Don't teach at Hall! Seriously though, try and complete each reflection that day, make sure to be prepared for your lessons, and be on time. Most importantly, take constructive criticism well and don't get defensive: you are not an expert and will learn a ton if you go in with an open mind and a good attitude.
Write your reflections daily while everything is fresh in your mind. Make some time for yourself on the weekends, to keep your perspective. Stay focused on your goals.
- Don't let the workload during Core and even the first part of Methods fool you ... it gets a lot worse during Student Teaching. Time management will be key. While I tried to take a day off during the Student Teaching weekends, this wasn't always possible due to the combined Student Teaching and Methods workload. Having said that, be sure that you are enjoying your free time before Student Teaching. - The moment that an assignment comes in (the Unit Plan, for example), try to start working on it. You never know what your workload will be later. - When you student teach, keep samples and take photos of everything (whiteboard work, for example) ... this will be useful for the portfolio. Try to keep up on the portfilo throughout your Student Teaching phase. - Start teaching as early as possible during Student Teaching ... there is not substitute for just "getting in there and doing it".
First - you WILL survive. There will be times you are sure you won't, but you will, just so long as you listen, take feedback well, apply your learnings, and stay focused on helping students. In case is it helpful, I offer the following:
Some things that would have helped me prepare: - Be ready for the program to really start immediately after the April orientation. You will be given a ton of reading to do and various writing assignments. These will REALLY help you. If you are able to get most of your reading done before your classroom observations, you will find greater value in the experience. - While the program will seem insanely long when you're in it, it still is officially only 9.5 weeks (not accounting for the upfront assignments and reading). Create your own independent study. Read as much as you can in advance. Talk to as many in the profession as you are able to. If you don't have actual teaching experience, substitute, coach or volunteer in the schools. It will give you a jump start, help you assess whether this is really the right field for you, and give you many more real examples to reference in interviews.
What surprised you? - How good it feels to help students. You will have tough days where everything seems to be working against you. You will forget those in a heartbeat when a student simply says "wow, I finally get it!" - Preparation is insanely time-consuming while you are learning, but it pays off big-time in the classroom. Be prepared. - Just how much I can actually do on so little sleep. Everyone will tell you that it is intense. You will think you know what intense is. You don't. No matter what you have done before, this experience will re-define the meaning of intense for you. Lean into it and ride the wave. It's exhausting, but also exhilirating.
What was most challenging for you and why? - Staying focused on the big picture (helping students and getting a job where you can help more students) and positive even when your body and mind are screaming expletives at you for not allowing them more sleep. Give yourself at least a full day each week (I chose Saturdays) to refresh, reconnect, and renew. You will be stronger, more creative, and more efficient for doing so.
Speak to the balancing act between intensity and earning a certificate in a single summer. - You will question this decision (daily, hourly, minute-to-minute) throughout your student teaching experience. Trust that you made the right decision. You really did.
Some other words of wisdom: - Do your reflections daily. Even if no one seems to be reading them, it doesn't matter. Buy into the logic that a reflective teacher is an effective teacher. You will be much better for it. Sort of like the "dance as if no one is looking" advice, "reflect even if no one is looking". - Embrace the task analysis. It is a key differentiator in the quality of your lesson plans. - If you can, invest in the suite of Microsoft software (word, powerpoint, excel), a color printer and lots of copy paper. You won't regret it. - You will have piles of paper all over your workspace, your house/apartment will be a mess, even your most supportive family/friends may get frustrated with your absenteeism and grumpiness. Deal with it. Make some time for family and friends at least once a week, and remind them as often as you can how much you appreciate them. They will forgive you for the rest. You will have time to organize, clean, and deal with all the other stuff you've let go when the program ends.
Good luck on your journey to becoming a great teacher!
Stay ahead of assignments as much as possible. Look ahead on the unit plan and the profile to leverage your student teaching experience. These are both great opportunities to build experience that is applicable to interviews and will be useful on the job. Bring a good camera to student teaching and take a lot of pictures.
The time committment is significant. Staying at home with a long commute made it worse. Those who were able to stay local had more time to commit to the program.
I think that it would have been nice to watch some videos of "good teaching" before starting the program, and "good math teaching" before methods. What I currently view of what it means to be a teacher, and more importantly an effective teacher has changed drastically in 9 weeks.
