This site is a class blog space for new Career and Technical Specializations and Heathcare Science teachers enrolled in the New Teacher Institute (NTI) at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia.
Monday, September 23, 2013
Happy Comments
The little comments that students say to make you smile, are really motivating to keep working hard. My desk is in the back of the classroom looking at the students from behind. Very often at the end of the period, I leave a few minutes of class time for the students to complete homework I have assigned for that evening. Today, a couple of the students that sit in front of my desk were done with their work and talking about school. The senior in the group states to his peers that he really enjoys my class and wishes he took it before his senior year. He goes on to say that he has fun, it's not very hard and the information is actually very interesting. It basically just validated that I have been doing a decent job. It has been a much more difficult year for me and I have focused a little more on the negative and what I'm not getting done for the classes I have no curriculum for. Whether I have a lot to teach or a little, it is all new information for the students and if I can make it interesting enough to inspire them, then I am doing something right!
Great job, Theresa! I'm with you that at times I tend to focus on negative comments and the fact that I have to prepare EVERYTHING from scratch on my own so I don't feel like my class is interesting. I'm going to focus on the positive feedback I receive because it all can become draining to focus on the negative. When that student validated you I know it felt great. I have students who really enjoy my class. My class breaks up the craziness of core classes. That makes me feel good. I look forward to more of those positive comments. I'm also going to remind myself to focus on the positive.
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