Teacher Jitters

I have been scheduled to teach an art lesson in Owen’s class, and taught it today.  Before anything was firm, I was very excited at the prospect of teaching and confident that I would be successful and at ease during the lesson.  There were a few other parents that are going to teach this same lesson in their child’s class later in the month, and some were nervous as it wasn’t something they  had done before.  So, I invited them to be the volunteers for my lesson, hoping that would ease their anxiety.

The minute I did that, strange things began to happen to me.  I began to have  Teacher Dreams.  “Teacher Dreams”  are strange dreams that teachers usually get at the end of summer as they are preparing their classroom for the new year.  I have asked many teachers about this phenomenon, and they all get them, though they come in different forms.  Some dream they forgot to get dressed before going to school, some show up to a class who speaks only French.  I usually dream that I show up, and have done nothing in my classroom at all – I just showed up at the exact same time as the students did.  I also dream that when I show up for the first day of school, the kids have actually been there for six weeks and I just got the start-date wrong.

I became worried that I would do a terrible job teaching the lesson.  Even though my rational mind would correct those thoughts, they continued to sneak back in.

Last night I stayed up late reviewing the lesson (you know, in case I would forget what the primary colors are and how they mix to make orange and green and purple…)

Becca laughed at me when she saw that I had written her last name on my “notes” page…

Before the lesson, I was very sure I was going to throw up.

But, the minute I said, “Class”  I was free.  I was excited, enthusiastic, and loving every second of being with the kids.  The lesson turned out great, of course.

I am really hoping that my overactive brain will give me a break for the next lesson now that it knows my “teacher mode” kicks in readily, when needed.