I was pleasantly surprised at the support that fellow cohorts provided. Being collaborative and supportive of your peers will help you to survive. It is okay share/borrow good ideas. "Good Practice" is what works for you.
I found it challenging to do something completely new and unknown to me, that didn't come easily. I consistently struggled with feeling inadequate, unprepared, and that I would not make as good as a teacher as I truly wanted to be. However, I think that this struggle has driven me towards continuous improvement and the acknowledgement that this will be an enduring struggle that will continue throughout my career. So while you may feel like a failure sometimes, it should be seen as a motivator to work harder, and improve. This is something that you will expect from your students and it is an invaluable lesson to be learned firsthand.
Bluntly put, it's a really freakin' challenging program that will leave you exhausted often. Many people who have been through ARC will tell youb this but you won't realize the extent of what they mean until you live it for yourselves.
With that said, hundreds of people have gone through ARC and lived to tell about it You will survive and you will learn more than you could have imagined. ARC is a phenomenal, cutting-edge program that will comprehensively prepare you for teaching. You're learning things that many teachers haven't seen yet or don't do. When you're done, you should feel extrememly proud of what you accomplished in a short amount of time.
Plan your time and know your work pace. You'll be immensely busy, especially during student teaching, but make sure you take time for yourself to unwind and relax. No one can go 24/7 and survive.
Understand that the criticism is directed at improving your teaching, not you as a person. At the same time, don't be afraid to ask for positive feedback because you need to hear that as well.
Keep up with the reflections but don't stress about making them the Great American Novel. Touch on a few key points that resonate with you. Think stream of consciousness.
Enjoy your students. They may drive you up a wall one day - or many days - but they truly will amaze you. I found the little things - a student greeting you "Good Morning" oe simply saying "Hi" in the hallways - invigorating.
Find a way take something useful out of everything, both in Methods and Core. You won't like every presenter, you'll be skeptical of some advice, some things will seem not to apply to you. Don't dwell on those things. Keep as open of a mind as possible and find that little nugget of information you resonates with you.
Keep up with the reflections, take Saturday off, start the unit plan early and you will be fine.
ReplyDeleteDon't teach at Hall! Seriously though, try and complete each reflection that day, make sure to be prepared for your lessons, and be on time. Most importantly, take constructive criticism well and don't get defensive: you are not an expert and will learn a ton if you go in with an open mind and a good attitude.
ReplyDeletePlan ahead as much as you can. Keep up with all your assignments. Make sure to get sleep!
ReplyDeleteWork on your reflections as soon as your day at the core ends, keep up with work, be organized and plan your day effectively.
ReplyDeleteWrite your reflections daily while everything is fresh in your mind. Make some time for yourself on the weekends, to keep your perspective. Stay focused on your goals.
ReplyDelete- Don't let the workload during Core and even the first part of Methods fool you ... it gets a lot worse during Student Teaching. Time management will be key. While I tried to take a day off during the Student Teaching weekends, this wasn't always possible due to the combined Student Teaching and Methods workload. Having said that, be sure that you are enjoying your free time before Student Teaching.
ReplyDelete- The moment that an assignment comes in (the Unit Plan, for example), try to start working on it. You never know what your workload will be later.
- When you student teach, keep samples and take photos of everything (whiteboard work, for example) ... this will be useful for the portfolio. Try to keep up on the portfilo throughout your Student Teaching phase.
- Start teaching as early as possible during Student Teaching ... there is not substitute for just "getting in there and doing it".
Hello newbie Arcie -
ReplyDeleteFirst - you WILL survive. There will be times you are sure you won't, but you will, just so long as you listen, take feedback well, apply your learnings, and stay focused on helping students. In case is it helpful, I offer the following:
Some things that would have helped me prepare:
- Be ready for the program to really start immediately after the April orientation. You will be given a ton of reading to do and various writing assignments. These will REALLY help you. If you are able to get most of your reading done before your classroom observations, you will find greater value in the experience.
- While the program will seem insanely long when you're in it, it still is officially only 9.5 weeks (not accounting for the upfront assignments and reading). Create your own independent study. Read as much as you can in advance. Talk to as many in the profession as you are able to. If you don't have actual teaching experience, substitute, coach or volunteer in the schools. It will give you a jump start, help you assess whether this is really the right field for you, and give you many more real examples to reference in interviews.
What surprised you?
- How good it feels to help students. You will have tough days where everything seems to be working against you. You will forget those in a heartbeat when a student simply says "wow, I finally get it!"
