Have you ever had someone explain something to you and you get it, but don't exactly know how it feels? It's not reality until you experience it for yourself. People can tell you teaching is rewarding over and over. But until you get that "Aha!" Moment, you really have no idea what they're talking about.
I've had my fair share of "Aha!" Moments throughout my experiences in schools thus far, but last week most definitely trumped them all. A student in my period five class has been struggling to pull his weight in the class. My cooperating teacher has expressed her difficulties with trying to get him engaged in her classroom and completing the work that is expected of him. He transferred to NPHS towards the end of first semester and was having trouble getting settled in. His shyness had kept him from asking for help or accepting offers for any assistance.
"He's really taking to you", Stacey said as she walked in on one of my lessons. He was so into his work that his pen furiously flew back and forth as his paper as he recalled the moment his dad taught him how to throw a football. I convinced him to write his I-search paper on the history of football and together we came up with he idea of him incorporating his own story into the introduction paragraph.
This week he has been coming into my classroom with a smile on his face and ready to work everyday. He asks me questions. We talk about his writing. He is excelling in the classroom and is even getting more comfortable around his peers.
Seeing his growth over the past few weeks is the biggest reward of teaching I have come across this far. Now, when anyone asks me the infamous, "why would you want to be a teacher," I know exactly what I am going to say. "One rewarding moment trumps a hundred difficult ones." That is my final answer.
Megan, what's awesome about this is that it seems to be a mutual "aha" moment. While you as a teacher have been able to make a meaningful and productive connection with a student, this student has been able to do the same. Both you and the student feel successful. It can be easy to get down on ourselves for all of the things we didn't accomplish in the classroom this week, but keeping this lightbulb moment in mind gives us the confidence to keep moving forward!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad that you had an "Aha!" moment! This must have been so rewarding for you to experience! I like that you related the interest of a student to the assignment that you were working on! His I-Search paper will not be just another assignment to him, it will be personal! The I-Search isn't something that a student can do without caring or putting in maximum effort so it is through this connection that his project will be that much better! It's great that you are connecting with a student who may have just gotten lost in the shuffle.
ReplyDeleteAhhh yay Meg!! That is sooo one of the moments we are going to live for as teachers. I am so happy that you worked with him and showed him that you believed in him because sometimes that's all we can do! :) Good job Miss Almeida!
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