My teaching career began in my sophomore year of high school when the ukulele teacher at my former middle school, the Sphinx Academy, asked if I would be interested in assisting his class once a week. From there, I continued to work with the Sphinx Academy, and later with the non-profit On the Move Art Studio and the local public elementary school William Wells Brown Elementary to teach a group of fifth-graders beginning ukulele skills. 

After my experiences in teaching as a community service during my sophomore and junior years, I knew that I wanted to make this a part of my school curriculum. I applied to have two free blocks in my schedule, giving me time to learn from other teachers and participate in the education process.

This year I learn, assist, or instruct five classes at the Sphinx Academy: Modern World, AP Government, Ukulele, Creative Writing, and Moral Psychology.

Taking and teaching online classes has taught me how to adapt, engage, and be more patient.

There is always something that can go wrong with online learning. However, you can always keep a lesson going if you adapt properly to your situation. I had one class where I could not use my microphone. By utilizing the chat, and receiving help from others who read the instructions aloud, we were able to get through the lesson together. 

I also learned that engagement is necessary for both students and teachers.

For teachers, it is hard to tell if their students are understanding content if they aren’t asking questions, answering questions, or commenting on the information being presented. It can also discourage faculty when they are met with stark silence and black boxes in response to their lesson.

As a student, if you aren’t engaged in a lesson, it is unlikely you will retain any information from your teacher, which will cause struggles when moving on from the lesson to homework, tests, and more. 

In order for both teachers and students to get through NTI learning, there has to be given and take on both sides. Teachers must give grace to students who struggle with remote learning, experience internet issues, or experience other internal and external difficulties during the pandemic. On the other side, teachers are learning as much as students are with online learning, so students have to give as much patience as possible to their teachers who are dealing with the same struggles.

Being a student teacher has given me a new respect for my own teachers and taught me to be a better student while allowing me to do something I enjoy, and I hope to utilize these experiences later in my life and continue my teaching career.