Reflections on Student Teaching

My student teaching experience has involved personal and professional growth, along with a new-found understanding of the importance of community as a teacher.

I have previous teaching experience, with summer programs and in an ESL context, and so I went into student teaching with some idea of how I like to do things and with how I would run my classroom. I soon discovered, however, that teaching Algebra is very different from teaching ESL. The class needs to be more structured, and there are numerous practical difficulties with specific mathematical topics -- the details of how to apply a mathematical idea are not always apparent to students from a basic overview, and it can become necessary to go through large numbers of special cases if the original material is not taught thoroughly.

I found my master teacher to be a valuable resource, particularly for specifics of how to teach individual topics. She was able to provide me with effective mental tricks for the students to use and approaches to explain difficult ideas. I was also able to show her some fresh ideas from my own experience, and so together we formed a small learning community. The value of this community for me at least came mostly from its focus on the mechanics of teaching. In this way, it was largely the opposite of Palmer's ideal community, but it was useful to me nonetheless. I think that with more extended work in the field, I would probably place greater value on personal connection with my peers, but as a teacher just starting out, I found that a focus on technique was just what I needed.

Reflections on Palmer Ch. 7

In chapter 7, Palmer examines some of the practical aspects of a movement for change, and the stages a reform movement might typically go through. I found this account generally accurate, particularly in it's emphasis on the need to safe harbors or training grounds for people to come together and develop their position and skills. These can potentially be seen in teacher associations, or in professional development groups. Many teachers are also involved in peer groups at their churches, which are not related to teaching in particular but which could provide moral support for some of the issues that come up when teaching.

This outline for changing an institution gives hope for the possibility of reform -- our schools are clearly in need of help, and it is possible for things to improve if people who are serious about change work together in community to bring it about. I largely disagree with Palmer's educational model however, and I still find myself wondering exactly what reforms are needed and what an effective educational system would look like. I have some ideas based on the many classes I've taken and what I've tested out in the classroom, but they are mostly practical techniques rather than a comprehensive philosophy.