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 Teaching Fears 
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Just for the heck of it, I am interested in learning what some of your biggest fears are of that first year teaching. I know for me, dealing with discipline problems is my biggest concern. I have done several internships at different schools and have found this to be the most complicated area of teaching and classroom management.

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Dusty Price


Mon May 31, 2004 9:04 pm
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I also find classroom management to be the biggest thing that I fear. I have also completed my internships and had a hard time getting the kids to take me seriously. I was in middle school so they thought of me as around their age. They respected me but they would still get out of hand. It was hard for me too because I can handle a little bit of organized confusion. I would freak my cooperating teacher out because I would let them talk while they were doing their work. I am also scared of having children in my class that I can not reach. I am a special education major so I know I am going to have kids in my class that I have no idea what to do with. I guess it will just be a learning experience every day until you feel comfortable enough in your own skin.

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Courtney Hovis


Mon May 31, 2004 9:12 pm
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One of my biggest fears is not being able to communicate with my students. I took three years of Spanish in high school and I still cannot speak the language at all. I know that it would help tremendously and I want to and plan on learning it. The thought of having that much of a communication barrier between us and being able to do nothing about it scares me.

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Jenny Smith


Mon May 31, 2004 9:29 pm
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The thing that I am most worried about is trusting myself to make the right decisions. I feel prepared to handle most situations that I should encounter with my kids, but at times it is going to be overwhelming. I am going to try to trust my instincts and not lay in bed at night wondering if I made the right decision. :wink:

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Kristi Romito


Mon May 31, 2004 9:54 pm
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My biggest fear is not being able to control my students. I have worked with Elementary schools kids in an afterschool program and they mostly thought of me as their friend instead of as someone they needed to listen to for instruction and discipline (these were the older kids 4-5th). I am afraid that this will happen when I start teaching, they will see me as a friend instead of as an authority figure. Another fear I have is that no matter how good of a teacher I might be I could "leave behind" some of my kids and that is just upsetting.

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Allison Pendleton


Tue Jun 01, 2004 7:13 am
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My biggest fear is how the students will react to me. I want my students to learn first of all, but I also want them to like me. I know that I am going to make some decisions that are unpopular as all teachers should, but I still want my students to enjoy me as a teacher.

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Aaron Simmons


Tue Jun 01, 2004 9:49 am
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ALthough no class can replace the real life experience that you get form dealing with classroom management situations, A class that I would strongly recommend to anyone who has concerns about classroom management is CI 3547. It is a 1 hr course that will benefit future teachers a great deal.

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Jeff Tutterow


Tue Jun 01, 2004 10:34 am
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One of my biggest fears with my first year of teaching is having some overprotective parents. I know that I will always run into them, but I just hope the arguments aren't too irrational. My mother is a Director at a Pre School and Day School and I have seen her go through some ridiculous stuff. Parents who think their children are never wrong or parents who stretch the truth. It blows my mind that an adult would believe a Pre scooler or Kindergartener over their child's teacher. It raises the question, do these parents trust us? Do they think that we are there for the right reasons?

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Erin A. Eldridge


Tue Jun 01, 2004 10:55 am
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My biggest fear of teaching is that I will turn some child off to music or maybe even learning and that I will irreversibly screw up some child.....

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Kari King


Tue Jun 01, 2004 12:39 pm
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My biggest fear, honestly, is getting in there and forgetting HOW to teach my students something in particular. I've been through all the classes about how to teach this and how to teach that, but learning and listening to it, is different from implementing it. We learned so many different ways of teach math to students that I'm nervous that I'll forget HOW to teach math to certain students. Plus, I've only taught in 4th grade and 1st grade and I'm student teaching in kindergarten..which I can't wait for..but that is a completely different ball game. What if I can't teach my kids how to read..or their numbers? Kindergarten is so important..what if I mess up? What if I suck as a teacher? There goes 4 years of school down the drain. However, I'm hoping student teaching will calm my fears and I'll be ready to join the real world in December!

