The Reason for My Fears About Behavior...

I feel like the reason I'm so worried about how my discipline plan will be in my classroom is because I've already had a bad experience working at one of the schools in Temple being a "tutor." I was working with the pre-school students and I felt like no matter what I did to discipline them, nothing ever worked. They continued to do the same thing over and over again. One girl I worked with was very stern with them and they listened to her for the most part, but every day I left mentally exhausted because I was always trying to think of something else that would get to the students and make them stop. As a result, I don't feel like I'm prepared or knowledgeable enough to know how to manage my students in my OWN classroom effectively. I know classroom management is a very important thing because if you do not have control of your students within the first week of school and have a consistent routine every day, then they feel free to do whatever they want and they are in control and not you, the teacher. Does anyone share this same fear with me? Has anyone had a similar experience, and can share some advice with me?

Worst Fear About Being a New Teacher!!

I'm very excited about becoming a teacher, but I have some hidden fears. One of them is that I won't know how to teach the students the best way, and what if I don't teach the material in the right way. Also, I'm very worried about how I will effectively manage my students' in class behavior. I am a very structured person to begin with, and so I plan on having my room be very structured; however, when it comes to disciplining my students, I seem to let it slide too often. I'm still working on finding a healthy balance between how much structure do kids actually need. I'm very aware that the students do need routines and structure, but I always feel like its too much for them, and I'm not allowing them much freedom. I don't feel like I learned what I needed to learn in my management class, and so I'm a little worried how I will handle this situation in my own classroom. Does anyone have any similar fears, or have any suggestions to help ease my stress about this?

Who Am I?

Hi everyone! I am currently a student at a private university in Texas. I am studying to be an Elementary Teacher at the moment, but I will start working on my Master's in School Counseling as soon as I graduate. I am very excited!! It has taken me quite a while to get this far in my education because I started out at a local community college not knowing what I wanted to do in life. One day, as I was looking for a side part-time job, I came across the only job available that I was somewhat willing to take, a job at a "daycare." I haven't had good experience up to this time working with kids from 2 yrs- 6 yrs of age... I found them a bit annoying. However, I took the job because I desperately needed one, and I ended up LOVING it!! Kids are amazing, and I've learned so much about myself and them from working with them for the past 4 years as I've made my way through college. I see how eager they are to learn, and I want to be one of the privileged individuals who will experience the wonder of a child learning new things. An added result is that I will get the joy of knowing that I helped an individual learn about the world they live in and about themselves. What better thing is there than that?