As this is my third semester in the College of education I have taken many education courses; my list of courses that I still need to take is much shorter than the list of courses that I have taken but I’ll list them for your enjoyment! I’ve taken: Social Foundations, Learning and Development, Childhood Literature, Teaching Writing, ESOL 1&2, Reading, Linking Literacy to Assessment, Integrating the Exceptional Child, Classroom Management, Math 1, Measurement for Teachers, Creative Experiences and of course, Level I internship. The class that most impacted me was Classroom Management and my first internship. My Classroom Management was linked up with my Level 1 Internship, which, was joined with a special education cohort. We were paired with a special education major to co-teach during our internship. By the end of the semester I was left with a deeper understanding of cooperative professional relationships as well as special education in general.
In the past I’ve babysat a two year old, a five year old and a seven year old. I’ve tutored my peers (10th and 11th grade) informally in high school and of course, I’ve interned. Overall, I feel as though the babysitting impacted me the most. I babysat the two year old and the seven year old when I was fifteen and it had a major impact on my decision to become a teacher.
As I look ahead into this semester’s internship I expect to be able to take on the majority of the teacher’s role and responsibility as soon as possible; my last internship teacher let me take over the day, plan lessons, and sit in on her after school tutoring. After that experience I hope to have the same responsibilities and learning opportunities. With that being said I am afraid that I wont have the same chances, like for instance, my supervising teacher will give me clerical tasks or not want me to follow him/her instead of letting me take on the teacher role Tuesdays and Thursdays. Also, I fear that my supervising teacher will either criticize me too much or too little; I don’t want to feel uncomfortable, as if I’m doing everything wrong, but also I want some constructive criticism to work with.
The best teacher’s I’ve had were my 2nd grade, and 4th grade, and my 7th grade science teacher; they all:
- Integrated the Arts
- Plan lessons that vary modalities
- Took on a constructivist way of teaching
- Gave extra help if needed
- Created a classroom community
- Used real world motivation
- Used understanding and intrinsic motivation instead of intimidation
All of these teachers created a very comfortable learning environment, in which I could create and learn in various ways. They found ways to motivate me to want to learn, not just get the work done. They are each memorable to me because each one of them is responsible for my general love of learning.
I’ll never forget Halloween, 7th grade, because of my science teacher. She dressed up as a witch (complete with cauldron and dry ice,) and performed science based magic tricks. This kept us settled, regardless of our sugar-highs and engaged. Throughout the year she would refer to these tricks as she taught her lessons; this gave us a fun shared experience where we could all draw background knowledge.
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ReplyDeleteI agree that our Level 1 Internship provided us with a deeper level of understanding of cooperative professional relationships as well as special education in general due to our collaboration with the ESE department. I’m glad that Dr. Parker made such an impact on you too! I’m sure that a majority of the Internship class could agree with us.
ReplyDeleteI like how you mentioned babysitting and elaborated on its positive effects. After reading your blog, I’ve come to realize that babysitting has had a huge impact on me as well, and it’s something that I really didn’t even take the time to think about when writing my own response. Like you, I’ve babysat various ages and think that they have all provided me with an insight on crucial components of a classroom such as effective management skills and the ability to relate to the children.
That’s fantastic that your 2nd and 4th grade teachers were so memorable! When I am ever asked to think back and name a memorable teacher, my mind usually goes automatically to high school. I think having such unforgettable teachers at a young age really highlights the message that one teacher can leave an impression on a students life forever. I think that’s a goal that we all would love to strive for.
I think that working in a Special Education classroom would be a great learning experience. You can not truely know what you want to teach until you have tried teaching everything. Also having diversity when it comes to a teacher is important and will help when you are looking for a job as a teacher. I believe that babysitting is a good way to see if you can handle being an elementary teacher. Because you learn about yourself when spending time with young children. When I was thinking about the teachers that impacted me the most I also put integrating the arts high on the list of good teaching qaulities. All my teachers incorporated exciting art lessons in the majority of their lessons. Relating to real life was another quality I looked for in a good teacher. This helped me actually learn and understand the concept or lesson. When teachers go up and beyond to teach and engage the students really seem to respond postively.
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