Myself as a Teacher

"The most important thing I've learned about myself as a teacher in the past term/year is . . . "
that I cannot run an effective classroom without organization. I never thought of myself as an overly organized, type A, person. However after a year of teaching it appears that I am very much so that type. There is such a sense of relief for me when I have my lesson plans prepared well ahead of time as well as the copies and material needed. I clearly remember walking into some of the other Career Tech classes that I had to cover and the first thing I did was organize their desk. I found it very distracting to sit at a desk where there was no room for anything and cluttered.I suppose this trait can also have its downside though. Too much of it can lead to frustration on my part when my expectations are not met or someone interferes with my organization process. I had a back table that I would lay out the lesson plan materials for the week and this helped me to see what lay ahead for me for the week. If the piles somehow got moved or misplaced I made sure before I left for the day that my piles were once again in order. Maybe this has some rationale behind my being a visual learner. I learn much quicker by visualizing things. I can see this trait in some of the students that I have taught in the past.