I Can Do This (Week 12)

This week was a blur. After being away from my students for over a week, it took some adjusting on both ends for me to ease my way back into the classroom. There were some good moments and some bad. A time when I said I couldn't do it anymore and many times when I couldn't stop smiling because I know that this is where I am meant to be. It was a heck of a week but in the blur of it all there are three moments that stand out to me the most. Moments I am pretty proud of.

The first one happened on Tuesday evening. I usually practice with my Meats Evaluation and Technology team after they are done with track practice on Tuesday evenings. This week we had to change around the schedule so only one of the students could make it on Tuesday and the rest came Thursday. Mr. Hughes also has his Envirothon team practice on Tuesdays, earlier in the afternoon. On this particular afternoon, one of the Envirothon students needed to wait for his ride so he asked if he could sit in on our practice. My student wrapped up track practice early so instead of starting at 530, we started at 4. Now I told her when we started that we would just practice for an hour but when 5 o'clock rolled around she said, "Miss Herr, I want to do really well in this competition and I have nothing better to do, let's practice until 6:30." So for two and a half hours, I had two students voluntarily doing math problems with me, it was pretty special. This moment meant a lot to me because it showed me the value of putting in the time with our students. These students could have been doing anything with their time but they sat down with me and did math. It was also pretty cool because I really got to see them grasp the material and have those aha- moments, I don't always get to see that in the classroom but in a small group setting it is much more evident.

My second memorable moment of the week looked a bit different. All year I have been struggling with a group of very apathetic students in one of my classes. I have tried and tried to interest and engage them but things have only seemed to have gotten worse. Finally, after discussion with Mr. Hughes and some of my mentors, I addressed the issue. As a very nonconfrontational person, this was not easy for me. It took a lot of courage but I feel that it was a productive conversation and I am really proud of myself.

Sometimes, young teachers are told that they just have to fake it til they make it and I definitely got a chance to practice that this week. Friday morning, a student brought in a chicken for our Animal and Vet Science class to dissect since we are learning about the reproductive system of poultry. While I have done a few dissections before, I have never led one and I have never dissected a chicken. I was super nervous and although I knew the parts of the body and their functions, I really had no idea where to begin. With some prompting from Mr. Hughes, I went for it and cut right in. Despite the unpleasant smell, the blood reaching halfway up my arms, and my lack of confidence in my knowledge, I was cool as a cucumber as I cut through the hen, explaining how each part of her functions. Aside from the usual apprehension of blood from the students, the dissection went very well and they seemed to enjoy it and really grasp our previous discussions of the reproductive system.

This week, I really felt like a teacher. I've been here 12 weeks and each week I have seen growth but this week I just really saw it in myself. I know that the first few years will be hard. I know I won't have a cooperating teacher there to help me with classroom management or show me where to cut into the chicken. There are going to be tough days. But I also know that if I am having a lot of those tough days, I will be able to think back to these moments that really showed me I can do this. Teaching is hard but if you love it, you can do it.