Why I Decided To Come Back To School

There are a lot of reasons why I decided to come back to school to become a teacher, but one of the largest is that I have always enjoyed learning. I think there is something magical about watching the moment when the effort put towards understanding finally comes together and an idea just clicks for a student. I realize this is not all that teaching is, there are many times where you might not feel like what you’re doing isn’t really having an impact but seeing the moments of understanding do happen. Being back in the classroom today reminded of this and all the other reasons I decided to pursue my masters and I felt more sure than I have in a long time that this is the right path for me to be on. This isn’t to say that the day wasn’t without …show more content…
Ms. Maki had students grouped at tables instead of in individual desks, which I think would be my preference for classroom seating. Although I recognize the difficulties that this set up can bring to the classroom, I think the benefits of having students situated in a way that promotes collaboration and team work far outweigh the negatives. I immediately started to wonder if there was a rationale behind where the students were seated and, if so, what it was. Ms. Maki told me that she started the year off randomly assigning seats and then moved the students around and placed them more mindfully as she got to know them. She specifically mentioned taking into account not only personalities but also academic abilities and patience levels. Having an impatient higher-level student sit next to a struggling student would do no good for either of them as the more advanced student would be likely to forget about teaching their peer and simply do the work for them. This is not something that I had previously considered because in the perfect world of the college classroom, all higher-level students are interested in and motivated to help their peers but the reality is not always as