The past few weeks I’ve been thinking about dropping this field course. The reason is because I don’t feel comfortable being in charge or instructing students. My current major is Early Education and I’ve also been wanting to declare myself as undecided for awhile. My problem is that I feel like I would be disappointing a lot of people (family, students, and mentor) because everyone keeps telling me how proud they are and how I’m doing so well. If I drop this field placement I would be failing myself and everyone else because picking another major would take forever. I really don’t know what to tell everyone, about why I’ve decided to change majors or become undecided. I don’t want to seem like a quitter but I feel really uncomfortable in this field.
Is not the point of FP to become more comfortable in being in charge of students?
Have you been doing it for a while in this class?
Is it a whole class that you are in charge of?
DO you mind working with smaller classes or 1 on 1?
I would talk to your adviser and talk about what issues you are having and see what thoughts they have.
Also talk to your coopeerating teacher on what they think.
Talk to other teachers about how they felt at first.
Would you prefer older kids?
Why did you think you would like EE? Is there other majors that would acheive some of that?
Well, last week was my first time teaching the students, and I know that I shouldn’t give up after only the first try. But the entire time I just felt so awkward and uncomfortable. I can’t see myself doing this a few more times this semester (especially not for the rest of my life ). I don’t think it’s the students fault because of their age, but it’s mostly just me. It’s my fault because I don’t have the confidence to present information to a large group or a small group of kids. I was never good at presentations so I shouldn’t have even chose this major. The hard part is dropping the FP because it feels like I’m letting everyone down. It’s gonna be hard because people are going to ask me what am I gonna do now for my major , and I don’t have an answer yet.
Even if you end up changing your major it seems awfully impulsive to change your mind after just one try teaching students. Learning to be a teacher is a process. It will take years to become proficient and to feel comfortable in that role. Many things that you do in life for the first time feel awkward and uncomfortable, often for quite a long time.
Give this experience the attention it deserves and finish it out, even if you change your major. There is a lot ot learn from this experience.
Go to your campus career center and do some career exploration activities. This might give you some direction as far as potential majors.
You won’t let people down.
First, I want to thank both of you for the guidance. My family would probably advise me the same way by telling me to stick with it. It’s the right thing to do but I really suck at it. I can’t handle classroom management, explaining directions properly, and teaching. My mentor and teacher told me that managing the students was my weakest point. The entire time the students were either talking, complaining, or not really paying attention. It was so embarrassing I felt so awkward. I don’t even know if they learned anything.
Stay the course. Tell your teachers and fellow students about your difficulty and get their guidance and tips. Watch how someone else competently manages a classroom and then imitate him/her. Also, information likely to be useful is online (for instance, http://www.nea.org/tools/51721.htm, http://work.chron.com/confident-teacher-1707.html and http://www.creativeeducation.co.uk/blog/the-confident-teacher/). As the ‘Don’t Fake It ‘Til You Make It… Fake It Until You Become It’ section of one article, http://www.analomba.com/anas-blog/the-secret-to-being-a-more-confident-teacher/, points out, “if you hold your body in a stance that projects confidence (what she calls a power stance) for at least two minutes, you can actually influence your body chemistry — particularly your hormones associated with confidence and stress…acting as if you are powerful and calm, you actually tell your body to become more powerful and calm.”
It seems from all the internet articles that there are loads of initially unnerved student teachers who stick with it and become confident and competent teachers.
Presenting things to people with confidence is a life skill you cannot afford to be without, whatever the line of work you get into. It may be a blessing in disguise that you’re being brought into doing it now. If you make yourself do assertive presentation, that you find hard but is so necessary to a good life for ANYONE, you will be able to carry out that behavior in later situations in which there may be more at stake and even less of an escape route.
I know that following through on promises are important but I can’t see myself as a dictator. I know that not all teachers think of it that way but I get extremely nervous speaking in front of large groups alone. Picking this major was a mistake since I am an introvert. I want to change my major to interdisciplinary studies or biology. All of you want me to remain in the FP but it’s so difficult because I’m just a really shy person. I’ll do better by picking a major that fits my personality next semester. Thanks for listening to my drama. I rarely get to speak from the heart.
Everyone, I’ve decided to stick with the course for the rest of the semester. I might not remain in the education major but I’m going to endure. Thank you for all the helpful advice. I appreciate it because that’s what I needed to hear despite how I feel about teaching in the classroom.
I think that is a fantastic idea…by the end of the semester you will have a much better idea of what you think about teaching…and if nothing else it gets you used to public speaking which is handy in any field.