Sue
I often think back to my early years in the classroom 35 years ago. I can easily recall the trepidations I felt: my lack of ability to practically solve problems, getting into power struggles over inappropriate behavior displays, and, mostly, my lack of self-confidence that I would ever become an effective educator. It was when I was able to have experienced teachers model for me that I picked up on their methods of dealing with classroom challenges. It took a while - probably three years - before I gained the skills to be an effective educator by implementing the little nuances that master teachers innately provide to the learners they serve. It took that long because I was only able to gain the expertise in small increments. If I could have had all this in place before I was totally in charge of my own classroom, I would have saved myself those 2-3 years of agonizing over my career choice. It also seems that I did a disservice to the students who were subjected to my trial and error methods.
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