When do you become a teacher?

Today was trying.

There is a big difference between teaching 7^th grade and 8^th grade.  All my students are so smart in their own right.  8^th grade students are all bigger than me. Girls have drama, and guys try to prove something.  7^th grade can get reckless some times.  Extremely participatory but every class has their troublemakers.

My biggest struggle right now is relating to these students.  Lets be honest here, I am a 5’4” Korean 21 year old.  My students have gone through so much more and seen a lot more than I have.  On another note, my two co-teachers are two tall athletic black males…see the physical difference???

Mr. George, Miss. Katie, and Mr. Clint…outside of teacher mode.

I cannot pretend to be Clint or George. I need to find my own way to be assertive to both grades…any suggestions?? Clint and George will step in and support when I need them too. I think I got lucky with my co-teachers. Great support to start off my teaching career. 

As long and tiring as the mornings seem, the afternoons are longer. Classes can seem like a bore (especially since we get like zero hours of sleep a night). But, there are a lot of important lessons to remember.  This summer, Secondary Math section is taking 5 graduate level courses: Foundations, Special Education, Adolescent Development, Classroom Management, and Math Immersion. I like, perhaps, a few of these courses… I’ve only been here for a couple of weeks and know that this will be the most difficult summer of mi vida.

Today’s Adolescent Development course was reserved for a Daily Rap Session training.  In a Daily Rap Session, everyone sits around in a circle, including the facilitator.  The point of these sessions is to create an open and safe space for all to share about themselves.  It can be anything simple from your favorite color to the worst moment of your life.  The key to a successful Daily Rap session is to maintain that sense of security.  This has to do with respect for all in the circle.  To help facilitate the discussion, we have a talking piece.

(Important things about the talking piece…no hard objects, nothing with edges, nothing too bouncy…you can just assume why)

The Talking Piece exists to systematically reiterate the concept of respect for each other’s voice. 

Since arriving at Coppin State University for summer training, today was the first day I got really emotional.  There is just so much going on here that at times I just feel like I’m in a perpetual state of catching up and never giving 100% to any of my assignments. My thought process went from “Am I really a teacher?” to “Do they want to be here?" to “Do they know they matter to me?” It wasn’t until talking to my mom during break that I was able to call my mom during break (SHOUT OUT TO MY MOM FOR EXCELLENCE) that she reminded me that all those doubts are important to reflect on to make me a stronger.  Mom told me that my little sister said the other day that she thinks I’d make a great teacher one day. Apparently when I work with her, I still make her feel smart as if she is led to the answer and then can do it on her own.  How many times does a 12yr old tell someone that they would make a great teacher one day?

w/love ks