Week 3 T2P... it's getting complicated, yo!

There is SO MUCH involved in teaching! Coming in to this program I knew that I wanted my classroom to a be positive learning environment, a place where students wanted to come to each day and felt safe (physically, as well as safe to express themselves freely). I wanted learn the nuances involved in attending to students' emotional and moral needs, to lead by example in hope of relaying the ideals of respect I believe to be vital to personal growth, as well as conveying my enthusiasm and passion for animals and agriculture. I wanted to learn how to be an effective teacher, but also be chill and approachable.

I still want to learn these things, but the more time I spend in class the more complicated the behind-the-scenes work of teaching becomes. We have to think about how each student may have a different learning style, and plan accordingly. Ok, I can vary my lessons to include different and multiple approaches to concepts and skills. I can design assessments to cater to different styles, and it will be beneficial to all to have varied learning experiences. But it's not just learning styles, but learning abilities developmentally (Piaget's model), social aspects to consider (Vygotsky's theory that learning happens twice; first socially with help and then applied individually), the possiblility that some students' pre-established conceptual frameworks may differ not only form each other's but from the teacher's, and how that affects how they incorporate and understand new information is MIND- BOGGLING.

How is a teacher supposed to juggle it all?

The readings for today's class helped me to grasp what is going on inside my own little learner's brain: I think my personal framework concerning teaching, i.e. the way I've been instructing for the past ten years, differs from all the new input I'm trying to understand. As Piaget might say, I'm having difficulty discerning between what can be assimilated into my previous framework, and what needs to be accommodated. There is so much to soak in, so much responsibility involved in making sure I understand how it all connects - responsibility to myself, as a learner, to my peers and future colleagues, and to my students! I just want to do it right.

Is there a right way to do it all? Or is it not juggling, but a balancing act?

I laugh at myself a little, and then I continue to laugh, because I know that

this is just the tip of the iceberg, my friends.

Bring it on.