And just like that… it’s over. I do not think that I have ever had such a bittersweet experience as I did during the last week of my 10-week (and final) practicum. There were extreme highs and devastating lows. I went through the process of giving up things that I felt I had originally needed from the program. I came to peace with myself as an educator. Above all else, I found my purpose and place within the profession, and am finally ready for my next steps.
Before heading into practicum, I thought of it as something to push through so that I could come out the other side as a full-fledged teacher. At that point, I didn’t know the students and how much we would connect, I didn’t know my Coaching Teacher and how much we would care for each other, and I didn’t know the other staff in the school and how much support and courage they would offer me on my journey. Little did I know, I became a teacher during my time at my practicum placement somewhere along the way. I went into practicum with a set of goals to achieve and skills to develop, not thinking about all of the other wonderful elements that would come along with my time there.
My goals before entering practicum were straight forward and skills-based. I wanted to get more familiar with summative assessment, develop a general idea of reporting grades to families, collect resources, better understand the curriculum, and create / implement well thought-out lessons. I think that my goals and thought about practicum prior to beginning were based in the fact that I was almost done and that it was now or never that I fill in the gaps of my learning, because I knew I would be applying for jobs the moment I could. I felt like I needed to power-learn everything I could about managing and taking care of a class on a day-to-day basis so that I would be qualified and capable of doing it on my own in a short couple of months.
That being said, the things that I learned during practicum that have made me feel most prepared are none of the above.
Sure, I learned and practice summative assessment to the point of confidence. And I collected a massive amount of resources and ideas, I even feel like I have the Grade 4 curriculum memorized from all angles. But these are not the developed skills that have made me feel like a competent educator.
The skills that I grew throughout these past 10-weeks are communication, community-building, caring for my students’ needs and acting in their best interests, scaffolding information to turn it into knowledge, and creating meaningful connections with those around me. I am so sad to be leaving that classroom (you should’ve seen the tears… not all from me), but I feel incredibly ready to move onto my next steps.
I am so grateful for the people I met and the soft skills that I learned throughout the course of this program as well as in practicum. I could write forever about the stories and events that occurred during this time, but ultimately I feel like this post is to sum up my learning in #OneWord, as I have done in previous posts.
My #OneWord as someone who is leaving the program and entering the field of education is: Accomplished.