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 Are you ready to be an educator? 
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Hi everyone.. I thought I would pose a question and I really hope everyone will answer at one point or another. I feel like a lot of our discussions are really great, but I'd like to create another one. Seeing as all of us are future educators I want to pose a question.

Do you think you're ready to be an educator?

I'm not sure how many of y'all are upperclassmen and how many aren't but I thought since we are all at different points in our education that it might be helpful for us to discuss our fears and helpful hints about being teachers.

I, personally, feel EXTREMELY scared about graduating. Maybe its just because I'm student teaching next semester, but I'm really worried about whether or not I'm really going to like teaching Elementary school music. What makes it even worse is that I feel like I have to hold it together for everyone else around me because I'm supposed to be growing up so I'm not supposed to be scared. It's hard to meet the demands of everyone around you, especially when you are going to have such an important job! What does everyone else think?

Meaghan Dunham
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Mon Feb 18, 2008 1:06 am
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I have to say that I feel the same way Meaghan. I will be Student Teaching this time next spring and the thought of me being in a classroom terrifies me. Not because I don't want to teach, but because of the same reasons you listed. I don't feel that I am in a position to be there yet...this is one of the reasons I am going to go to Grad School first and try to give myself some more time to grow up.

I am just now discovering myself and I know that it is premature to expect me to try and impart wisdom to high schoolers everyday when I am still coming to terms with myself and my life.


Mon Feb 18, 2008 8:37 am
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I can tell you that I was scared to death! I was scared to start student teaching, I was definitely scared to start teaching on my own, but you will get guidance from your school district, administration, and mentor. And, most likely, everyone will understand that as a first-year teacher or even second or third-year teacher you will still be learning. All I can say is that with experience comes confidence. You will get the hang of it!

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Erin Painter


Mon Feb 18, 2008 2:52 pm
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I will be student teaching in the fall along with you Meaghan and I can say that i still am scared about student teaching, and all that comes with it, but being in my last semester here and going through all the upper level ed. classes, i feel like i will be somewhat prepared my first day. I know what they say about no matter how much you learn in college, you dont know what its like until your first day, and i agree, i know i am going to be in for a shock, and its gonna be a different world. But as Erin said we will have plenty of help, and that will be a big help. But overall, i would never say im prepared to go into the classroom as much as i should be, but one thing is for sure i am excited about being a teacher, and all that comes with it.

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Preston Bridges


Mon Feb 18, 2008 7:09 pm
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I am not feeling nervous about teaching but I don't necessarily feel prepared to be a teacher either. I really feel as though I have learned a lot in the past year. I think my biggest fear is failing at helping my students to succeed. Even with this fear I do feel like when I graduate (2009) I will be prepared to teach.

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Keara Seiler


Mon Feb 18, 2008 7:51 pm
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I feel like I am prepared, but I know that when it comes down to it, when I am actually in the classroom, I won't be. I am nervous about graduating and being in the real world, but everyone is going through it. I feel like as being an educator, I have a huge responsibility to my students and it makes it even harder knowing how much they will be relying on me.

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Jenna Perry


Tue Feb 19, 2008 1:18 pm
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I feel the same. I'm really excited and anxious to begin teaching, but at the same time I feel like I'm not ready, and that I'm really going to mess something up or do something stupid.

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Megan Van Hoy


Tue Feb 19, 2008 5:21 pm
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I'm terrified to teach....almost to the point where I am questioning whether or not I actually will, or wont....

In my major, (B-K) we are basically told that EVERYTHING in the public school system is not developmentally appropriate....which makes the thought of doing student teaching a bit terrifying seeing as it affects whether or not we graduate, yet at the same time, we're supposed to make sure it's appropriate......even though nothing is according to my professors...

with all the internships we've gone through, I think I have had enough experience to know that I am terrified to teach, and next semester scares me a lot!

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Laura Serio


Tue Feb 19, 2008 10:12 pm
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I really appreciate Meaghan for starting this thread. This is something I am dealing with right now also so it was good to read that others were experiencing some of the same emotions and feelings I was. I am both scared and nervous. But at the same time I am also excited. To be absolutely honest, I feel like the moajority of my classes I am taking right in the RCOE (the last ones I will take before student teaching in the Fall) are making me want to teach less than more. I just feel like I am trapped doing busy work. All my teachers, and Dr. Turner included have all told me that regardless of how much we learn in class we wont be near enough prepared to teach and the most of the learning about teaching we will undergo will be when we are actually in the filed doing it. But, with all of this said I am excited to teach, to excite students to learn, to develop knowledge, and most of all to build meaningful relationships with students.

Andy Ellis, Secondary Ed...History


Tue Feb 19, 2008 10:20 pm
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Wow great question, I am also a senior and will be doing my student teaching next semester, it's not that I am scared, it is just that I don't feel prepared to teach all the classes I will be qualified to teach. In Business Education once i receive my teacher license I will be qualified to teach over 20 classes. Thats what scares me. I feel like I have learned a lot about computers since I came to college, but that isn't the only subject I could be teaching. I could be teaching business law, personal finance, accounting, small business, Computer applications 1 and 2 and so on.

I feel like for the first year I will be teaching myself before I teach my students. There is a lot to cover in all the curriculum's we are supposed to be able to teach. Honestly, I don't think I am ready for certain subject, accounting for example, I would definitely be teaching myself before I taught my students in that class. I guess that is just the frustrating part for me. Hopefully I wont have to teach accounting.

