By Patricia Ortiz-Corona
Mr. Peden explains his Do Now for the day. Photo by: Patricia Ortiz-Corona
With the passing of the years, new experiences are lived. This is true for teachers who with the passing of the years,gain new experiences.
Students often aspire to be something bigger than themselves. These teachers were inspired by many things that led them to becoming teachers. Mr. Monty Peden was inspired by his “first grade teacher.” He later explains that he decided to be a teacher way back in first grade and never changed his mind all the way through school. The calling of becoming a teacher came to Mr. Peden as a young child. The teaching bug also visited Mrs. (Suzette) Read at a young age. “My favorite game as a child was to play school, and I would be the teacher,” explains Mrs. Read about her teaching inspiration.
When people first become a teacher, those new teachers may be a bit skeptical at first but teachers who have been there can help guide them. It is always good to have a helping hand when new teachers still do not know what to expect from students in the school. The greatest help that teachers can give new teachers is advice. Mr. Peden’s first advice was, “ an older teacher explained to me that I could be understanding, friendly, and helpful to students.” This is very good advice that every new teacher needs to know in order to achieve maximum teaching potential.
Throughout the years, many experiences have been lived by the teachers. Some of these experiences have influenced how these teachers. Past experiences help teachers to grow in their careers. Mr. Peden had a variety of past experiences. “I have been blessed with quite a bit of travel, because I teach a foreign language…a year in France in college…many other trips to Europe…five weeks in Cameroon, Africa…five weeks in Switzerland.” Traveling around the world , especially going to France, has definitely helped Mr. Peden with his foreign language course.
Of course every day new experiences are also lived. Through the new experiences that teachers live everyday, they can gain new knowledge. Mrs. Read states that, “I talk daily with the other teachers. We share ideas and offer suggestions on a daily basis. It is a great advantage to work with such professional teachers whose years of experience are priceless.”
Everyone in the world has a favorite part to that individual’s job. Teachers are not any different and all teachers have a favorite part of teaching. Mr. Peden’s favorite part about teaching is “creating new activities, cultural projects, classroom games, presentations, home videos—all the extra stuff that is not in the textbook.” Getting away from the routine of textbooks is always fun, and it helps the class be more interesting and fun. Having a favorite part to each individual’s job is what makes everyone look forward to that person’s job. Mrs. Read says that “the chance to study, learn, and share the topics that I am interested in the most,” is her favorite part of teaching.
People sometimes get overwhelmed by things that the person has to do. Teaching can be a high-stress job that overwhelms teachers at times. Mr. Peden has definitely felt overwhelmed. “There are times when a teacher is expected to do ten different things all at once, or be two places at the same time.” Students sometimes expect teachers to be helping them at all times, but students need to remember that teachers are only human.
Every job has a part that is satisfactory. Teaching can have many satisfactions like when a student who needs help in a certain area aces his/her test. That occurrence gives teachers the satisfaction of a job well done. “Interacting with young people. I love the enthusiasm and fun-loving nature of teenagers,” Mrs. Read says about her job satisfaction.
New teachers sometimes might ask experienced teachers advice. When asked what advice she would give new teachers, Mrs. Read said, “ Remember to stay focused on the most important thing: THE STUDENTS! State standards, political posturing, limited funds, and paper shuffling are only secondary issues!”
Mrs. Read explains her lesson on minerals to her 4th period class. Photo by: Patricia Ortiz-Corona