This is Jennifer Choi’s first year teaching. And subsequently, the stress is real as she balances lesson planning, mentee requirements, Advisory bonding, and high stakes testing pressure as part of the English department at our school.
And yet, she does it with such optimism, and somehow is able to take the train every day to school. Her first year parallels mine in many ways, in that her biggest mistake this year was being initially too nice to the students. In other words, she became their friend instead of their teacher. Though it’s okay to be nice and this teaching style works for certain personalities (Sam Choi), I have no doubt Jennifer can improve her confidence and assertiveness in the classroom, and get much better next year. Watch her practice her teaching stare below:
Her personality is warm and nice, and so it’s natural to want to adapt that to her teaching style. I’m sure with much more personality and firmness, she can improve her demeanor in the classroom simultaneously being assertive, and yet loving. I have no doubts she will be the teacher of the year next year.
In other news, I cooked my meal of the week, Stir Fry. Just like Jennifer Choi’s classroom management, my cooking should get better with time.
