I was placed in grade 7 for my four-week practicum this time around. When I first opened the email, I must admit that I was quite nervous and doubtful. I will be blunt to say I did not think I was smart enough to teach grade 7, the math scared me, and I was so worried I was going to mess these kids up and just confuse them more then help them. I am so thrilled to report back that this was not the case, I overcame a lot of fears of teaching grade 7 and I love teaching grade 7 now! I had the coolest grade 7 students anyone could ask for, they were incredibly patient with me, they held me accountable, and they taught me so much about what it takes to be a good teacher. I could go on for days about how amazing these students were truly. I taught an entire math unit to the students and by the end I gave myself a pat on the back, I struggled a lot, I put a lot of time into figuring out how best to teach the students algebra, and the feedback I got from the students fortunately tells me I did a pretty good job of it. I spent hours on YouTube and searching the internet to figure out the simplest way to help students understand algebra, and sure enough the feedback the students gave me was that they had been scared of doing algebra, but I made it so easy to understand. That made me feel so proud of myself, and reassured me that the hours, and honestly a few tears later paid off because my students got it, they understood, ad so many did so well on the final test at the end of the unit. Math was one of my many successes I found with grade 7. I will always remember this practicum placement as the moment in time I truly fell in love with being a teacher. I always knew teaching was something I wanted to do, but I fell in love with it after this experience, and that feels so reassuring and just good to know I am doing something and working towards a career in something I really have a strong passion and love for. At the end of the day, I went from a person who thought 100 percent I would not teacher grade 7 and I just needed to struggle through this practicum… fast forward to a person who in a heartbeat would take on another grade 7 class. I have an amazing coaching teacher, school, and grade 7 students to thank for that! Shout out to Peden Hill Elementary School!
