You don't know what you know, until...

...you have to teach it.  I have been reminded of this adage during these past two weeks of hosting an intern in my classroom, who, by the way, is just a smidgen away from being an awesome teacher.  (That smidgen is getting her own classroom and setting up her own routines and space, something that can only be experienced, not taught.)  I knew we had gone over a lot last week (see previous blog post), but it wasn't until she had to complete an assignment listing the responsibilities of a teacher beyond direct teach that I truly realized what she had seen during her short stay in my resource room.  She filled pages with notes on conducting assessments, maintaining the guided reading library, attending meetings of all kinds and at all levels, continuing professional development, after school duties and extracurricular activity sponsorship.  Any questions I had in my mind about why I sometimes felt scattered was answered in that one assignment.  The responsibilities of teachers these days is so much more than delivering lessons and guiding learning; that almost seems to be the tip of the iceberg, given the amount of behind-the-scenes work I and my colleagues are engaged in on a daily basis.  

I'm not sure why I am surprised, however.  During my MLS program, my cohort was asked to compile a similar list of librarian duties.  The responsibilities go far beyond collection maintenance and circulation.  And now that I've been made aware of all I do as a classroom teacher, I'm confident I'm up for the challenge in the library, as well.

Thanks to my wonderful intern for the reminder.  I hope she got just as much out of her time in my classroom as I did!

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