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Catherine Crews


Tue Jun 01, 2004 8:59 pm
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my biggest fear is on what to teach. What book should i use what images should i introduce the kids to How long should I plan a lesson my problem is that i want them to know every thing but have it meaningful to which of course we all know is impossible I feel like I don't know enough myself what if I don't know something that is crucial for them to know?

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Beth Abernathy


Tue Jun 01, 2004 10:48 pm
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Looking at the overall fears we all have, I believe that ASU is missing the opportunity to have us in a more methods designed classes. I believe that we should have more time in an actual classroom setting prior to student teaching. We should have more classes dealing with lesson plan preparation, classroom management, and discipline. I realize that we have touched on all of these subjects in several of our classes so far, however, we still need a stronger background prior to student teaching. I really hope that everyone will find teaching to be more rewarding than you ever dreamed.

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Steve Mills


Tue Jun 08, 2004 6:50 am
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While I do agree that more classes on teaching methods and classroom management are helpful, I also think that nothing takes the place of in-classroom time. You will not be able to get over your fears of teaching until you are out there immersed in the setting.

Having taught for three years before coming back to school has provided me with a unique prospective of the classes I am now taking. I am able to link the information provided in class with my own real-life experiences; sometimes I agree and sometimes I do not. I think that there should be more time spent in classrooms during the beginning of our education. Elementary education may be different, but I know that secondary ed. majors spend relatively little time in the classroom making real-life connections with theory taught in class.

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Derek Nagel


Tue Jun 08, 2004 1:32 pm
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One of my biggest fears about beginning to teach is trying to figure out my true teaching beliefs. In the program I am in (Child Development B-K), we are presented with the approach used at Lucy Brock....the Reggio Emilia approach. Everything we are taught is based on this, and there are many parts of it that I do not agree with. I feel as though we are not really exposed to real life situations, and not provided with enough real-life instruction as to how to manage classrooms.

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Emily Grogan


Tue Jun 08, 2004 8:44 pm
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For me it is being respected, which I guess would also go along with how I discipline. A big fear is that I won't find a teaching job in Watauga county for art, there are so few positions. I want to teach highschool and that is why I fear being respected when I look so young. I am nervous about not knowing enough, but I don't think my knowledge wille ver fulfill my want for continual higher knowledge. I am nervous about having all my lessons ready or as many done ahead of time for ample planning. There are so many, they will all come to me later of course. :roll:

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Brooke Spada


Tue Jun 08, 2004 9:35 pm
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I agree with Brooke. It's hard to think of yourself as the respected role model and Mr. or Ms. Educator when half of the class looks older than you (or in my case, bigger than you.) I joke with people and tell them that I've chosen to teach middle school because at 24 years old, there's a slim chance that I may be taller than one of my students. With the faster rate at which kids are developing these days, I'm finding myself looking for another joke. But I have to admit, I'm learning to trust my own instincts and the fears are slowly going away. Think about it, we've been in school for SO many years, and we've witnessed our own teachers and administrators handle the situations that we fear, in a manner that we either agree with or disagree, and we're building our own repertoire of ways to deal with those fears. Also, it is really difficult for certain situations to arise when the students are truly engaged in learning. Trust yourself- you probably know much more than you realize!

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Jack Malone


Wed Jun 09, 2004 10:35 pm
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I am definatly concerned with classroom management. I am scared that I will not be assertive enough with my students. I am going to be an elementary teacher and I am also worried about creativity. I want my kids to be excited everyday but that means having something exciting for them to do. What if I can't think of creative ideas for learning?

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Staci Lambert


Sat Jun 12, 2004 12:40 pm
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My fear is that, as an art teacher, I will prepare tons of great activities and then the students will have no desire to learn or will be taking the class as an easy A. So I guess that translates into a fear of respect for the subject I will be teaching. I think I also have problems with dealing with people who are upset at me for something that I had no control over. But until I get there I am not sure what other fears or problems I might run into.

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Elyse Boehme


Tue Jun 15, 2004 9:48 pm
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