"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
-Eleanor Roosevelt
As much as I try to live by that quote, I have often felt inferior without my consent. I consider myself a very strong and unashamed introvert. We live in a world of selfies and self-promotion where the loudest voice wins Presidential polls. I have never been the loudest voice. I am not exactly a "look at me" kind of person. Today was my first lesson student teaching in an undergraduate class. I was very nervous beforehand, but prepared exhaustively with my teaching partner. We were each to teach 45 minutes. This did not go as planned, as per my Professor's instructions, my partner completely took over the lesson. I was very thrown off and frustrated. I felt that I was doing well and was simply not given the opportunity to teach myself. The immediate intervention made me lose confidence for the rest of the lesson and really discouraged me. My feedback was that I was "trop timide" or too shy and I needed to take up more space and exude more confidence. Saying things like "just be confident" and "just be happy" though well intentioned often do not work for me. It's like telling someone who is left handed to "just be right handed". While self-confidence is something I struggle with constantly, I will not let today's experience shape my teaching career. I am not just a shy person who maybe shouldn't teach. I do not simply need to talk louder. I am not a push over and will not let negative perhaps misguided perceptions define me. I know that I can and will become a good teacher. I have my sights set on leadership roles in schools and even governments. While I acknowledge that I always have work to do, I will not let my "timide" nature be a detriment. It was hard for me to work with another person and I am thankful to have gotten through it. I do not think I need to change my personality to be a better teacher. To all the introverts out there and everyone being told "you can't" remember you can. T Swift is right and sometimes you just need to shake it off.
