So today was my first class ever teaching high schoolers. There are a few things that I need to work on, but overall, things went fairly well. To start, let's begin with the good things that occured during the class:
1. I was able to get everybody involved, having people contributing to the class.
2. Everybody seemed to feel fairly comfortable in the classroom, aside from one or two students.
3. The timing went well. Ended right on time and got all the administration stuff in without having to cut anything out.
4. The majority of the time, the students behaved without having me to say anything. They're high school students, so I didn't expect too much of a problem from them anyways.
Now, I'll review some of the things that I need to work on.
1. I need to listen more carefully to what my students are saying.
2. I need to keep my mouth shut a little more and let the students talk.
3. I shouldn't single out the girls and the quiet people in our class. I tended to talk more towards a group of students in terms of topics and eye contact, rather than the class as a whole. I want the classroom to be a culture where everybody feels comfortable saying something and that they can all relate to what I'm and others are saying.
4. I need to focus more on how the texts in John relate to my students lives. I promised them that, but because this is only the first class and had to deal with a lot of adminstration stuff, I wasn't really able to achieve this. The next few classes I am hoping to change this.
5. I need to spend more time focusing on bible study and discussion. Once again, I must make note that because of all the administration stuff, I wasn't able to focus on the academic spiritual side of things. This should be the most important aspect of the class in my opinion.
6. I need to share the teaching job with Winston. I felt that I took over the class and talked for most of the time today. I have to remember that we are CO-TEACHERS, and that he is just as important as I am in the class as a teacher, if not more, especially with his experience.
7. I need to work on getting to know the students more on a personal level. Once each student and I begin to communicate in true dialogue because of this relationship, then proper learing can occur. I have to restrict my misusing of my authority and concentrate on recognizing my students.
