The eight weeks that we spent teaching the students were a lot of work, but I grew and learned so much in such a short amount of time. The first week was difficult because I was orienting myself as well as full of nerves, but as time went on, I found my footing and had a wonderful time teaching. Being able to be my authentic self in front of the students helped me so much with feeling good with teaching, and it motivated me to be enthusiastic and the best educator I could possibly be. The students were a huge part of that as well: once I was smiling and excited about being there with them, the fourth-grade students were excited and engaged as well. By the last in-class lesson and the last field trip with the fourth graders, I was buzzing with good energy and felt that I had control of teaching within myself and the curriculum we were teaching. Although I was still having doubts about my abilities, the students were providing feedback that they had a good time, and I felt that I had truly grown so much because of this program.
From writing lessons to designing the field trip booklet and our infographics, this program helped me utilize many of my talents in a way that was beneficial to many people around me. I was able to have fun and be myself while also helping educate fourth-grade students about something I absolutely love: birds. I've made an impact on my teammates, our students, and each teacher and coordinator we worked with, and I'm proud of how far I've come in terms of confidence and leadership throughout these two terms. Aves Compartidas built me life-long friendships with some of my wonderful teammates as well as provided me the confidence to believe in myself and my abilities so I can truly achieve something incredible.
I came into the Aves Compartidas program with some teaching experience but very little formal classroom experience, and I knew I had a lot to learn. With the nerves of the first lesson and the evaluations following it from my team and teachers, it was obvious that some things needed to change for our future lessons to run smoothly. All thoughts of Spanish had gone out the window, directions were unclear, I was stumbling over my words, and I felt completely stuck behind the desk at the front of the room. Besides that, I didn't feel good about my teaching performance during that first week, and that was really frustrating for me.
This feedback from my peers was vital in shaping my work in the coming weeks, and as I fell into the rhythm of teaching, I improved in the areas I was struggling with. I used more Spanish in the lessons by specifically making sections of each lesson fully in Spanish for myself (including in my notes). I slowed my words down, took more deep breaths, and embodied the confidence it took to feel better when teaching. I focused on my own confidence even more. These all worked together to create a better environment for both the students and I, and lessons ran much smoother as time went on.
The field trips were difficult for me for a variety of reasons. During our first trip, I sprained my ankle before the students even arrived, and that meant I was in pain for the entire field trip. Both Katie, our professor, and Lauren, our project manager, pointed out that I needed to prioritize my well-being, and that discomfort was affecting my teaching skills negatively. That first field trip was also overwhelming for me as I battled a broken ankle, had many students to look after, was teaching a new lesson, and we were walking a nature trail I wasn't very familiar with. All of these elements made me feel overwhelmed and frustrated, and I felt like I was back at square one.
It gave me a starting point for the other field trips, however, and the fifth-grade field trip ran much smoother than the one previous. Those students brought new challenges, but after recognizing the need to maintain my well-being as well as lead a good field trip, I felt much more confident in my ability to be a good guide for the students. The fourth-grade field trip, which was also our final session with the elementary school students, ran the smoothest of them all, and that's because I utilized the feedback I'd gotten and implemented new skills and ideas to be the best educator I could be.