What is your teaching experience so far?

My teaching experience so far has been positive, and fun. The children I have been working with are really enjoying the activities that me and my teaching partner have presented them. I have learned a lot about how to keep a class attentive and engaged during this experience. The Boys and Girls Club meets everyday Monday - Friday and some of the students are there until 7 at night. So being able to keep them engaged and excited can be difficult, but it is possible. I think my teaching partner and I have been doing a great job at that. Previously I have never had experience working with this age group. So this experience has really broadened the age range that I can work with.

What are you looking forward to about the class you will be teaching?

I am looking forward to continue getting to know the students. They all have their own personalities that represent who they are, and as a teacher, I want to know who my students are and try and understand them the best I can. I also look forward to continuing to work on my lesson plans. This experience with writing lesson plans is helpful in keeping me in the mindset that I am teaching a class and I need to be professional.

What do you hope to learn/gain from this experience?

I hope to gain skills that will help me in my career. Having this experience interacting with kids is just helping me to grow as a teacher at an early stage. So that when I become a teacher, and have my own class, I know what to expect and know how to deal with certain situations. I hope to get better at being a strong figure in classrooms. I am still working on some things when it comes to keeping the students’ attention and getting them back on track. Redirection skills are one thing that I hope this experience will help me get better at.