I admit, when I considered what it would take to be a TA, I underestimated what it would require of me. I thought to myself, how many total hours have you spent in a classroom? how many teachers and professors had left lasting impressions? I even went as far as to say 'your grandma was a teacher! It is in your blood Felicity!'. Christ - I finished out my undergrad by developing and facilitating a two-hour training. No pep talk would suffice. It wasn't until I stepped into the classroom for the first time, not as a student or even a presenter, but as an instructor that I fully comprehended my level of preparedness - or lack thereof.
To me, to be a teacher is to be an octopus. No seriously. You must be able to do at least eight things at once all while doing what an instructor is meant to do - teach. In retrospect, I can only laugh at myself. To think all a teacher does is... teach? Seriously Felicity? Girl, you were wrong! I learned quickly that in order to be Ms. Felicity Tutu, the TA, I needed to be Ms. Wit' the S%#!.
Who is Ms. Wit' the S%#! you might ask? She is me expect me with my take on what Dannels referred to as "with-itness" in 8 Questions Teachers Ask. To become Ms. Wit' the S%#!, I had to step away from what I believed being a teacher meant - teaching students important S%#! and remember what teaching really was from my experience in the classroom as a student. Throughout my entire academic career, I had many Mr. and Ms. Wit the S%#!'s. They taught meaningful content while pulling what I now recognize to be the ultimate balancing act.
To be Ms. Wit the S%#!, I realized I needed to not just teach but be able to do so all while managing the classroom, promoting student engagement, utilizing relevant examples based on my personal experience (and pop culture), facilitating thought-provoking discussions, posing challenges (for the overachiever and the student just trying to keep up), establishing purpose in why students should want to learn the information, and displaying positive immediacy behaviors.
This week was a proud week for Ms. Wit the S%#!, I must say. On Monday, I had some side conversations coming from the back of the room from two students throughout a majority of the class. At first, I felt defeated. I even heard "this is stupid (yikes!)". After getting them semi-stimulated with a 'stupid' group activity, I prompted a student-led discussion. Too bad students weren't leading and my friends in the back were still talking. Then it came to me, "do you all have something you guys would like to add?". That's all it took. The talking stopped and Ms. Wit' the Shit was victorious. The student discussion moved, slowly, but movement is a sign of life... right?
Then on Wednesday, a student who has not been present since the first day of class appeared - yes, appeared. It felt like I had seen a ghost. Worse, I was totally unprepared to inform him of everything he had missed including MY CLASSROOM POLICY AND GUIDELINES. But I prevailed! As groups of students began to present the information they found while during a jigsaw activity to the class, I immediately briefed him up on what was going on and encourage him to take notes. After 2 group presentations, I spotted him. There he was, on his phone (as if 5 weeks out of class was not enough leisure time). Without hesitation, I grabbed my grade book and relocated to the back row, right behind him. Within seconds the phone slid down and the pencil began to move.
It was the first time in 5 weeks, I left my classrooms like "you did that s%#!".
