I must agree whole-heartedly. My own identity and authenticity are things I've struggled with until very recently. I was always told that I was "extra" or doing too much, and I've recently come to terms with the fact that I'm not "extra", I just have a clear sense of who I am and who I want to be. And some people can't handle that.
But the fact of the matter is that my sense of self-identity has enabled me to teach more thoroughly and helped me create a sense of confidence in myself that my students see directly. I've shown them my most authentic self (well, as authentic as appropriate) and in turn, my students have faith in my ability to teach them well. Sometimes this means I am vulnerable. Sometimes I feel so lost when it comes to material or when instructions are unclear, and I'm worried that this lost feeling will make my students lose trust in me, but I've decided to be sincere and direct with them - when I don't know what the hell is going on, I tell them that I'm unsure of the correct answer but that I will reach out to get them an answer. The students seem to really appreciate my transparency. While I worry that this will make me seem unprofessional, the appreciation from the students makes it worth it.
Perhaps the most rewarding thing is when I had a student come see me in my office to ask for advice because he could "tell that [I] genuinely cared about [my] students." I want them to know and understand that I do care about their success in the class and I will do my best to make sure they have opportunities to get help from me or whatever they might need that I have the ability to do for them. I am willing to listen, if they need it, or fight for extensions on their behalf if I think that they really need it. I want to be the TA that I would have wanted to have as an undergrad. I want to cultivate and combine all the things that made my past TAs great, and combine those traits with who I already am so that I can foster an engaged pedagogy. I can and will reach any zombie students and give my students the best learning environment possible. #SoCanYou
#TalesFromTheHall
Kassy, WOW! You go girl. There is something so powerful about owning your truth, and embracing it. I bet it is an incredible feeling to be yourself, and teach with confidence. I don't have any students yet- but I do have young athletes I coach at my job, so they are somewhat like students. My girls look up to me, and by owning my truth (that no, I wasn't the BEST gymnast, but I still have a lot of knowledge to share) and knowing that I am a really good coach, I can be confident. And that confidence is contagious to these young souls. I agree, that owning your self-identity enables me to teach / coach more thouroughly helped me to create confidence that my "students" aka gymnasts see directly.
ReplyDeleteIn my undergraduate career, I served as a peer mentor, and it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Thinking back on that experience, I can pin point a few memories where my students came to me because I was being my true self with them. It's such a powerful thing to be able to encourage and inspire young minds to love themseleves and live their lifes with the dignity and respect that they deserve. My heart is warm thinking of the memories of my students coming to me with their questions and concerns, and even personal problems because they trusted and looked up to me. What I wonderful feeling. I am so glad you are getting to experience it, and I can't wait to have some little nuggets of my own next semester.