Are we ready?

by Amanda Gramcko

There are less than 3 weeks until the end of our ACB experience. For many of us, student teaching is just around the corner and in about a year and a half, some of us will have teaching positions at an elementary school. To think that we are almost done and that we will soon be ready to start our careers is unbelievable. This begs the question “Are we ready?”
It takes about four years to obtain a bachelors degree. I was under the impression upon entering college that this was enough time to become an “expert” in a particular area. I have worked very hard and have taken challenging courses that will prepare me well for teaching. However, I have come to realize that there is so much to learn in order to become a successful teacher. There is no way, in four years, that one can learn everything or even close to everything about how to teach effectively and/or the content we are to teach. Due to this fact, many student teachers are experiencing anxiety about whether or not they are ready. I argue that this anxiety is normal, but unnecessary.
I think we are. We are not going to know everything and we are going to make mistakes. However, we have had an excellent education that, in my opinion, has prepared us for the best and worse case scenarios in teaching. I’ve been told multiple times that The College of New Jersey prides itself on the qualified and innovative teachers it sends out into the work force. In addition, both qualified and unqualified people have been teaching throughout history. Our teachers did not know everything and they started somewhere too. Yet, as students, we often thought they were the smartest people in the world.
There is most definitely a lot that we have yet to learn about teaching strategies and content. However, we will learn a lot in these next three weeks and in student teaching. What is not known now will be learned throughout our years of teaching. As teachers, we should be developing and reflecting upon the success of our classrooms each year. I think we are lucky that we have chosen a career that will challenge us to be constantly improving. Year by year, we can, if we so choose, push ourselves to become better teachers.