16 December 2008
A Teacher’s First Year
This article is excerpted from the IIP publication Sketchbook USA, a richly illustrated volume that depicts Americans at work, at play, in their communities, and engaging in civic life. View and download the fully formatted Sketchbook.
Michael Gerber is a first-year, sixth-grade teacher at Timber Lane Elementary School in Falls Church, Virginia. Here’s what he has to say about his experiences:
There is no formal preparation for the first time you face a classroom of 22 very different students.
I have only four native English speakers, eight special education students who are handicapped or disabled in some manner, and a wide range of abilities in my class. Some of my students come from Vietnam, El Salvador, and Bolivia. Others come from Mexico, Bhutan, Nepal, Guatemala, Pakistan, and Jordan.
All of these factors make lesson planning challenging and require many late nights of work. The workday is often 10 to 12 hours, and there is no mental break from the concern I feel for my students’ well-being and educational progress. It also can be difficult to communicate with parents because of language problems.
Many teachers take for granted that students come to school with a blank slate, ready to learn and focus on the school day. But just yesterday, two students and their mother were evicted from their apartment. These kids are wondering where they will sleep at night and where their next meal is coming from.
The English language learners possess different language abilities, and we have to modify instruction to reach them all. We have to do the same for special education students — while challenging students who are higher achievers.
My expectations as a sixth-grade teacher are for my students to show up and work hard every day. For the most part, I have had this. Students crave positive reinforcement from their teachers and classmates.
One wonderful reward is success in creating a positive, safe learning environment, where students feel comfortable taking risks and working as part of a team toward a common goal. Seeing my students take chances in their thinking and writing has been especially gratifying.
The smiles I see when students learn a skill are so satisfying. Knowing that students are learning and developing reinforces my decision to choose education as my profession.
