by eric benzel

Peer observation can be a powerful thing. I had an experience this last week that gave me a little hope for student teaching this fall, and I thought I’d share it here.

My classmates and I have been observing summer school sessions in a couple different middle and high schools throughout the city. This particular morning, several of us had the chance to observe two different teachers teaching algebra review for students who had failed the regents.

The first teacher we observed was turned out to be a NY Teaching Fellow who was teaching for the first time in these summer classes. This was slightly ironic since 1) we are also in the first summer of our program and 2) she was much better than the second veteran teacher we saw. It must have been a little intimidating having some random students from another university observing your first teaching experience (even though we were there mostly to observe the school)!

I wanted to tell this story because it was clear, watching these two teachers, how much passion and preparation matter in teaching. The NY Fellow had a thought out lesson, seemed comfortable and prepared, was excited to be there that morning, and had an overabundance of energy. Her students left the class noticeably more confident and prepared. There were clear expectations and goals hung up in the room and the class knew what they were learning during the lesson. The second, vet teacher we watched seemed underprepared, was shaky on the math she was teaching, and obviously thought that lunch time couldn’t have come sooner. My guess is that this teacher would be phenomenal if she would have been dedicated to the class that morning. I left the school more inspired by the NY Fellow in her second week of teaching than the 5th year teacher.

This peer observation, seeing a first time teacher succeeding, helps me feel better about teaching this fall. Like Janessa so wonderfully shared last week, we all are going to fail at times this coming year. Seeing the fellow teach though helped me remember how important passion, dedication, and preparation are in effective teaching. I made sure to let the fellow know that we thought she did really well teaching, and I hope it was a chance for her to be affirmed in the middle of all her hard work. There is an energy and dedication in the first years of teaching that some teachers sadly seem to lose.

Lets keep reminding each other throughout the year when our hard work does pay off! We all need a little hope now and then:-) I think that is one strength of being in cohort type programs: we have the chance to watch and help each other grow.