Assumptions

I had many assumptions about SDC and the Center School, but a few in particular stand out. First, I assumed that all the students at SDC and at Center School would be uninterested in learning and therefore make my experience student teaching unpleasant. I thought these students would be at school simply because they had to and not because they wanted to be there. I concluded that if the students didn't want to learn I wouldn't want to learn with them or teach them. Although I can't really speak for SDC, I know that this is completely untrue for the Center School. I would estimate that 95% of the kids at the Center School are so excited, enthusiastic, and engaged in learning. Their attitudes make my student teaching experience so much better.

A second assumption that I made was that my cooperating teacher would do one of two things: either throw me into teaching (when I was not ready to lead a class) or never let me take the reins and teach. Again, I have found that I assumed wrong. My cooperating teacher has been a great support system for me and is always there for me. She is a wonderful person and teacher and I am confident that she will be a great mentor for me. She has given my great advice and told me that whenever I'm ready to lead her class to let her know and I can do whatever I'd like.

Finally, my last assumption was that due to lack of funds, the Center School would be run-down and seriously lacking materials. All I hear in the news is that there are cuts being made left and right in schools and I feared that I would directly be affected by that. This assumption turned out to be kind of true. The Center School shares their building with another public school, which is relatively well kept. Each year the school is pressured to take in more students so they're lacking in space, so that is the only issue related to monetary funds. I don't really see that the Center School is affected by the recession. They make due with the what they have and the teachers do have to spend some of their own money on classroom materials. In fact, the Center School just got a great technology grant to get new computers in all of their classrooms!

I'm happy that my assumptions turned out to be mostly wrong. I was so convinced that this experience would be scary and terribly, but I am delightfully surprised by how much I love what I'm doing.