Reflections of a New Teacher: Overcoming Nerves While Having Hard Conversations


​“Okay guys, it’s time for independent reading. Phones away and books out, please!”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as I listened to the sounds of students rustling through their backpacks, digging through their belongings, locating their books. I quickly took attendance and sighed as I looked at George’s name. The moment I had been dreading all week, my first real confrontation with a student, had finally arrived. I glanced at my mentor teacher who immediately met my eyes and gave me a quick nod of reassurance. 

I slowly moved from behind the large podium—my zone of comfort in the classroom—and began approaching George. He looked around distractedly, uninterested in choosing a book to read and unaware of the unpleasant and uncomfortable conversation to follow. I heard the sound of my blood rushing in my ears and felt my heartbeat increase in speed and intensity. I grimaced slightly as I drew closer to George’s table and gave myself a final half-hearted reminder that I had to do this and that everything would be fine. 

As I approached, I regained my composure and silently placed my hand on the table to get his attention, worried about drawing stares from other students who were reading quietly. I felt myself momentarily step out of the version of me that was anxious and worried, the version that hates confrontation, and into my role as a teacher with clear and firm expectations. “Hey, George, could I see you outside for just a moment?” I whispered, motioning for him to join me in the hall. 

A series of looks instantly flashed across George’s face: first surprise, then confusion, and finally a look of worry. I felt my nerves urging me to escape the situation as I saw his apprehension and fear.

​I opened the classroom door and we slipped into the hallway. We stood awkwardly for a moment, in silence, waiting for students from another class to pass by, and I felt my confidence diminish. He looked at me expectantly, shifting his weight between each foot and repeatedly locking his hands together. 

As soon as we were alone, I launched into my speech about how we flagged his final letter, his major writing assignment for the unit, as completely plagiarized. He did not look surprised, only disappointed. He looked away and slunk his shoulders down low, making him appear smaller. 

I could immediately tell that he was guilty and knew he was caught. He slowly nodded, trying his best to avoid eye contact as he confessed to having used ChatGPT to write his letter and apologized for failing to turn in original work.

Though I was disappointed in his decision to plagiarize, I breathed a great sigh of relief and felt the tension in my shoulders loosen when I realized he was not going to fight me on my accusation. Our conversation remained calm as he continuously apologized and calmly discussed his mistake with me. I began to feel better and more confident (and competent) as we agreed on a makeup assignment. He sheepishly promised to redo the assignment, this time written on paper and completed in the classroom. 

My first negative confrontation with a student was over, and it had thankfully gone as well as I could have hoped for.

Comments

  1. DetrickMarch 12, 2023 at 9:48 PM

    Gabby,
    Thank you so much for sharing your writing with us in class this week. I thoroughly enjoyed the glimpse into your world of teaching and how you had to navigate the challenges that came when a student plagiarized their work. You craft your story with such intentionality and honesty. I deeply related to your story (especially the part about hating confrontation!) and with each exploded moment, I felt the visceral language pull me into your experience. It was powerful. You are a wonderful writer AND teacher. I am honored to be in the same profession with you.
    Thank you for the gift of your writing!

    Sincerely,
    Detrick

    ReplyDelete
  2. JakeMarch 19, 2023 at 6:05 PM

    Gabby,
    Thank you for being brave enough to share your thoughts with us and being talented enough to compile them so nicely into a narrative like this. It's cool getting to have a glimpse of what you're like in the classroom. Professors get to have all the fun seeing us in action. I only imagine you're a good teacher because you're so kind and knowledgeable outside of work. Your story here confirms your abilities as a teacher. And if any of it still makes you doubt yourself, just know that all of these nervous firsts (like this first confrontation) will someday be commonplace. You're just going to get better with experience from here. I appreciate your story.

    Thanks,
    Jake

    ReplyDelete
  3. Katie CramerMarch 21, 2023 at 1:44 PM

    From Brianna:
    Gabby,
    Your piece was vulnerable and showed something new teachers are extremely uncomfortable about. Negative confrontations with students can be extremely difficult, and I think you handled the situation very wisely. I love your attention to detail and how you gave the reader insight into what you were thinking at the moment. I also loved how you mentioned how the podium was your "zone of comfort" because I would have to agree as well with that. The standing desk can feel like protection and comfort sometimes! I really enjoyed reading your piece and how you handled the situation with such grace. Thank you for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sean OnealMarch 26, 2023 at 9:01 AM

    Gabby,

    Confronting a student about this kind of stuff is challenging. You piloted through this well! Maintaining the academic side of school, while keeping a good relationship with the students is sometimes a difficult juggling act. I think your strongest moment in this is allowing the student to do a make-up assignment. I feel like most teachers wouldn't be as generous, so it's excellent that you go above and beyond for your students.

    ReplyDelete

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