After having time to reflect on my first two field placement days. This experience thus far has been eye opening, completely changed my ideas about teaching, and have made me realize what I would have missed had I not been given this opportunity. What I mean by this I was not sure if I would want to teach Kindergarten right away, but know I know it is not as scary as I once thought. One of the biggest pressures I feel is having an appropriate lesson, that my students will actually enjoy. This week I made a lesson about feelings, and my Kindergarten students were completely engaged, and enjoying the book I used as a resource. This gave me a sense of pride because I knew that what I planned for my students that day was educational, and also personal.
Something else that I struggled with during my lesson was using non-standard English while teaching my students their lesson. I know of a fact that in my everyday life I will use terms like “gonna” and “guys” quite frequently, and to stop that behavior is difficult. When I sat down to teach my lesson, I was so focused on the language I was using, and how I was addressing the class, that I don’t actually remember what I was saying to the students while we talked about the lesson. Something else I struggled with was forms of classroom management. While I did alright with keeping the students attention while we were on the carpet having a discussion and reading, but as soon as we moved to the tables that is where I struggled. The way the classroom is designed the tables are distant away from each other, and so I could not ensure both tables were on task. That is when the E.A and my co-intern stepped in to help keep the students on task.
One thing I learned about myself is that the students who I have known for only a week or two have already had an impact on my life. While at my placement we were informed that some of our students have moved and will not be attending our school anymore. And that made me a little sad, I had began to create relationships with the students, and I felt like they enjoyed my teaching, and enjoyed going to school there. This was also an important lesson for me because nothing is consistent, and while the reason I am in the school is to teach and too learn, it is also to make a difference in the lives of every child I meet.
Leeza Currin 