A Sigh of Relief

I must admit, I was a little nervous going into today's teaching. Not because I didn't know our lesson plan, but because I was worried about being able to keep the attention of the students the whole time. In retrospect, I didn't need to be worried. I learned 2 valuable lessons today.
First, you don't need to have their attention the whole time. Students need to feel the freedom to choose what they want to do. This doesn't mean I shouldn't try to keep their attention, but that sometimes they will wander off, but will return to focus eventually.
Second, being prepared aids in keeping the students interested. Being well prepared allows you to have a good plan, but also the ability to vary from your plan according to student questions because you know you can get back on track where you left off. If you aren't prepared, and are relying far too much on lecture notes or a power point, it becomes much harder to vary your lesson plan as needed.
I am grateful for the opportunity that we had to prepare and to teach. It was a great experience and helped me to learn and grow.