It is inevitable that at times
in the classroom, we as teachers will have our good and bad days. The goal, as
in any profession, is to have those good outnumber the bad. There are a few
steps I have noticed that I can control in order to try and achieve just that.
The first one in is preparedness. When I walk in to school for the day and already
have everything laid out and ready to go I have a more comfortable feeling
which allows me to enjoy the class period even more. I can then take the extra
time in the beginning of class to sort of ease the tension with students and
talk for a few minutes about life outside of the classroom. It is days like
these where I see true connections occurring which only carries over to the
students motivation to do work and learn. When they can see that I am putting
an effort forward for them, they will return the favor and do the same.
Some of my best successes have
come from making those connections outside of the content. I make it a priority
to try and find something in relation to each student to try and connect with
them over. Teaching here in Baltimore County provides a unique and diverse
student body, and with that comes some students who bring a very low motivation
to succeed in the classroom. I can think of two different students who arrived
in my classroom with little to no work completed on the year and carrying
barely passing grades of Ds. The teacher I had took over for had essentially
told me not to worry too much about them, but I felt it necessary and the right
thing to do to still give them a chance regardless of how late it was in the
year. The first few weeks consisted of their same old behavior however little
by little I started talking to them about random things and not getting on them
too much about missed or uncompleted work. Eventually we found a bond in
connecting over shoes, music, and some other aspects of pop culture. It was
crazy to see how quickly, once they realized I was just another person like
them, they would complete work and participate. Both these students are now
carrying B averages for the last quarter after failing to get higher than a D
the first three.
The MAT program has prepared me in
so many ways, but none more than through events such as the one mentioned
above. The coursework made sure to always go back to creating a foundational
relationship with students. This above all in my opinion defines a true and
valued educator. The second biggest aspect the MAT course has taught me is the
value in Hands-on engagement type activities for students. Through examples in
coursework and my own Action Research project I see the difference it makes to
incorporate STEM-like activities and increase the demand of 21st
century skills for students. This is especially the case in students who have
trouble focusing or caring about material they cannot find relevance in. At least
with a hands-on activity they are forced to remain focused and experience more
of a connection in completing their own work and thinking in new ways as it
demands that from them. Overall I could not be more thankful and appreciative for
the MAT program, in the beginning they asked what we wanted out of it and I
answered relevance, I got just that.
