What is going well? How can I improve?

So far in this program I have a great working relationship with my mentor teacher. She has taught me a lot and has a lot of faith in my potential; she has offered countless opportunities to have firsthand experience as to what can happen throughout the day. She has invited me to almost every meeting she has hosted so I have the opportunity to see the possible scenarios that I could eventually encounter as well as offer me strategies how to maneuver through them. As happy as I am with the working relationship, I am even happier with the dynamic and bond that has been established with my students. They trust that I have their best interest in mind at all times and are willing and excited during each session we have together.

With that being said, not everything can run smoothly all the time. An area that I am struggling in is having conversations with others that can turn contentious. Whether that be with parents or colleagues, this is something that makes me feel uncomfortable and I start to doubt my knowledge lack the ability to regain control of the situation. My mentor teacher is helping me through this insecurity by giving me strategies to control the level of contentiousness, to an extent, and also giving my opportunities to engage in contentious conversation so they do not continue to be something I fear. I am also finding that the lesson plans I create do not always go as planned, this can be difficult when I find myself in the middle of a lesson with my students and I realize it is not a realistic lesson. There is the need to adapt and modify my plans in order for my students to take something from the lesson and learn the material at their level. Although this can be a struggle, this allows for self-reflection and then the ability to apply to lessons to come.

From the desk of Ms. Provencio