I’ve been researching on how to do well on the group interview where I have to present a lesson plan and so far . . the trick is to smile and pretend you know what you’re doing.
So I’m going to let you in on the last time I presented something to a classroom: It started with me smiling like an idiot and winging it . .and ended with me throwing the outlines that I had prepared for the presentation off the roof of the building.
I did SO poorly. Granted, I had not practiced the speech at all and figured I could just wing it like I do everything else. I’m usually not that bad. But worse than that, I had this awful stage fright. I was shaking, nobody could hear me, and I just wanted to cry. By the end I didn’t even know what I was talking about, so I squeaked out an “I guess that’s all” and walked off. Shortly after my presentation, we had a break and that’s when I picked up my things and left. I didn’t even remember that I had made outlines that were supposed to be passed out before the speech. I was so mad at myself for even going up there in the first place! It wasn’t as if my teacher would have even noticed if I gave that speech at all. But I did, and I made an ass out of myself in front of the classroom. I wanted to cry the whole time I remained in the classroom because I was so upset and embarrassed.
My friend Luis decided to leave with me and we went up to the roof. By this time the sun was beginning to set. I had just noticed the stack of outlines and started to laugh at how ridiculous the speech had been. It was one of those “if I stop laughing, I’ll cry” moments. Luis suggested we make paper airplanes out of the outlines and throw them off the roof. And that’s what we did until the sun set and night had settled in.
How in the hell am I ever going to teach . . .?