SEMESTER REFLECTION

My first semester of teaching has been, in a nutshell, a lot of work. I have slept less on a regular basis than I have at any other point in life. I think the biggest challenge has been juggling so many things - lesson planning, grading, basketball, and weekend classes at the University of Mississippi. I never seem to be caught up. I think the most difficult part of this semester was being given a new prep and students midway through the semester. As a first year teacher, it is very difficult to stay on top of three preps. I am not as well-prepared with three preps as I was with just two.

One of the reasons that I decided to teach was because I understand education to be the biggest key to the improvement of the black community. I wanted to see for myself what is going on in schools. During this semester, my experiences have convinced me that the most important thing that needs to be changed in the school system is not teacher qualification, lesson planning, or the like, but rather the mentality of the students. I have noticed a culture of apathy and contentment with mediocracy or failure. Don't get me wrong. I have a few students who are hard workers and self-motivated. Unfortunately, I have many students who are lazy and act as if the world owes them something whether they work for it or not. I think that more attention needs to be paid to finding out how to raise a community of children who value education and are willing to put forth some effort. My take-home lesson for the semester has been that teachers can lesson plan, teach, tutor, and counsel until they're blue in the face, but if the pupil is not willing to learn, those efforts will not succeed. There is a lot of work to be done with our students on nonacademic issues like self-esteem and motivation which will greatly impact the students' ability to achieve academically.

Regarding the MTC classroom experiences this semester, the MTC classes have provided an opportunity to vent and discuss classroom issues that affect everyone. However, I must say, it's hard to drive to Oxford at 5 o'clock in the morning on class days.

Despite the challenges, I still enjoy teaching much more than my previous job. I enjoy the interaction with my peers and students on a daily basis. I am lucky in that I actually like my fellow teachers and am supported by my administrators, so that makes the job a lot easier.