So, with two weeks left in our placements, I figured I'd share some good news. For the first few weeks of my placement, my co-op was very resistant to my ideas and even the idea of having a student teacher. Yes, she signed up for it, but she admits that she had no idea what she was signing on for. For a while, my lesson ideas were shut down or ignored because they were different than the simple "read the book, answer the questions" lesson. Needless to say, I was greeted with a bit of a cold welcome.
However, lately, I have seen a huge change in the dynamic of the classroom. I think that my co-op is realizing that I can be a helpful tool in her classroom even when I am not teaching. My students are writing a research paper, so my co-op is working on the step-by-step grading. While she does that, I can answer questions and guide the students through the writing process. It's been a really exciting experience because I feel like my co-op trusts me with that responsibility whereas before, I think that she was afraid to lose control.
For the first 2 months of my placement, I kept thinking, "Wow, if this is how student teaching is going to be, I'm not sure that this is going to work out." Now I know that my co-op is becoming more open to my teaching ideas, and she seems to be excited to try my lessons. I feel so much better and just wanted to share my excitement with all of you.
That is fantastic news! I am so happy things are working out for you!
ReplyDeleteNicole, I am sure it was really challenged to face being greeted with such a cold welcome. I am very happy that your cooperating teacher is opening up to your ideas. I have also learned that it takes a little bit of time to build trust with not only the students, but the experienced teacher you are working with.
ReplyDeleteI can relate to your situation. I was very hesitant at the beginning of the semester to share my own ideas my co-op. She had a specific way of doing things in her classroom, and I didn't want to step on her toes. Also, we had some very different ideas about the teaching of grammar and vocabulary. She teaches grammar out of a grammar book, and she introduces the grammar exercises out of the book in chronological order. At first, she asked me if I wanted to be in charge of this activity each day. I politely declined, and accepted a not much better deal, the teaching of vocabulary words. As the semester progressed, I gained the confidence to ask her if I could experiment with different ways of introducing the words to the students. She was open to my ideas, and I ended up really engaging the students with my kinesthetic vocabulary lessons.
I am glad everything is working out for you!