As I am sitting here 12 months into the education program, I find myself reflecting on my time in the program thus far and how I have changed as a person as a result. I remember one of the biggest messages that I heard before starting my teaching journey from both the professors of the program and the Block 5 students preparing for their 10 week practicums was that this program was going to change you completely- both in terms of who you are as a person and possibly in terms of what grade you think you want to teach. I believed these people and was excited to see if this would happen to me, but sitting here now a year later, I can’t believe how truly right they were; I barely recognize the person I was before starting this program. I used to be a person that suffered from Imposter Syndrome and I thought I wasn’t good enough to belong in a group or make it through the things I was trying to accomplish in life- even when I proved myself wrong by graduating with a psychology degree I was petrified that I would get into the education program and realize that I didn’t belong there. When I began the program and started going to classes, met some of the most amazing people I’d ever known, started observing in classes, planning lessons, and eventually teaching lessons in practicum, an overwhelming feeling of contentment washed over me. I gained a newfound confidence in myself and my abilities and I no longer had any doubt that teaching is what I am meant to do and I am exactly where I need to be.
Because of my newfound confidence, I was able to feel secure enough in my skills and abilities to expand and push myself out of my comfort zone. Before I even entered this program, I knew I wanted to be a primary teacher. I completed my first practicum in a Grade 2/3 and I loved it so much that the thought of moving down to Kindergarten or Grade 1 intimidated me more than moving up to Grade 4/5 so I made the decision to ask to be placed in a 4/5 before being placed in a K/1 classroom. Before beginning this program, I would have stayed where I was comfortable because that would have given me the greatest chance of success and the easiest route to pass my practicum. However, because of the experiences I had in the program leading up to this moment, and because I had no prior substitute experience, I knew the only way for me to learn and grow and find out what grades I liked to teach the best was if I was vulnerable, took risks, and stepped out of my comfort zone. I will always be grateful that I learned to take risks and to not be afraid of failure because this taught me that I enjoy teaching Grades 3, 4, and 5 more than I enjoy teaching Kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grade 2. I enjoy teaching these grades more because you can banter and make jokes with students of this age, they already have prior knowledge and access to the skills of reading and writing so you can get more into the academics and plan lessons that are more complex in nature, and these students still have so much respect for their teachers and worship the ground they walk on. I will forever be grateful for the education program because it gave me the confidence to step out of my comfort zone and realize this information about myself and I will never be the same as a result.
