Wisdom From A Student Teacher

Guest post by Lance Paradis, Student Teacher at Corinth Middle School

Teaching isn't about proving you are the all knowing being in the room, it isn't about being the center of attention, and it isn't about crushing student dreams to weed out the strong from the weak. Teaching is about taking a journey of learning with your students, building relationships, building skills, and helping students see potential in themselves they didn't previously see.

Student teaching has been a phenomenal experience both thanks to the staff and students in our building. For a first timer, like myself, teaching is truly a journey with my students. I can't profess to know it all because there is infinitely more to learn and I try to convey this feeling of always wanting to learn more to my students. Throughout this experience, I have learned a lot from my co-teacher, other faculty, and the building principal. But, by far I have learned the most from my students. I have seen what instructional strategies work for them and they enjoy, what assessments are fair, and how impossible it is to create instruction for the whole without considering an individual's needs.

To say I will leave here a better teacher is an understatement, but in no way does it mean I am done learning.

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Reflections

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