I was watching a video of Joe Neilson from the NTPRS 2004 conference. He was doing a section on dramatizing a reading. There was so much energy and so many good ideas. Of course I wrote them down and considered them, but I got something else out of it too.
I realized that Joe has been doing this since the mid 90s. That means that at the time of the video he had been doing TPRS for almost 10 years! Of course he knows what he is doing and has several ideas. He has sweated it out for almost 10 years. At that moment I began to relax.
I know I keep coming back to this, but I just need to relax. I have to remember this on a day when I feel like my students aren’t acquiring as well because I am not that great. This whole teaching thing, not just TPRS, is a process. It takes time and I can’t have unrealistic expectations for myself. I just need to relax and enjoy the process, as difficult as it may be. I have to realize that the experience will come and I have already made great strides this year. Life is to short to worry about all this. I need to enjoy it as it comes and be grateful that I am still here to do it.
2 Comments
April 14, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Amen! I often get feelings of inadequecy w/ TPRS and I just need to relax. I have only been full time TPRSing for less then 2 years due to departmental constraints, but due to a new job I can do it full time now. B/c of this people often look to me as an expert just b/c I brought the concept to my new school, but I’m still a TPRS baby. We just need to keep the faith and keep reading Ben Slavic and Susie Gross online and watching more experienced teachers do their thing. Thanks for posting your thoughts.
April 14, 2009 at 6:06 pm
Thanks for the comment, Ted! That is so great that you can do TPRS full time now. It is amazing how a new job can change your outlook on teaching and life. Best of luck!