Moving From Student Teacher to Teacher

Over the last two days I have been thinking about this blog. As an English teacher, I love to write. The process can be a type of therapy so to speak. Last year I entitled the blog, Becoming a Teacher of Excellence. The title of the blog gave me focus, desire and drive to maintain excellence throughout my first year as a teacher.

As I plan for the next upcoming year, I still feel like a new teacher--stumbling at times--feeling inadequate at times. However, I know that I am a teacher, not just a student teacher. Toward the end of this past school year, I was sharing a lesson from my blog. One of my more talkative students, after reading the name of my blog, shouted, "But, Mrs. Farmer, you already are an excellent teacher." I appreciated his comment at the time, and now I know it is time for a change. I am a teacher and a good one.

Furthermore, often it is good to read and research the excellent teaching strategies of other educators. Personally, I love to research and I love to dream. The problem lies when the researching and dreaming becomes bigger than the doing. There comes a point when we, as teachers seeking excellence, must believe and be confident in our abilities, without running to other educators for approval. We must take control of our own teaching and find our own way knowing and believing that we are doing the right thing for our classroom and our students.

So, this is a turning point, my plan is to just do more and research less, realizing that my strategies work. I am a teacher now.

Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.

Norman Vincent Peale

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