Professor Sharon

The joy of observing a developing student teacher at work in a classroom was one of my tasks today.  There is no doubt I will miss the privilege and opportunity to support student teachers.  It is, at times, hard work.  There is always the threat that the placement and/or cooperating teacher is not a good match; that the student will have a life challenge such as no car and not show up, snow days and field trips, and all manner of items make for nerve wracking moments.

These students are placed out in the community, anywhere from 5 to 45 minutes away, so a crisis in the making can really do a number on my daily calender!  And, phone calls to my home to talk about challenging moments are also always a possibility.

It is hard work.  It is also amazingly rewarding.  To watch a student gain confidence in their abilities, to see them keep a class of very young children enthralled with a good book or an exciting learning activity, to be part of their forming their teaching style is really a remarkable event.

And, vicariously, I also get to enjoy the smiles, laughter and tears of an hour now and again in the classroom with young children growing and developing – a delight beyond words.

I shall miss this part of the job. I shall not miss the hard work part.  I will miss the being present to learnign part.  I hope, and I think a lot these days, about activities and projects I might do in this next phase of my life that will give me the opportunity to be present to the joy of other people learning.  Learning is a joyful thing.