You couldn't have paid me to believe this just four short weeks ago. I am slowly allowing myself to BE myself - trying to teach Just Like Somebody Else didn't work when that somebody else wasn't inside my head. Every now and again one particular teacher will come into my room to do something - I'm not really sure if it's observing, or helping, or "other," and my chi gets thrown all out of whack. NO, my students' chi-s get thrown all out of whack. This particular individual is super good at what she does, but her style is the polar opposite of mine and it shuts down my class because it's coming out of left field in MY classroom. I'm rolling with this, however, because a lot of what I've learned from my conversations with her has been so beneficial in helping me get to this point. I will not risk losing this resource so I will embrace it... and speaking of - To my friend who advised that I "embrace the authority that goes along with my position," THANK YOU. Man are those words now making sense. I can do this - and to prove it, I'm about to go and write this week's kick-butt Writing Workshop Lesson Plan - gotta love descriptive writing !!
Saturday, September 22, 2007
My confidence is blossoming...
You couldn't have paid me to believe this just four short weeks ago. I am slowly allowing myself to BE myself - trying to teach Just Like Somebody Else didn't work when that somebody else wasn't inside my head. Every now and again one particular teacher will come into my room to do something - I'm not really sure if it's observing, or helping, or "other," and my chi gets thrown all out of whack. NO, my students' chi-s get thrown all out of whack. This particular individual is super good at what she does, but her style is the polar opposite of mine and it shuts down my class because it's coming out of left field in MY classroom. I'm rolling with this, however, because a lot of what I've learned from my conversations with her has been so beneficial in helping me get to this point. I will not risk losing this resource so I will embrace it... and speaking of - To my friend who advised that I "embrace the authority that goes along with my position," THANK YOU. Man are those words now making sense. I can do this - and to prove it, I'm about to go and write this week's kick-butt Writing Workshop Lesson Plan - gotta love descriptive writing !!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
That sounds like something I told you. Glad to hear you're off to a good start. Having two "teachers" in a room can be problematic, especiallly when styles clash. It's sort of like how you can be "in charge" of the kids you're babysitting...then when one of the parents show up, the kids go crazy. It's because they sense neither authority will take charge, and they're usually right. Anyway, your patience and recognition of this valued resource is commendable, but see if the dual authority concept is coming into play and eventually point it out to this co-worker. It's not that you don't appreciate her input and help, it's just that the kids don't respond well to dual authority in the room. Something like that.
Post a Comment