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Chaise L. Swisher


Wed Feb 20, 2008 9:33 am
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Chaise brings up a good point. I'm a Business Education major as well, and I know that I'm not ready to teach something like Bus. Law or Marketing! Accounting, maybe, and def. Computer Applications skills, but what about the other 15 plus subjects I'll be "qualified" to teach?

The good thing for us, though, Chaise, is that Accounting I at ASU will be Accounting I AND II in high school, at least according to Dr. Sox. =D

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Megan Van Hoy


Wed Feb 20, 2008 1:06 pm
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Well, I am a bit nervous like everyone else. Also, I feel extremely excited like many others of you. Obviously, the further on you are with something the more experience you gain. I usually think of life as being all about the relationship. We all have our own. Teaching is much like a commited relationship. When you first start out you are not sure of many things. Yet, you will still probably learn new things everyday if you pay attention enough. The passion in what we do as teachers is a serious commitment too. It is a ton of pressure sometimes. Like Erin was saying get involved in your relationships with your co-workers. The relationships maybe all over the map in quality but I am sure you will learn. Sometimes I do worry about having students who are way smarter than me not just because they may make me look bad. It is really nothing compared to the feeling that I have failed in not being the best educator I could be. I suppose it is a big piece of humble pie to munch on and I hope that students will see that we are people. Teachers should want to learn just as much as students.

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"A smile is a curve that sets everything straight."


Thu Feb 21, 2008 2:09 am
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Oh yea, I am freaked out!!
As Laura already said, in our major (B-K) We are not really taught "how to teach" but rather how "not to teach." We have been shown how everything done in elementary education is COMPLETLEY inappropriate and how children are not given the chance to succeed.
Basically through this major I have decided that I do not ever want to teach unless it is absolutely necessary...Like a last resort. Not only do I not want to teach, but I don't think I will ever send my child to a public kindergarten...
If it came down to it, and I had to teach I feel like I would be going in to it completely blind...As I said, I know what not to do but I have no idea "What to do"

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Jayme Fox


Thu Feb 21, 2008 11:44 am
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I am feeling very nervous and scared about graduating as well. I feel like I'm prepared and have gained much knowledge to help me though. I have also doubted if I am even in the right profession, but I think thats okay and everyone does that. The hardest thing for me to accept is that I am an actual adult now and it is time for me to be completely on my own and have a real job.

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Mallory Beck


Thu Feb 21, 2008 1:12 pm
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I definitely believe that all of the seniors are experiencing a lot of the same things. I am a senior Physical Education major and we get a ton of hands on experience. I feel that I am in the right profession but I still have times in which i get a little nervous in front of a class. I think that just comes with the profession in which we have all chosen to do.

-nick reece


Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:44 pm
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I also will begin student teaching next fall. I am scared to for that as well as having my own classroom. I do not feel that I am prepared. As a special educator I could be teaching in elementary, middle, or high school. I feel overwhelmed by that alone. I am expected to be familiar with content for all grades K-12 and I cannot imagine being fully prepared to teach just any grade or subject.

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Allyson Chambers


Fri Feb 22, 2008 3:25 pm
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This is a scary topic. I can honestly say that I am not ready to be an educator just yet. It scares me to think about it. I think about all the classes that I didnt take seriously and wish how I could re do them but its to late. So I try to absorb as much as I can and hope that I learn from my mistakes. No I do not feel like that I am ready to educate students, but really the question is who is really ready to educate? I mean I am sure that teachers that have been teaching for years are still learning new tricks or methods of teaching. So its ok if we feel like we arent prepared because we will be constantly learning.

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Jo Beth Pruitt


Sat Feb 23, 2008 2:36 pm
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I know it scared me at the beginning of the semester, but less and less every day it scares me. They wouldn't send us out there if they didn't think that we were ready, and there's the additional safety net of the cooperating teacher. The one thing that some of my teachers have told me that has made me feel better is that there is no way that we're gonna come right out of college and be amazing successful teachers right off the bat. We're going to make mistakes and we're going to have bad days, but that teaching is just as much about learning as any class we're ever going to take. We just have to realize that it's going to take time for us to learn from the mistakes we are going to make, but we just have to keep going to do whatever we can to not let it get us down, cause we'll get better, and we'll all be just fine.


Sat Feb 23, 2008 10:34 pm
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I must admit that sometimes it seems overwhelming to get to that teacher status, but I also know that working so hard make the position more worthwhile. Remember that the degree and training is just to certify you as a professional educator, while in truth we have been learning, teaching, and changing our whole lives. most teachers tell me that getting to the classroom and surviving the first three years is the hardest. When you become comfortable and secure in your abilities, then you will know if you have made the right choice. I must admit that when I hear the phrase, "Those who can't - Teach" it pisses me off. Why has such an intense profession become so low on the social chart. Is it because money is not the priority? Or just because so many in the past have called themselves teachers, but have no ability at all?

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Robert W. Triplett


Tue Feb 26, 2008 11:48 am
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I think everyone should be scared. If you're not then you should be. But, its like learning to drive. When you first start you are scared to death, but after a few years of expereince everything becomes second nature. Teaching is something to look forward to. There is no way we could be ready at this moment. If we were, why would we need to be here?

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Hoy Colson
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Tue Feb 26, 2008 12:09 pm
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