First Week

When I was hired for this job I wasn't real sure why they were hiring me. Frankly, by the time I had been flown out, trained and settled in, it would be time to leave. I'm happy that I was invited to work the month of May and 1st week of June but at the same time I also was apprehensive about it. Were their expectations too high for me? I'd never done a job like this before, sure I'd worked as a camp counselor but not as an educator.

My training when I arrived was less than traditional. All the other staff members had gotten into the 'groove' and worked well together, each having their own strengths, which equally compensated for others weaknesses. They knew their jobs, and they did them well. But yet here was I, completely green, a new cog in an already well broken in machine. I shadowed for two weeks watching and learning with students, focusing on class management skills, information passed, teaching techniques and time management. I received very little one on one time with the boss/ supervisor. I learned by observation and participation in classes. I preferred this better than sitting in a room all day being talked at.

So my first week of classes came about. I prepared as much as I could, but really how much can you prepare for something you've never done before? The most amount of learning takes place in the trial and error. If you did everything right the first time you wouldn't ever really learn much. As the kids got off the bus I shrugged and figured, I would either be alright or I wouldn't. I decided that I would be alright, and if I wasn't than there was always tomorrow to start again new. I wasn't worried. And while I did have some stumbles along the way, there was definitely room for improvement and I found some flaws in my teaching strategies I made it through. Knowing that was going to be the worst week of teaching I ever had, it wasn't that bad. The only way I can go from here is up!