In my final semester of college I did student teaching in
Montgomery and Fayette Counties. I loved time spent with my Kindergarten
students in Mt. Sterling, Kentucky. The
children were wonderful, the teachers were helpful, and my time there was
memorable. It seemed way too soon when the time came to leave those children, but
I was assigned to head to Lexington, Kentucky, to a second grade
classroom. I arrived bright and early on
my first day at the new elementary school.
I went to the office and checked in.
I was then directed to my classroom to meet my supervising teacher. I was a nervous wreck. My heart was pounding
and my pulse was racing.
This school was a lot bigger than the little four room
school house I had just come from. I
made my way down the long hallways with the other teachers who were arriving
for work and finally located the room where I would spend 6-8 weeks. The door was closed; I knocked tentatively. “Come in, come in!” I heard a friendly voice
say. I opened the door to a classroom of
thirty little empty desks, long windows looking into a courtyard and a teacher
with the biggest smile ever. She was
very dressed up. She wore a nice suit,
high heeled shoes, a beautiful pin, and earrings. I wondered if she was that dressed up for me,
but I later realized that she looked that nice every single day. What a great role model!
We began to chat and she asked me all kinds of questions
about myself as she busily wrote the work for the day on the blackboard. Soon
the bell rang and children began noisily filtering into the room. One by one they came, until all the desks were
filled. Wow! Thirty little faces staring at me.
I was a stranger to them. I took a seat in the back of the room, eager
to watch the class and the teacher perform their daily classroom routines. I could hardly wait to see how she handled
each lesson and the transition times.
Would she be a strict disciplinarian? Would she be laid back? Would there be a standard daily class
schedule? Would she just “play it by ear”?
So many questions, so many things to learn, so many things to observe. I decided to sit quietly and listen.
The morning announcements were read over the loud speaker. Everyone listened to what the principal had
to say, then rose to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. When they finished, they settled back into
their seats. The teacher started by
passing out paper and pencils. She had a
writing assignment and some busy work on the blackboard that had to do with October
and fall.
So far: so good. I settled
in and relaxed just a little bit. My heart stopped racing and my pulse was back
to normal. I thought that everything would
to be all right. No need to be nervous. The
teacher would probably let me help her today and give me something more
specific to do tomorrow. It was getting
easier.
After introducing me to the class, the bomb dropped. She told the children that I would be taking
over the class. And she meant THAT MINUTE…NOW!! Really??
Seriously??
I had nothing planned…Why hadn’t anyone warned me about
something like this happening? What was she thinking? How could she do this to someone she did not even know? It was
only 8:30 in the morning! Was it a prank
on the new, unsuspecting, student teacher? Nope… She went over and sat down at her desk
and wrote in her planner. I managed to
walk to the middle of the classroom. I
asked the class, “So, it is fall and this month is October. What kinds of things happen in October?” As children began to answer we built a
conversation on those responses. Everything clicked!
I ended by asking them to look at the blackboard and, in
their best handwriting, copy the paragraph that the teacher had so nicely
printed that morning. I walked around
and complimented each one on their fine writing skills and helped the ones who
were having a little trouble.
The rest of the day went smoothly, and at the end of the day
the teacher handed me her plan book. This was the most remarkable book that I
had ever seen because it was so well planned.
It was written in pencil, with every detail in place!
The teacher told me that she would take the little reading
group that was having some difficulty and work with them daily, but basically,
the class was mine. Go for it! I was
astounded by the trust that she showed me that day and I wanted to excel
because of it. Our relationship grew so strong.
She was one of the best role models that I have ever had. She helped me when I asked, was never
judgmental, and we developed a mutual respect for one another.
One day in the school cafeteria, one of the other teachers took
me aside and told me that my teacher had said that I was the best student
teacher she had ever seen. That comment made me feel wonderful because I wanted
to do well for her and the children. My teacher, however, was not the type to
tell me that personally.
I was glad that the other teacher had told me about that
comment… but, for a completely different reason. My teacher had been absent from school a few
times during those eight weeks. She
never said why, but she had a nagging cough that she couldn’t shake. I hated
when she was out. The substitutes took over, but I felt like it was MY classroom, not theirs! Of course,
they were only doing their jobs.
When my time was over in that classroom, I was very sad. It
was mid December and I wanted to stay until the Christmas break, which just
wasn’t allowed. But, I was invited back to the class holiday party two weeks later. When I arrived the children jumped up and ran
to meet me. I was greeted with hugs all
around …and my teacher’s smiling face.
We exchanged presents. I gave her a beautiful, vintage pin and
matching earrings. She gave me my first
planner book. It was such a sweet day that
I cried on the way home. I would really miss them, but I also looked forward to
what would happen next. Where would I
get a job? In January?? As happens in life, I got busy job searching
and we did not stay in touch.
I was hired as a substitute teacher. Before long, it was late
summer and I had landed a job as a first grade teacher. By chance that fall, I learned that my
teacher had passed away from cancer, earlier that year. She had not said a word
to me about her illness. I was stunned and saddened.
When I got my own classroom, I used many of the techniques
that I had learned from my teacher. I just wished that I could tell her. Maybe she knew; maybe she was right there
still guiding me because one thing I had learned from her was always with me. There
was nothing more important than a detailed monthly planner (written in pencil)
to keep your classroom operating on schedule. Even when it had to be
adjusted…it was essential.
My first planner was always open on my desk. It was detailed,
precise, and completed 6-8 weeks in advance.
It was my guiding light, just like my teacher had been!
BA @ Kids Matter
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