One Master Teacher Has It Down
Part One of Four in my series on my two master teachers.
One master teacher is authoritarian. She expects a lot accomplished, and a lot of planning for lessons. Teaching is her second — third? fourth? fifteenth? — career.
She expects me to master every classroom system she’s established over her 16-odd years, every slightest procedure.
Journal every day; while you take attendance. Quizzes every Thursday. Detentions for tardies and absences. Extra credit for Kleenex.
She mentors student teachers every spring.
I met her last spring while working off my observation hours as a sub. As I passed through the hallway, I noticed a former editor of mine from my school newspaper.
I stopped by to say hello, and I was introduced to my friend’s then-current master teacher and my future one. Once I got to know my master teacher better, we discovered that I had met her husband from her first, only and current marriage — an August-September romance — through a previous short-term radio gig at the same college.
Small world.
This master teacher criticizes, scrutinizes, prosyltizes. She isn’t worried about my ability to talk. She’s worried about my ability to teach, though she’s worried less and less.
I’ve gotten better, and still I have a long way to go.
April 14, 2008 at 12:38 pm
>>This master teacher criticizes, scrutinizes, prosyltizes.<<
Made me laugh, sounds like me. Of course, I don’t take student teachers.
April 14, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Why “of course”?
April 15, 2008 at 2:41 pm
…so I’m not passing on “my way” of doing things and irritating a student teacher. Actually, our department used to take student teachers, and we have one lined up for a year from now, but we found that many did not live up to our expectations (my whole department is like me, only moreso) and the student teachers wanted to it their way. They did not want to come everyday, prepared to work all day, doing all the necessary tasks. I was told, when I did my student teaching, that I would do whatever the master teacher wanted me to do, everyday, and I would not complain. I complied. Typical of us boomers.
April 15, 2008 at 3:01 pm
My master teacher expects me to do everything her way. I comply.
(Mostly.)