Teacher Spotlight

Vital Statistics: Teacher:  Michelle Yee Terelle ’08 Location: Hudson Middle School Subject: 8th Grade Science Students:  100 Activities: Coaching (Football and Basketball Cheerleading) Favorite Activity:  Lunch, according to her students Contact Information: terrellm@hudson.edu

My first days as a teacher…..

There were so many emotions running through me on my first day of school. I was anxious, nervous, excited and a little scared! I was hired for an eighth grade position when I had only taught sixth and seventh during student teaching. I knew the kids were going to be physically bigger than me, and I was afraid that they wouldn’t respect me. The kids turned out to be wonderful, and I had the best first year experience. 

I will tell you that it is A  LOT of work. You could stay at school until 8:00 pm every night if you let yourself. I was, and am still lucky, to have coworkers and custodians who tell me to go home.  That being said, my first year was not the “terror” that college and books make it out to be. I heard all through college that “the first year is so tough, you will be so stressed,” etc. That was not the case at all for me …. even with planning a wedding and having ACL reconstruction surgery. I think it has a lot to do with the district where I work. Dr. Siegel always used to talk about the philosophy of a school, and how you need to find a school that you “fit” with. I can honestly say that I believe whole heartedly with our school’s philosophy. It cares just as much about the student’s social-emotional health as academic performance. We teach the whole child, not just our subjects.

My advice for student-teachers: Take as much control over the classroom as the cooperating teacher will let you. Observe as many teachers during your planning periods as possible. Every teacher is different and you will pick up good ideas from watching them. 

Be organized! Have a routine set for your students. It helps the kids to stay organized if they know what to expect procedure-wise when they come into your classroom. Don’t make promises you can’t keep. Students remember everything you say! Don’t let other people discourage you!  There will always be a negative coworker that will try to extinguish your fire. 

Be passionate about what you teach. Send positive e-mails or notes home to parents. It really does make all the difference!  Communicate with each and every one of your students every day.  Some kids might go the whole day with no one speaking to them. Let them know that you see them. Understand that your students are still figuring out who they are as people. Some days, they will make mistakes or annoy you in class. Make sure you give them a clean slate the next day.