Respect and Camaraderie

The most valuable aspect of this week was the realization that I have very few days left in this student teaching assignment and how much I have grown to enjoy my students. At some time this past week I looked at a calendar and thought, "Wow, I don't have much time left here" and that was the point when I started to look at my students differently. I now appreciate the ones that are vocal, the ones that whine about every assignment, the ones that need help no matter how many times we've done the same thing, and even the ones that are quiet and will patiently wait their turns with their hands up while the demanding students ask question after question. The realization of how little time I have left with these students made me also think about how much we are all alike regardless of gender, race, religion, etc. We all want to fit in and enjoy the people around us and that is what is happening in my classes. The students have taken a liking to me and as you can tell, I like them too. I believe this comes from a mutual respect that I have tried to foster from day one. I firmly believe that learning will come much easier in an atmosphere of respect and camaraderie than in an authoritarian environment and that is what I've strived for in all of my classes. Fortunately, for me and my students, it seems to have worked. I must admit that I have small classes ranging from 13 to 23 students and the smaller class size lends itself more readily to an open, engaging, and respectful environment. The students know that when we have a class discussion they can readily speak their thoughts and not wait to be called on by me. They do not speak over each other but will wait for one another to finish speaking. I never set up ground rules for the class discussions but instead, I've tried to act as a moderator and may have made comments to the effect of 'one at a time' if two students were talking at the same time. As I reflect on this, I realize how special these students are that they have shown me as much respect as they have and it has made the entire experience a pleasant one. I will miss them. Until now, I never realized how close a teacher becomes with the classes and how much each class has its own personality. There's one class in which I have so much fun and look forward to it every day. I think the thing I need to take from this is that I need to strive to develop that feeling with all of the classes.

If I could change anything about this week it would be to have come up with a better review for an accounting class. I was sick this week and took the easy way out using some of the same slides and overheads to review with that I used to teach. I've done much better reviews in the past and the class was dull and bored with the review. I hope they do well on the upcoming test!