Wow, I start teaching in one week! I do not know how to teach, but teacher orientation starts tomorrow according to a conversation with my assistant principal. I am so excited about having the opportunity to teach thirsty young minds. Orientation should give me the skills that I need to be a successful teacher. Anticipation is the mother of disappointment.
Orientation lasted 5 days, of which a total of 10 hours were used to give me the skills that I needed to become a first class teacher. I felt prepared, excited, and looking forward to my first day of teaching. HA! HA! The kids tarred and feathered me the very first day. After a week of being tarred and feathered I figured that something was WRONG! I started to discuss my situation with veteran teachers at my school and realized that I needed to assess and refine my teaching skills. Those veteran teachers became my mentors, teaching me how to teach. I incorporated what they taught me into my daily routine. Overtime my teaching skills developed and matured.
Now I tar and feather the students. I am a successful second year teacher with exceptional classroom management skills, so I am told by my assistant principal.
You can learn so much about teaching from good mentors. You were lucky to have supportive people around you who took the time to answer your questions and show you the ropes. Have others of you been supported by teacher mentors? What have your experiences been like?
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