I'm getting ready to start the 4th week of school, and I am full of anxiety and apprehension. I am being pushed by my Math department head to keep my teaching aligned to a schedule. I am supposed to administer the first unit exam this week and then move on to the second unit. But I know my student's are not ready to take a test yet. I have failed to successfully teach them the information, and giving them the test now would just ensure that many of them do poorly on it. The other faculty members who teach the same math course feel they are in the same position I am in. They also do not feel ready to give any exams.
The reasons my students are not ready, and the reasons I feel they are not making any progress still, is two-fold. My classroom management is still very poor, therefore instruction cannot occur. I also don't feel that my instruction is well designed or well implemented, and that contributes to problems with classroom management.
I certainly feel like I am the worst teacher ever. I am getting lots of good advice from other teachers and administrators and it is up to me to implement it and make it work. I am trying to stay optimistic and keep trying, otherwise it is just too easy to give up.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hi there. You are certainly not the worst teacher ever. Your post reminded me of some things I've been meaning to put together for a while. There are a bunch of resources you might find helpful in this post.
ReplyDeleteKeep the faith. Every great teacher goes through this kind of struggle on the way to becoming wonderful... Don't hesitate if you'd like to chat about your experience and you should check out the #ntchat on Twitter - a weekly chat just for new teachers. You are not alone and you CAN do this. Happy Monday.
http://thenewtag.wordpress.com/2010/09/12/resources-for-new-teachers-and-the-rest-of-us/