When the student becomes the teacher...
I am always amazed with how much I am learning from the children.
Just the other day, I realized some of the students really know their morning circle time routines. I forgot to sing one of the songs and a little hand pokes up and reminds me by saying, "Ms. Huang you forgot to do this...” Immediately, I realized I had switched the order of the songs and I modeled honesty and being okay with making mistakes by saying something like this, “You are right. I did forget. Sometimes people forget and make mistakes. It is great that there are 22 students who can help remind Ms. Huang if she forgets sometimes. Thank you _______!"
I realized after a talk with my SA that they too are teaching us to stay and be consistent with the routines my SA has already set out. If I think about it a little more, they are training me to remember! Hence, I have been working on remembering all the routines. I have it down now but it has also been a learning experience for me.
My FA was observing at another time and she told me that my students must be quite comfortable in classroom to be able to share their thoughts. I am glad they are because a teacher is not just an ‘information filler’ or a drill sergeant. Yes, we have to stay consistent with routines and classroom management but we are also there to create inclusive classroom environments that allow students to equally contribute in the classroom.
As teachers, we are there to teach, guide, and provide as much fair opportunities for everyone. In return, I as a teacher is never truly just a teacher. I am constantly growing and adapting each day to new situations and also learning from my students for how to be a more effective teacher and leader.
As we all know, we learn quicker when we are doing. Doing requires the teacher modeling and providing scaffolding so that students have a fair chance of succeeding. Hence when a teacher models that they also are not perfect and do make mistakes, this in turn will help students to understand that we all make mistakes and we all need reminders sometimes.
"You are always learning and always teaching. Everyone is an equal teacher, and equal learner. It makes you an equal sharer. And you learn by doing – that is how you learn most quickly – by doing the thing you wish to learn about, in whatever way you are capable of doing it first." - Unknown
Just the other day, I realized some of the students really know their morning circle time routines. I forgot to sing one of the songs and a little hand pokes up and reminds me by saying, "Ms. Huang you forgot to do this...” Immediately, I realized I had switched the order of the songs and I modeled honesty and being okay with making mistakes by saying something like this, “You are right. I did forget. Sometimes people forget and make mistakes. It is great that there are 22 students who can help remind Ms. Huang if she forgets sometimes. Thank you _______!"
I realized after a talk with my SA that they too are teaching us to stay and be consistent with the routines my SA has already set out. If I think about it a little more, they are training me to remember! Hence, I have been working on remembering all the routines. I have it down now but it has also been a learning experience for me.
My FA was observing at another time and she told me that my students must be quite comfortable in classroom to be able to share their thoughts. I am glad they are because a teacher is not just an ‘information filler’ or a drill sergeant. Yes, we have to stay consistent with routines and classroom management but we are also there to create inclusive classroom environments that allow students to equally contribute in the classroom.
As teachers, we are there to teach, guide, and provide as much fair opportunities for everyone. In return, I as a teacher is never truly just a teacher. I am constantly growing and adapting each day to new situations and also learning from my students for how to be a more effective teacher and leader.
As we all know, we learn quicker when we are doing. Doing requires the teacher modeling and providing scaffolding so that students have a fair chance of succeeding. Hence when a teacher models that they also are not perfect and do make mistakes, this in turn will help students to understand that we all make mistakes and we all need reminders sometimes.
"You are always learning and always teaching. Everyone is an equal teacher, and equal learner. It makes you an equal sharer. And you learn by doing – that is how you learn most quickly – by doing the thing you wish to learn about, in whatever way you are capable of doing it first." - Unknown
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