Molly's information
“You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to loose sight of the shore,” (anonymous). Finding new ground can often feel like struggling to keep your head above water. My student teaching experience in Edina High School pushed me far away from things I knew and understood, forcing me to come into my own as a teacher and relying on my students to learn from them much like they were learning from me.
The 11th grade classroom I worked with during my student teaching experience was the most trying experience I have ever gone through as I struggled to gain the respect of students who held no respect for any adult figures. I often had nowhere to turn and was forced to try new things supplementing my lessons in split second decisions. Fortunately, it was the students in these two classes who taught me the most about losing sight of what I knew so I could learn the most by recovering.
In one lesson with these students, I came into the classroom wearing a life vest. In this lesson I took time to explain to them that I was still learning about teaching and that I did not claim to know everything about them, about life and even about English. Through this lesson I caught the students’ attention. I gained their respect when I showed them that everyone finds themselves in positions where they feel like they are drowning and it’s not only fine to feel like this but to expect these feelings at times. This was when we grab our life vests.
Through my life vest clinging experience at Edina High School, I learned how to deal with some very challenging students. I learned how to set boundaries and create the illusion that I am in control of situations even when I could use a life vest for support. I also learned that I am a holistic teacher constantly searching for the whole development of the students I come into contact with. My realization from this experience was that every student wants to learn if they can. Often, students’ reasons for not learning is deeper than what goes on in the classroom. In the case of my 11th graders, the problem was that their main teacher was never in the classroom teaching them like they had expected and that they were constantly adapting to a new teacher’s style, whether that teacher was me or a substitute did not matter it was still a teacher they did not want to learn from.
Because of the challenging experiences I have had, I realise that my teaching of English will not be the thing that changes a student. Rather, it will be my work as a trusted adult in a classroom of developing individuals that will make a difference. I think that I would be an excellent addition to your school, working with students in their development both in the area of Language Arts and in preparation for the world they will eventually meet while they grow.
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