March 9, 2014

CZ #4 - Ignorance Makes Everything Easier

My first year as a teacher was easy. I came into that year full of excitement, enthusiasm, and  ignorance. It's hard to know what to do when you don't know what you're doing.  As an initial educator, I created, borrowed, and improvised fun and interactive lessons. My students adored me! Our class played a lot of games and many freedoms.  I even had Friday lunches where the kids ordered food from restaurants and my father graciously delivered the food right to my school. Everything seemed to come easy. Then, of course, reality sank in as I started to prepare for my second year and I realized just how much I had to do.  My initial year was so smooth and successful partly due to the fact that I had no idea what I was doing and was just learning the ins and outs of classroom discipline, assessment, and accountability. As I gained experience with each of these areas, I realized just how much I didn't know and just how much I didn't do my first year. So, to me the first year of teaching was definitely the easiest. Being a lifelong learner and always looking to improve makes that statement possible.

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