During my time as a missionary in the Montana Billings Mission, I had the opportunity to hear from President M. Russell Ballard. He answered a question about how to handle insecurities as a missionary. His comment was that every single person has insecurities about what they're doing, including him as an apostle. If an apostle of the Lord, Jesus Christ has insecurities, I can only imagine how many we all have!
Teaching is hard and hard tasks can bring a lot of insecurities. I am nervous about being able to create goals for my students that will really challenge them while still giving them adequate amounts of success. I am insecure about being able to build proper relationships with other staff members. There is so much I am insecure about, but I am comforted in knowing that everyone is a little insecure! I took time to ask someone in each of our education majors about their personal insecurities and how they try to overcome them! Here's what they had to say:
"I have multiple insecurities. One of them is actually the fact that I do have insecurities, and for a while I felt like everyone around me in the major didn’t. This major is full of amazing people that are very confident and capable and I thought I didn’t fit in with that. However, I’ve come to realize that having insecurities is normal and even good in some ways. When I realize my weaknesses I’m able to work harder in my classes and pay closer attention to the things that help strengthen the areas I might fall short in. I’ve also realized I have the insecurities I do because I care so much about my future students that I worry I’m not going to be good enough for them. I’ve learned to view the fact that I care so much as one of my greatest strengths because students can tell when teachers care, and if I care so much I will continue working hard to become the best I can be."(Megan Jensen, Elementary Education, April '23)
"For me I was always worried about how to teach. I thought how am I going to come up with a plan? How do I know what to teach? I thought it would take me hours to do lesson plans each night before the next day. My insecurities were reassured when one of my teachers helped me to realize that I just started this program, and through the years I will gain the education that will aid me in teaching! I realized that I’m in school to learn to teach and I had nothing to worry about."(Stella Beeson, Early Childhood Education, April '23)
"Sometimes I wonder if I’ll be able to teach the material well enough so that my students can learn and progress and I hope to be patient enough with myself and them. When I start to worry about those things, I just remember that my top priority is to love them and show them that love. Christ is the ultimate teacher so as long as I’m striving to become like Him, I’ll be the teacher my students need!"(Ashlyn Thornton, Special Education, April '22)
"I have a lot of insecurities about being a teacher! I think the biggest of them all is worrying that I won’t be able to connect with the students and I won’t be able to teach them the way they need to! I have been working through these by making sure I am well equipped with the right information and multiple different ways of delivering information to fit the needs of each student. "
(Ashley Zundel, Physical Education, April '23)For me, I handle my insecurities through a lot of prayer and a lot of openness with myself and my professors. I am not perfect at it, but I try to face my insecurities head on so that I have the opportunity to grow in my weak areas instead of letting them hold me back. I am not at all saying that it is easy to face our insecurities because it is not. However, we as ambassadors want you to know that you are not alone!
Reach out to your peers for help because we are all placed here together in the same school to help one another grow. We also want to be part of your support circle! Schedule an appointment with us here! We hope to hear from you soon.
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