Join us this year in a five-part series while we follow the journey of Courtney Smith at Clemson University as she trains to be a Teacher Leader.

By Courtney Smith

My colleagues and I have heard all year that once you get through Oral Exams, it’s all downhill.  We’ve been looking forward to a nice run down freshly packed white snow straight to graduation.  We celebrated and rested up over the Holidays and then the second semester started…

We got our guide sheets and immediately started calling and texting each other.  “Have you seen this?”  “I thought everyone said this semester was supposed to be so much easier!”  “Can we really do this?”  “Is it too late to quit?”  The reality of our new journey was finally starting to set in.  It was no longer just about learning the process and theory of being a Teacher Leader but it was time to start the work to put that reality into action by teaching hard-to-teach students, managing class discussions, and leading behind the glass at our embedded training classes.  The reality hit me hard and the doubt began to creep in — do I really know enough to be able to do this?  Am I a competent enough teacher to be able to train others?

What I have learned this first semester and as we have begun the second semester is that those two questions will always lie beneath my job as a Teacher Leader.  I am not supposed to know everything and there will be children and times when I am not the most competent teacher.  Reading Recovery is a community that stands together, supports one another, and works to improve its teaching craft and expertise together.

We had the opportunity to attend SERRA and LitCon in January and we saw this firsthand.  The number of teachers, Teacher Leaders, and educators passionate about the work they are doing in one place learning was inspiring.  Having the opportunity to hear firsthand in sessions from the authors of articles I’ve read and then watch them sit in another session to learn even more.

Only those who have gone through Teacher Leader training will know the bond that is created when you go through this journey with people who once were strangers.  When we started our year together in August, we all started out a little shy and nervous about who we would be meeting.  Throughout the year attending class together, studying, reading, and supporting one another, we have created our own community of friends.  Irby: our strong momma and ultimate cheerleader who does all of this while raising three young children with a smile on her face.  Debbie: our room mom who takes care of us and makes sure we always know what we are supposed to be doing.  April: our “Margaret” who challenges our thinking and doesn’t take anything we learn at face value.  Derek: our strong and silent favorite guy who keeps us all sane.  Anna: our calm leader whose steady presence and clear explanations help us all feel confident in what we are talking about.

Reading Recovery is a community of educators who share the same beliefs, passion, and desire to help the most struggling readers.  It is not and never will be a solo endeavor because we learn best and make the most impact by working together.  I am so grateful for this opportunity to become a part of this community, and learning about Reading Recovery and friendship.