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It really is so strange to watch myself teach.

I have definitely improved since viewing my student teaching video. I have more confidence, more control, more awareness of my students. I am much clearer about exactly what I say (word choice, directions, responses to questions). But in essence, I am still the same. And this is reassuring, because I am still me. I'm just up there teaching, pretending to be and feel much older and in control than I really am or feel. I don't think I can ever completely "perform" and not be me. And I never want to. That would suck all my enjoyment out of teaching.

As a quick side-note: To change things up a bit, and to start getting used to memorizing names, I changed each person's name in the group but kept the same initials. Torsheta=Tina Binomial, Aaron=Arnold Tangent, Meredith=Margarite Hyperbola, Reg=Roy Quadratic, Jess=Jasmine Wholenumber

Some Somewhat Surprising Observations:
1. I smile a heck of a lot. All the time. I didn't realize I smiled that much. I'm not sure if that is a good or a bad thing. I smile when I'm trying to be patient while I wait for a "student" to answer. I smile as soon as I start class and say, "Good morning!" I smile when "Arnold" or "Margarite" responds with a much more intelligent and thoughtful answer than a typical high-schooler ever would. I smile when "Tina" is looking down trying to avoid being called on (and then of course, I call on her).

2. I have a southern accent. I knew this, of course, but I didn't know it was that bad, or that it came out with certain words. I can't decide if it's endearing, or just plain annoying.

3. I use my hands and arms a lot. I actually was happy about seeing this because I thought when I used my hands/arms, it emphasized my point or was a visual aid to my lesson. It wasn't distracting. Yet, I gotta admit: every once in a while I can be Vanna-White-ish. Ugh.

4. I say, "Right?" a lot. Too much. And for this particular lesson, since it was supposed to be review from Algebra (and the 3 years of math before that...) I kept saying "It's pretty easy." Probably neither phrase is helpful nor particularly motivating.

5. My intonation often rises at the ends of my sentences. Again, is this annoying, or do I sound optimistic and cheerful?


Some Stuff I Already Knew (the video didn't lie):
1. I am very awkward with the overhead. I turn the thing on before I cover the transparency (exposing all the material and losing the possibility of students motivated by anticipation). I had a hard time focusing it, and should have enlarged it more on the board. It got in my way. Luckily, this is something that will become easy in a short time.

2. I need to be more patient, and give students time to answer, and also wait for volunteers before calling on students. Sometimes I get too excited, and I know what they are in the process of telling me, and finish writing their response before they finish telling it to me.

3. Going along with this too excited/nervous notion, I can at times talk too fast. Gotta slow it down, but still stay upbeat.

4. I need to stop talking to the board and the overhead. I need to master the write-side-ways-and-still-look-at-class movement. Easier said than done.

I have learned more this week about my teaching than I have during my entire student-teaching experience. Ms. Monroe's class taught me the basics and the theory, student teaching taught me ways to deal with REAL students and teachers (who do not share the same teaching philosophy), and teaching to peers has taught me that:
1) I need better time management. (Jess knows this better than anyone.)
2) It is impossible for evaluators to be completely objective, but constcutive critisism is always helpful.
3) I love Meredith, Jess, Torsheta, Aaron, and Reg. We have become a wonderful supporting group.
4) I love to teach, and I can actually do it. It's hard, it's time-consuming, it's frustrating, and classroom management will add a whole other level. I can't wait.