Teaching, the first taste

This is a Tuesday "Slice of Life" for Two Writing Teachers. Check out their website for lots more reflections on teaching.

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As part of the interview process,
he was given the lesson ahead of time.

The children were four and five years old,
two groups of seven students each.

First, he watched her lead a small group,
and then he was observed leading his own small group.

His impression was that he
made so many mistakes,
spoke too fast,
made no sense,
hurried the children,
garbled his words,
should have highlighted one thing rather than rushing to introduce another,
hemmed and hawed,
confused himself with his own instructions,
knew he was a disaster.

He realized,
it's hard
it's hard to communicate
to grasp what they need
in the moment.
There you are fumbling,
they just get confused.
He knew
there were lots of things he could have done better,
and, yet,
time had never passed so quickly.
It seemed he had just begun when the lesson was over.

She asked,
"Did you have fun?"
And he replied,
"Yes, I did."
She continued,
"I think, your first time, it went really well, you are a natural. We'd like to hire you."

My son, Wade,
newly-minted B.A. in Music in hand,
recently became employed with a company that offers music to early childhood and after school programs. I, of course, am thrilled that he is working with this age group and that - some six weeks into this experience - he continues to find this teaching to be engaging and satisfying.

I loved his reaction to his job interview/observation.

I think he has all the personal dissatisfaction that is inherent in a teacher.
I shoulda…
I coulda…
next time…
I wonder…
It is a reflective practice!