It is now the second month of school, and it feels as if I have accomplished more in one month than I had done the entire year last year. I have heard from most teachers that as time goes on, it gets easier to accomplish things quicker. I have started to establish a nice routine that my students have even caught on to. On Mondays and Wednesdays I am at Dixon Elementary in either the band or orchestra class, and on Tuesdays and Fridays I am with the German 3/4 class.
When I am with the German class, I get to take the German 4 portion of the class (the advanced students) into the hallway and lead a discussion every class, so that all of us can practice speaking German in front of others. It has been going well, the students are very comfortable speaking with me, and our conversations come naturally. All of the students are easy going, and take criticism well.
As time goes on, I have noticed that all of my students are getting much more comfortable with me, and are sharing more. This can be tied in with the mere exposure effect in psychology. This, in simple terms, means that as something or someone becomes more familiar, people like that person or thing more. As time has gone on, my students are beginning to treat me like a true teacher. I am finally settling in!
