I didn't teach them wrong! It was such an uplifting feeling.

Again, same classes, same teachers, different times... I stayed a little later to discuss lesson plans and unit plans.

Also, Mrs. Wimpey was very kind and printed off the National and SC standards for her CP Stats class, which I immediately immersed myself in along with her AP Calc syllabus, pre-test, and various other papers. I'll tell you what, this wonderful lady is definitely doing everything in her power to make sure that my transition into student teaching is made as simple as possible.

Alright, my first teaching experience. It was in Mrs. Cortez's pre-calculus class, and she had the students doing some exercises out of the book. The first thing that struck me is that when she assigned them, she said, "Now if you need any help, look in the book first, and then come to us." Yes, she didn't say, "and then come to me." It felt like my first real experience as a teacher, and I could tell the students were a little hesitant to really ask me for any help. I would go around and ask the students if they were understanding things alright, and they'd stare at their papers and say, "Yes, sir," and not five seconds later they'd raise their hand for Mrs. Cortez. Not the best feeling in the world, but, eventually, they came around, and one of them asked me the reciprocal of -1. Now, I know, it's not the most exhilarating first-ever-teaching question, but you know what? It was a question. So I politely said that it was -1, and the girl said, "Oh, duh!" I eventually made my way to another girl who was about to go up and put her answers on the board, and she asked me to check and make sure they were correct before she wrote them for the whole class to see. Cautiously I ran my fingers down the page like any good teacher would do, checking for any mistakes, and, finding none, said she was good to go. I can't really explain the knot I had in my stomach while she was writing them, and all I did the entire time was stare intently at her answers to make sure they were indeed right. How horrible would that look, if I told her they were perfectly fine and she wrote the wrong answers? I would have been devastated. Thankfully, everything turned out fine. I'll get some confidence soon, but I think for the time-being I'm allowed a touch of anxiety.

Relating this to the material, I think the biggest idea would be that everyone learns differently, and that everyone thinks differently. While most people, even the least-mathematically-inclined of us, would agree that the reciprocal of -1 is a horribly easy problem and should be known my most anyone, it is still a question, and as such needs to be treated with respect, as well as the student. I'll admit that a little voice in my head asked, "Is she serious? The reciprocal of -1?", but I remembered what I'd been taught, and I applied it. Not everybody gets everything, and for those who don't, we teachers need to be there to help them through.

I'm dreading it... the first day I stand infront of a class, but at the same time, I'm confident that it will be right where I should be.