practicum

It has been a month since I first started my practicum. So far, I am still standing and my enthusiasm has not faded away. When I first started, I was really nervous. Not that I was scared; I was overwhelmed I guess. I was thinking about a lot of things – how should I portray myself when I enter the class, how should I talk to my students, what kind of boundaries should I set, will I be able to fit in with the other teachers, etc. All these questions were constantly playing in mind and to be honest, no matter how much I thought about them, I never really did find the answer.

Now, I feel that those questions were somewhat unnecessary. I am not saying that they are not worth thinking of; it’s just that sometimes I just need to go with the flow. My first week at school was not so bad. A shaky start I should say because I did not know my students yet and the fact that I was still adjusting to the school’s environment. There were many things that I wished I could do all over again if I could turn back time. Unfortunately, I can’t and like my lecturer said, sometimes we just need to learn to forgive ourselves. After all, we are normal human beings and mistakes are somewhat strongly intact to our nature.

To be honest, teaching is not easy. In fact, I can say that it is a profession that deals with the most unpredictability. I learn that I need to be creative, motivated and most importantly optimistic. There are times when I feel like my students will not learn and improve and there were times when it crossed my mind that I do not want to teach in schools. However, when I think of my students, I change my mind. Please don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that I am a motivated person like no other and that I am a good teacher. It’s just that within this short period of time, I came to realize that it is my obligation to help my students. It is my obligation to change their perceptions towards school and it is my obligation to prepare them for life. In other words, they made me realize that they need me. Therefore, I can’t just give up and take the easy way out by saying that my students just can’t learn where in reality, I am the one who may have not done my part yet.

So to all my friends who are teaching out there, lets pray for the best. May our enthusiasm persist and may we be given the strength to go through all the challenges that may come in our way...