Post-spring break

Observations: I feel like I’m becoming a bigger part of the classroom life for the kids. Every time I show up now, I lead the morning meeting and help the kids with their numbers and days of the week. It feels really good to be involved with helping them learn.

Stories: This past Monday (I’m pretty sure) was school picture day! Hearing the photographer call the kids the names of different movie and TV show characters brought back memories of my own elementary school yearbook pictures, where the same thing would happen to me. 🙂

Reflections: I’m struggling to redeem myself after some very low grades in the 3rd quarter. I’m trying to find the discipline inside myself to work according to a schedule and finish strong in order to keep my (large) scholarships at PC. Incidentally, I was just at PC for Accepted Students’ Day, and I fell in love with the campus and the people and the atmosphere all over again. I really feel I’m meant to be there, and I’ll work as hard as I have to in order to ensure that.

FE week 3

Observations: There’s one student in my class who often whines or throws fits to get attention from Mrs. Hartline and Mrs. Martin, and they have to be very firm with him. I was expecting them to be sweeter, but I realized they had to be firm with him to prevent him from disrupting the class.

Learning Experiences: I’ve been doing assessments with the kids as the end of the quarter approaches, and it’s helped me to get to know them better.

Reflections: I’m really getting to know the kids better and enjoying working with them a lot more. This has also been teaching me patience, which is a life skill I’ve had problems with in the past.

Stories: I got a card from one of the girls in the class. 🙂 It wasn’t really a card, it was just a piece of pink paper with a picture of Tinkerbell glued onto it, but it made me feel really appreciated. 🙂

Field Experience Week 2

Learning Experiences: I felt like I contributed a lot more to the class this week. I got to read them a story and help them while they learned about the four food groups.

 

Reflections: The experiences with the kindergarten class have been really enjoyable. When I first learned I was assigned to a kindergarten class  I was disappointed, but now I’m having a great time getting to know the kids.

Stories: I was allowed to read “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” to the class on Friday. This was awesome because I really enjoy telling people stories, and especially because I remember the book from when my mother used to read it to me.

Poetry

Read Aloud: Rebecca’s reading of her original story was really moving. I really felt for the character and what she went through, but because of its extremely mature content, I would only recommend it for high schoolers, maybe in a psychology classroom. It could be used to examine the pain of depression.

Learning Experiences:  The exercise where we attempted to memorize all the counties of South Carolina was really frustrating for me, especially since I normally pride myself on my memory. It helped me learn the importance of good study habits.

Quote of the Week:”It is not what is poured into a student that counts but what is planted.” -Linda Conway This quote is important to me because I believe that simply “pouring” facts into the brain of a student is not the true task of an effective teacher, but a teacher must “plant” ideas into their students’ minds and stimulate their ability to think for themselves.

Observations: In one of my classes, I’ve noticed that most people tend to make extremely low grades on the tests and quizzes that are given. This teacher’s style is to simply throw facts at their students and leave it to them to come up with a way to truly learn the material. I wish I could do something to change this teacher’s style, but  they do not take “criticism” or “backtalk” well, and have broad definitions for these terms.

 

Reflection: Last week was a busy week for me! I sent my deposit to Presbyterian College, confirming my place as a student there. On Friday, I read 3 poems (all by Taylor Mali) at Open Mic Night, and really enjoyed it. However, I have been struggling with completing and turning in assignments again. It seems like every time I try to fix this habit, I start out well, but fall behind and get distracted easily. I really hope I am able to manage my habits before I leave for college.

Brave 7th Grade Viking Warrior

This is a poem by teacher/slam poet Taylor Mali. It really spoke to me about the joy and sorrow that can come into your life as a teacher.

It’s been a qu…

It’s been a quiet week so far.

Learning Experiences: I really enjoyed the lifeline projects this week. It was a great chance for everyone to get to know each other better.

Quote of the Week: “Like a builder builds, a sculptor sculpts, or a preacher preaches, a teacher teaches. I’m a teacher, it’s what I do.”-Taylor Mali. I like this quote because it drives home the fact that teaching is a true calling.

Observations: At the pep rally on Friday, I noticed that no one seemed really enthused, partially because the pep rally was only fun for those with sports aptitudes, and there were no performances. I wish the pep rallies were more like the winter and spring assemblies so we’d get to hear the music classes perform and see the dancers.

