Life of a Teacher

On my first day completing a day in the life of a teacher, I was surprisingly nervous. I had observed my teacher complete all of her duties, but I knew there were hidden aspects to each of her tasks, and I did not want to mess up anything for her. However, once I had begun, I completely fell into the rhythm of the day. I loved it. That being said, I was completely exhausted at the end of the day. It was a pleasing sort of exhaustion though, where you feel like you've completed the most important things on your to-do lists! I did ask other teachers for guidance and tips on teaching the lessons, getting insight and then adapting it to my teaching style, which I think helped me cope much better, as I wasn't just teaching someone else's lessons. In Block 2, I felt way more prepared to complete all of my mentor's tasks. Especially after having experienced full days of subbing in the meantime. It helped that I was asked to teach Zulu during block 1, as it went so well that I knew if I could teach a Zulu lesson, I could deal with almost anything thrown at me afterwards. Additionally, by block 2, I had wonderful relationships with my learners, making it much easier to teach as I understood their understanding and body language a lot more.

Looking at my self-assessment, I would change my "Newly qualified teachers must know how to teach their subject(s) and how to select, determine the sequence, and pace content by both subject and learner needs." answer from developing to competent, as once I got into the flow of the day, I adapted my teaching to each issue or change in daily routine. I would however say that I need to investigate more numeracy methods, as the syllabus in this school was different to the methods I had studied, so I found myself playing catch-up each afternoon researching the new methods they use.

The exit-level outcomes my mentor gave me were amazing. After looking at my self-evaluation, I have seen that I valued my competencies much lower than she did. This has been a recurring theme in my life, where I undervalue myself - but I don't think this is bad, because it makes me push myself further. However, it was so nice to see that an experienced teacher valued my skills so highly and made me feel motivated in my decision to teach.