Day Nine: Teaching

March 13, 2009
7.5 hours

This is where the rubber hits the road.  Today I teach.

I have taught in a classroom before; I have been a substitute teacher.  I know how to teach.  I can create lesson plans & I have taught lesson plans created by other teachers.  I have even taught an interdisciplinary course that required me to create the plans with another teacher. 

So why did this teaching experience make me so nervous?  I have not a clue.  Maybe it was the number of teachers in the room.  Maybe it was the value of the material being taught.  Maybe it was that I was teaching another’s plans but not as a sub I knew the students would not go over it again.  Maybe it is just my own nerves getting me worked up.

The class was not coming until the end of the day so the majority of the day was spent in traditional routine.  Books were checked in & shelved.  Students came in for classes & study halls.   Materials were pulled for other teachers.

At the end of the day the students came in.  Lisa & I talked about last minute details; I asked her to jump in at any moment if I forgot details.  Off I went… and it went smoothly.  I forgot a few assignment related details but Lisa & the classroom teacher jumped in creating this almost seamless instruction.  When the lesson ended & the students were sent off to start their work, many came to me asking specific questions related to their I-Search.

What a wonderful day. 

70.5 of 100 hours completed