I started teaching 14 years ago, and for the first time 2 weeks ago, felt old. I had a student from my first year of teaching find me on Facebook. He is now 26 and living in Korea. He wondered if I remembered him (of course I did), but still pictured him as a 12 year old. He emailed me and asked me, "What's new?" How do you answer that when 14 years have gone by. It made me realize how much has happened in the last 14 years of my life, and it made me think how much has happened in the lives of my 312 students.
Teaching children always came naturally to me (not that I didn't have to work at it), but it was something I was comfortable doing. Now being an IRT, it doesn't come as naturally. There is still the teaching part of the job, but teaching adults is a lot different that teaching children. I think I have learned more about teaching and education in the last 2 years than I did in the previous 12. One thing I have definitely learned is that I have to stay current. Technology, best practices, research, assessments are constantly changing and I have to stay up to date. This job has helped me realize that I am capable of learning lots more and that it is important for myself, my students, and my colleagues.
I have very interested in learning more about technology as it fits into the classroom. I live in a tech savvy household, but our technology is more about entertainment, than education. My husband is glad I am learning how to do a blog, because he wants me to teach him how to do one.
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Your post reminded me that I receive almost a daily hug from one of the students from my first year of teaching. He's only a third grader but it reminds me of how quickly time goes by and how much I have grown as an educator since that academic year. I look forward to befriending my former students on Facebook and finding out where their life choices take them. Don't feel old! A 26-year-old just took the time to look up and make contact with his 4th grade teacher. You must have made quite an impact on that young man!
ReplyDeleteYour comment about learning more in these past 2 years as an IRT than in the 12 years you were a classroom teacher helps solidify my hope of spending a few years in the classroom and then leaving to gain perspective. Do you think that you'd be a better classroom teacher because of what you've learned as an IRT? Or is it knowledge better used in another facet of education? I'm curious how what you have learned is going to help you get to where you want to go? Do you have an end goal? Administration? Higher education? I'd love to hear more!
That's neat that a 26-year-old took the time to look you up on facebook! It really helps make this profession a bit easier when you realize that all your hard work does make a difference in somebody's life. Your post reminded me of a similar "blast from the past" that happened to me a couple years ago. I had a mom of a former student from about 10 years ago come in with a video tape of her son singing in a talent show. The child in the video was no longer the mischievous kindergartner who "proposed" to me with a plastic ring or ran through the hallway, hiding in lockers or behind the paper roll cart. His mom wanted me to see him singing and thank me for helping instill a love of music in his life. It's really amazing to think that when we are in the daily routines of a school year, that teachers really do impact a child's life. Thanks for jogging that memory with your post!
ReplyDeleteI think your comment about 2 years being more packed with learning than the previous 12 is a great point. When we move between schools, jobs within a school, or even teaching teams we must take on a whole new outlook, and often, a new set of skills. Growth is what I would call this, which is different from improving upon a familiar routine from one year to the next. Both are valuable and challenging.
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