Teaching is Hard?!

As I look back on this semester and the classes I have taken one class in particular sticks out to me the most—Art Methods. As I think about the time I have spent working on this class I’m astonished to find that I enjoyed (almost) every single moment of it. And what’s not to like, really? This class is all about delving into your major and experiencing a small taste of what it’s like to be a teacher. Who wouldn’t want to hash it out lesson plans with your group members, teach out-of-control sixth graders and write lesson plans so detailed they make your brain explode while you’re writing them? I don’t know about you, but I love those kinds of activities, although at first I wasn’t sure I would.

            When I started Art Methods I had a lot of preconceived notions about teachers, teaching and what it really took to manage a classroom. Some of those notions may have come from my previous education course, Educational Psychology (Ed 304), but most of them I think were from my own glamorized view of teaching based on novels that romanticized teaching as a beautiful career where every day was full of rewarding experiences and dream fulfilling moments.

Among these misconceptions was the belief that managing a classroom was just a matter of respect and trust. I believed that if the children respected me and I showed them that I trusted them that classroom management would be a breeze. I still believe that, my mistake lay in believing that respect came naturally as part of the classroom order. I entered my first teaching experience believing (despite being taught the reverse in multiple classroom discussions) that the students would naturally respect me and I would naturally be able to control them during class. How sadly I was mistaken. My first class was distressingly under managed. My lesson plan thankfully went over well, but darned if I couldn’t keep those sixth graders quiet for more than 5 minutes. So my first bit of knowledge gained during this experience was that respect has to be earned, it doesn’t just happen. My second bit of knowledge gained was that it’s okay to be firm with children. They can handle being quiet, at least for a little while.

             Another thing I didn’t expect, was that I would learn to love the class we taught so easily. Every teacher tells there class they love them. They always tell you they care and that you can always go to them, but I never really believed it. Sure I’ve had some teachers that I felt really cared and that I could talk to, but most of the time I just discounted it as something every teacher was ‘required’ to say in order to get their students to like them. But as we taught the class I started to realize that I really did care about the kids we were teaching. I really wanted them to do well and to learn the concepts I was trying to teach them. It made me realize that even though teaching is hard and sometimes you have a really off day where the kids bounce around like they’re full of caffeine and they won’t listen to a word you’re saying, they’re still lovable, and they’ll steal your heart easy as that.

            I guess what I’m trying to say with all this information and all these anecdotes about my experiences in Art Methods, is that I have come to find that I really like teaching, and despite having my doubts before now, about this career path, it really is where I’m meant to be. Life’s kinda funny like that. Before you know it, it’s thrown you a curve and you’re somewhere unexpected, but wonderful all the same.