The big questions this week are: Where do we go from here? Are we ready?
What have we learned & How will we implement what we have learned?
For me, I have learned a lot about what the ideal middle school should look like. This is important to understand the characteristics of this ideal in order that we can aim for and implement them in our future schools and classrooms. Being an enthusiastic teacher who challenges their students with exploratory and relevant content using various instructional methods and assessments. Also, collaborating with the faculty, educational specialists, parents, local businesses and community will assist in broadening the scope of opportunities, motivation and engagement for the students, as well as myself as a lifetime learner.
As I head into student teaching it will be important to observe how the teachers, faculty and staff are approaching the ideals of middle school education. After having some experience teaching and working within an organization and administration it will assist in choosing where I want to work. Asking questions regarding organization and collaboration among the staff during the interview will be helpful for finding a middle school with good leadership and a supportive community and positive culture.
As for being ready, yes, I am ready to begin. I am ready to start. I do know that as a toddler begins to walk or a child learns to ride a bike or read, I too might stumble, trip, struggle or fall. It will be important to face any struggle I come across with patience and a mindset of growth. Reflecting on what I have learned and using the resources within the school I am placed in order to stabilize any bump on the road I may hit. I am very grateful and excited for the upcoming school year and will apply everything I have learned at Trinity and all the experiences of my life to be the best teacher that I can be for my future students.
Mary,
ReplyDeleteI have loved reading your blogs over the few weeks of this course. I have enjoyed understanding a parent's point of view along with a fellow student/future teacher. I thought that you had a great summary of everything that you have learned through this course. I have to agree with everything that you said. It is so important to be an enthusiastic teacher who challenges his/her students.
I really enjoyed how you compared starting out as a new teacher to a child first learning to ride a bike. I thought that was a great visual as to what we are heading into. Personally, I feel very nervous about student teaching. I am ready to start and to learn, but it is unknown territory for me. I feel like this profession is one of those jobs that you don't know fully what you are doing until you do it and practice. I think it is great that you have had some experience already. That will come to great use. Thanks for all your insights and comments. You will be a great teacher. Great final post!
Mary I agree we have learned what an Ideal middle school classroom and school should be. However, I have seen some classroom that has not followed what we have learned. As for do I feel that I am ready? I have the tools to be ready, but I really can not say if I will be ready to be in the classroom until I'm student teaching or in my classroom.
ReplyDeleteI really like that you brought up asking the school about the school climate in order to know what the school is really like before entering it as a teacher. At my first placement, my cooperating teacher was telling me about another teacher there that had taken another job that paid a little better than the school they were at. When he got to the new job, the teachers did NO collaboration. He'd give them good resources and they'd throw it in the trash can on the way out of his classroom! He hated it so much that he came back to this school because it had a better climate to work in. I think that is important for us to find out about in order to find a school that we will work well in.
ReplyDeleteMary -
ReplyDeleteHaving been in multiple classes with you, I know you will do well as a teacher! You are thoughtful, considerate and caring about others and your students, as evidenced by your examples and experience. I agree that observing and student teaching will give us practical experience to put what we have learned in this particular class to use. I find I am already watching the interactions of teachers and administration since I started taking classes at Trinity. The middle grade lessons we learned, while are different for the group of students, can be modified and used toward elementary and secondary students. By us learning all this useful information and perspective, we can be advocates of change for the future. Good luck - you will do well!
Hi Mary. Great post, and I couldn't agree more. I think this class has definitely prepared us for teaching middle school. I personally would like to teach in the high school setting, but I think having an understanding of middle schoolers, and especially the transition for them between middle school and high school will help me in my future role as a high school teacher. I think you're completely spot on - we will learn so much from observing others during student teaching. I truly believe that even when we feel prepared, we probably aren't, and getting real hands on experience is the best way to learn. However, I feel we have such a great foundation to build upon from taking this class as well as other classes!
ReplyDeleteMary - that's awesome! I'm sure you will be great in you student-teaching role just as you will be a great teacher. Yes, I'm also concerned with stumbling because I'm walking into something new, but the good news is that we have been prepared in this course and others on how to manage and we must use what we learned to be the best for our students. I wish you the best of luck! God Bless!
ReplyDeleteKevin