I never thought about teaching being a team environment; however, this program has completely changed my mind in that belief. Standard 8 speaks on contributing back to the profession by supporting, mentoring and encouraging others who are joining the profession. It talks about how educators contribute their wealth of knowledge and experience to other colleagues and new teachers.
As a major example of this, being in practicum I witnessed my CT display the greatest version of standard 8. Not only was she so welcoming in her classroom, she gave me a safe space to be able to take risks and try new things. She gave me amazing feedback and suggestions, and I felt that she’s pushed me to be a more confident and competent teacher already. I can’t thank her enough for how generous she was with her time, and commitment to guiding me through my first practicum.
Not only my CT, but the entire staff at Nukko Lake made me feel SO welcome and by the second week I started to feel like I was a part of the Nukko Lake family. It hardly felt like I was just a practicum student visiting, it felt like I was a part of something bigger, and that was an amazing feeling. Many other teachers have said negative things about the profession, and warned me against committing myself to a life of teaching; however, at Nukko Lake, I saw all the things that made me want to be a teacher and be a part of an environment like this. I hardly heard one negative thing about teaching, and I could see the commitment and care that these educators had for their students. Nukko Lake is a small school, so they are very close with all the kids. All the other teachers were so informative, and willing to give me all the help, resources and guidance that I needed while navigating my teaching degree.
Standard 8 is so important for a variety of reasons, but mostly because it is so incredibly helpful for new teachers like myself to feel welcome and guided into this profession by those who have the experience and knowledge to guide them. My hope for all new teachers is that they receive even half the welcome that I did at Nukko!