- Preparation is insanely time-consuming while you are learning, but it pays off big-time in the classroom. Be prepared.
- Just how much I can actually do on so little sleep. Everyone will tell you that it is intense. You will think you know what intense is. You don't. No matter what you have done before, this experience will re-define the meaning of intense for you. Lean into it and ride the wave. It's exhausting, but also exhilirating.
What was most challenging for you and why?
- Staying focused on the big picture (helping students and getting a job where you can help more students) and positive even when your body and mind are screaming expletives at you for not allowing them more sleep. Give yourself at least a full day each week (I chose Saturdays) to refresh, reconnect, and renew. You will be stronger, more creative, and more efficient for doing so.
Speak to the balancing act between intensity and earning a certificate in a single summer.
- You will question this decision (daily, hourly, minute-to-minute) throughout your student teaching experience. Trust that you made the right decision. You really did.
Some other words of wisdom:
- Do your reflections daily. Even if no one seems to be reading them, it doesn't matter. Buy into the logic that a reflective teacher is an effective teacher. You will be much better for it. Sort of like the "dance as if no one is looking" advice, "reflect even if no one is looking".
- Embrace the task analysis. It is a key differentiator in the quality of your lesson plans.
- If you can, invest in the suite of Microsoft software (word, powerpoint, excel), a color printer and lots of copy paper. You won't regret it.
- You will have piles of paper all over your workspace, your house/apartment will be a mess, even your most supportive family/friends may get frustrated with your absenteeism and grumpiness. Deal with it. Make some time for family and friends at least once a week, and remind them as often as you can how much you appreciate them. They will forgive you for the rest. You will have time to organize, clean, and deal with all the other stuff you've let go when the program ends.
Good luck on your journey to becoming a great teacher!
Stay ahead of assignments as much as possible. Look ahead on the unit plan and the profile to leverage your student teaching experience. These are both great opportunities to build experience that is applicable to interviews and will be useful on the job. Bring a good camera to student teaching and take a lot of pictures.
ReplyDeleteThe time committment is significant. Staying at home with a long commute made it worse. Those who were able to stay local had more time to commit to the program.
I think that it would have been nice to watch some videos of "good teaching" before starting the program, and "good math teaching" before methods. What I currently view of what it means to be a teacher, and more importantly an effective teacher has changed drastically in 9 weeks.
ReplyDeleteI was pleasantly surprised at the support that fellow cohorts provided. Being collaborative and supportive of your peers will help you to survive. It is okay share/borrow good ideas. "Good Practice" is what works for you.
I found it challenging to do something completely new and unknown to me, that didn't come easily. I consistently struggled with feeling inadequate, unprepared, and that I would not make as good as a teacher as I truly wanted to be. However, I think that this struggle has driven me towards continuous improvement and the acknowledgement that this will be an enduring struggle that will continue throughout my career. So while you may feel like a failure sometimes, it should be seen as a motivator to work harder, and improve. This is something that you will expect from your students and it is an invaluable lesson to be learned firsthand.
Bluntly put, it's a really freakin' challenging program that will leave you exhausted often. Many people who have been through ARC will tell youb this but you won't realize the extent of what they mean until you live it for yourselves.
ReplyDeleteWith that said, hundreds of people have gone through ARC and lived to tell about it You will survive and you will learn more than you could have imagined. ARC is a phenomenal, cutting-edge program that will comprehensively prepare you for teaching. You're learning things that many teachers haven't seen yet or don't do. When you're done, you should feel extrememly proud of what you accomplished in a short amount of time.
Plan your time and know your work pace. You'll be immensely busy, especially during student teaching, but make sure you take time for yourself to unwind and relax. No one can go 24/7 and survive.
Understand that the criticism is directed at improving your teaching, not you as a person. At the same time, don't be afraid to ask for positive feedback because you need to hear that as well.
Keep up with the reflections but don't stress about making them the Great American Novel. Touch on a few key points that resonate with you. Think stream of consciousness.
Enjoy your students. They may drive you up a wall one day - or many days - but they truly will amaze you. I found the little things - a student greeting you "Good Morning" oe simply saying "Hi" in the hallways - invigorating.
Find a way take something useful out of everything, both in Methods and Core. You won't like every presenter, you'll be skeptical of some advice, some things will seem not to apply to you. Don't dwell on those things. Keep as open of a mind as possible and find that little nugget of information you resonates with you.