Self-doubt" :A Reflective Classroom Teacher # 1

Too many first year teachers and far too many pre-certified teachers, struggle with self-doubt about the adequacy of their preparation. This self-doubt causes them to question not only their abilities to teach, but also their motivation for teaching and their philosophy of education itself. So often they have had to compare their skills against those of a master teacher while preparing themselves to take to the field.
Not only is this not a realistic comparison for them to make but can, if left unchecked, lead to failure in the classroom. Master teachers are forged in the fire of experience and not in the rhetoric of idealism. There are no perfect teachers, nor will there ever be one but many first year teacher are convinced that they must be perfect in order to be effective.
This post and those to follow, in some small way, hopes to remove our young teachers from harms way by reassuring them that perfection in our profession is not a realistic goal. Pre-certified teachers and first year teachers must understand that it is acceptable to reflect on their classroom performance and make necessary changes without feeling guilty. Individuals who become effective teacher do so over a period of time after much practice and continuous self-reflection. As teachers, we must learn to build on each experience and to understand it is difficult to find short cuts to hasten our journey to becoming an effective teacher.
The truth has always been that few individuals were master teachers right out of the gate. Effective teaching is an acquired skill. We do believe that there is an art of teaching that is innate but there is also a science that must be examined and applied. The less experienced teacher must have patience with their efforts and not rush to conclusion about their efforts. As teachers, we never finish the process of learning our trade. We must continue to reflect on our motives and our methods of doing things in our classrooms. If both are sound, there will be positive growth for both teacher and student alike.

Ron