I can finally say that I'm warming up to the idea of practicum. I had about a week before school started where I had convinced myself that I was going to quit everything and go back to school for nursing. However, I figured that I'd put a lot of effort in to get this far and I might as well give it a chance. Now I am glad that I did. After the first week I felt a bit better, but by Sunday I was panicked again. Anybody else feel that way? At this point I'm still a bit nervous about being thrown into a completely new environment, but I'm warming up to the idea of talking in front of crowds - I'm actually looking forward to some of the mini-lessons we have to do in other classes.
So how did we get here? Well, having great instructors certainly helps. As I said before, as long as it was a weekday I felt OK about the prospect of practicum. We are being given constant encouragement and attention to all our questions and concerns. It helps to realize that we're all in the same boat, and all teachers had to teach their first class sometime.
I'm sure you've all seen this video by now but every time I see it I start to feel proud about what I'm doing and remember why I'm here in the first place:
Wow- that video really is amazing! Those are exactly the thoughts to remember when people say to us, "WHY are you going into teaching?!" (Usually followed with some comment about the lack of jobs in Victoria.)
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm with you on the nerves front- the thought of the 5-week practicum is particularly daunting to me...but I have to keep reminding myself that we've got 6 more months of learning and practice till then- so with that the confidence will grow!