How have you grown as a teacher from this experience so far (skills, understanding, or knowledge gained) (lesson planning, classroom management, demonstrations, etc…)?
I feel I have grown so much as a teacher. I have learned how hard lesson planning can go and the process of making needed materials. I have also learned that for older children classroom management can be more difficult. However, my experience has given me more confidence that I am in the right major. I really enjoy coming up with new ideas for lessons and seeing the children’s reactions to what they do. I also enjoy interacting with the kids each day.
What new understandings do you have about children/education/your role in the classroom?
I have learned that some children will take more time to get through to and it pays to be persistent. I also am learning how important classroom management can be. Many kids who come to our class in the Boys and Girls Club have been at school and want to go home, so they are not always thrilled to be there. This means that I have to put in extra effort for them to enjoy our lessons. I also learned that some students enjoy messing around and trying to get a rise out of myself and Leona, which again emphasize classroom management. We are in charge of this placement and we need to have confidence in ourselves. We both understand that we will not always be the teacher every child loves.
For the CFSC I understand that my role is not a lead teacher but an assistant teacher. It gives me great opportunities to see how I want to run my classroom. I can step back and be both an observer and assistant. I also enjoy interacting with the younger children. They are always happy to see me and always ask me to read to them and play with them. They are learning something with everything they do. I am a role model to them and I feel important to them. I also have become very aware of how the classroom works and the flow of the day.
What has made you happy about teaching this quarter?
I am the happiest when students tell me that they are happy to see me or they had fun with our lesson. I feel like I’m doing my job and I’m making an impact in their lives. I understand that won’t always happen, but my goal is to make kids smile and learn without realizing it.
What is something that you would like to work on improving by the end of the semester?
I would like to work on going out of the box with some of my lessons. I want the students to explore different aspects of the internship descriptions that they may not have explored.