Reflection: These last few weeks have been somewhat hard for me. I’m going through a breakup, and my ex isn’t doing very well. Even though I know it had to happen, it hurts me to know that I caused pain to someone I care about.

Exam Week

I’m sorry for the (extreme) lateness of the blog. This was supposed to be the blog for last weekend, but I thought it would be more meaningful if I posted about this week, since by now, last week isn’t as clear in my head.

Learning Experiences:  The exam was a lot easier for me than I thought. I felt proud of myself for knowing the psychologists and for studying.

Quote of the Week: “It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.” — Albert Einstein  This quote is meaningful to me because, as I have recently learned, there is a stark difference between learning something from someone who takes joy in teaching it and learning from one who does not.

Observations: During the Christmas party, I realized yet again how much like a family our class is. Everyone seemed to know each other so well, and the explanations for the gift choices almost brought a tear to my eye. It made me remember why I enjoy being in Teacher Cadets so much.

Reflections: The events of this week have made me realize that I need to find a way to change my habits, even if I have been entrenched in some of those habits for a long time. I’m worried that my problems with turning in assignments on time may have already jeopardized my chances at a good college.

Pre-Thanksgiving Break Week

Sorry for the lateness of the blog. I’m going to try to be more punctual in the future.

Read-Aloud: Paige led a read-aloud/sing-along of the song “True Colors.” The song was really moving and it felt great to see all of us singing together. It made me realize how much of a family the TC class is. 🙂 I think it could be used with children suffering from low self esteem and/or children being bullied because they are different.

Observations: Lately, I’ve noticed when people are suffering from sleep deprivation and how it affects their personality since we talked about barriers to learning. They become irritable and sluggish. I hate noticing that in my friends and myself, and I’m going to attempt to get better sleep in the future than I have been getting.

Quote of the Week:”If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, the excitement, and the mystery of the world we live in.” –Rachel Carlson I picked this quote because we’ve been talking about keeping the child inside yourself alive. I’ve been blessed with many adults (like Mrs. J! 🙂 ) who haven’t lost their sense of wonder, and I hope I never lose mine.

Reflections: I’ve been struggling lately with an old nemesis of mine: turning in assignments on time. I’m learning more about myself, and I hope that I can finally beat the enemy of procrastination and giving in to temptation, even if it means that I have to give up (or have taken away) some of the things I enjoy. 

Disability Day

Read-aloud: Elizaeth read Stellaluna. I particularly enjoyed it because my mother used to read it to me as a child as well.
Learning experiences: I really enjoyed disability day. The only downside was, because of the fun atmosphere, I didn’t really get a chance to experience the discomfort that came with having the disability.
Quote of the Week:”Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them become what they are capable of becoming.” — Goethe I think this quotation is especially true for people with special needs. Being treated like a normal person, regardless of whether you have a major or a minor disability, can make all the difference in the world.
Observations: Disability day made me more aware of the disabled students at our school, and how much some of them struggle daily.

Bomb Threat Week

First of all, I realize the name of this blog might not be appropriate. I’m sorry, but I couldn’t think of anything else to call it.

Read-Aloud: I really enjoyed Mrs. J. reading “The North Star” to the class. It’s one of those rare books that could be used in any type of classroom. It could also be used in conjunction with the documentary we watched, because both describe a “race to nowhere.”

 

Learning Experiences: Having Mrs. Ellington come speak to us about Rolling Readers was a great experience. It really made me see what reading aloud can do for a child.

Quote of the Week:”You must train the children to their studies in a playful manner and without any air of constraint with the further object of discerning more readily the natural bent of their respective characters.” — Plato I like this quote because it shows what one of the great responsibilities of teaching is: to know your students and their personalities, so you can know better how to instruct them.

Observations: Monday seemed to show two sides of the same coin. As we proceeded to the middle school, I noticed that it was surprisingly orderly. People seemed calm and followed instructions really well. However, once we got into the middle school, I heard that there were fights, screams and even people throwing chairs. It almost seemed like a mob mentality after a while. It really shows you what fear can do.

Reflections: The bomb threat on Monday was a really eye-opening experience. You don’t really think something like that will happen at your school until it actually happens. I hope that the school will be better prepared in the future in order to prevent the “mob mentality” that occurred on Monday.