Roll With The Changes

A student reluctantly enrolled in my class is a hurdle I did not anticipate as a new teacher. Initially, I was not alarmed by it on paper. However, once the students infiltrated my class, I knew I was in for an instructional battle as a new teacher. My remedy was impulsive. Instead of trying to sell a student on my video program, I simply attempted to sell the student on “me.” I found this to be an effective strategy. I found that once the students bought in with my teaching strategies, my curriculum was more easily processed. I discovered the seniors placed in my class are the most difficult. They often come into the class with false expectations. That is, they think they will do minimal work and only do the “fun stuff” (as they put it). I believe this is something we will always see in CTE, so we have to stay true to who we are as teachers. After all, our professional expertise is not the only trait we rely on daily. Our passion to want to be teachers has paved this new career path for each of us. Our passion and our persistence to be engaging will keep us on firm ground when all else is seemingly crumbling before us. Scheduling headaches will come and go, and so will those wayward students. Teaching is all about the kids, even the tough to reach ones. The challenge to impress our programs upon them may make us better teachers.